Have any pics of the pinched branches?,ive wanted to do this for some time,but scared of breaking the stem lol,ive heard it raises the yeilds beyond belief,sure looks like it.
Oh ya, keeping that main stalk is the way to go, you stil get your huge top and the benfits of topping, you can also lst using this technique of you get used to it. I did a tutorial on this at another site too, so i'll copy and paste it, the pics may not be in the right places, but they'll give you the right idea.
Sorry if some of this is me talking like a retard, i tend to.
The first thing you want to look at is where to bend your plant, not only does the main stem get bent, but any branch that out grow the top of the canapoy. You can do this every 4-5 days in my experience. So find the branches that are over growing the rest, and pick a spot no more than 5 inches down, you dont want to go too far down, or you byoass the section of the plant that is producing the best on account of the hormones at the points of new growth.
Next, get a good spot where you can get your fingers between two node, use you thumb and index, you'll need a third finger before thjis is done, never bend right at a node itself, you will damage the base of a new branch and therefor render it quite stressed. This si not hard to find on any plant.
Now come the pinch itself, hod the section to be bent firmly, and gently twist it back and forth ever so slightly, this helps to soften the stem at that point a little, but only do this slightly, dont turn the branch around or you'll tear it. As you turn the branch back and forth, slowly add more pressure to the stem untll you hear a light popping sound, the stem will compress, and you'll see a little moisture come up from your finger, that is the sap that the plant will use to heal itself.
You then tuck your middle finger right behind the pinch, and use it to support the branch from snappin, the pinch itself should stop this, but its added security. You then bend the branch back over your middle finger and give a slight squeeze right where the bend is.
After this is done the top should hang over, but the leaves should not droop too much, but a little above the bend is to be expected. Within 12-24 hours the damage will heal into whats called an elbow, and all the hormones will be focused on growth beneath the bend, therefor getting them to grow faster.
