Bet this is a new one

[NorCalGal]

I have a question that I'm guessing has not been asked before. Let me preface the question by saying I have an outdoor AK47with two top colas standing at 200 cm/79 inches tall. This is only my second grow and last year was a nightmare due to caterpillar infestation. I literally threw away pounds of my precious grow! This year I have been spraying with BT but my plan was to discontinue spraying two weeks before harvest and cover with butterfly netting. I have 8 foot bamboo stakes intended to support the netting. The problem is, and I suppose it's a good problem to have, those top colas are taller than the tops of the stakes. I've tried several methods of extending the top but haven't found any solution. I'm contemplating cutting down the top colas in order to accommodate the netting, but here's my question: Does anyone know if a branch can be cut, placed in water, and continue to ripen for about a week? She's not quite ready but does have milky trichomes.

 

[Ponky]

I'd just bend it over. If you have to chop it. Smoke it.

 

[NorCalGal]

I'd just bend it over. If you have to chop it. Smoke it.

Hmm, perhaps I'm being too timid with her, but she really doesn't feel like she wants to bend. Probably on account of all the silica she's been fed.

 

[mysticepipedon]

Hmm, perhaps I'm being too timid with her, but she really doesn't feel like she wants to bend. Probably on account of all the silica she's been fed.

You'd have to squash the stalk/branch to bend it.

I don't know if you have a lot to worry about in 2 weeks, if you've been spraying BT regularly. I understand the concern, though. I lost about half of my outdoor grow one summer in the Carolinas, to caterpillars.

 

[NorCalGal]

You'd have to squash the stalk/branch to bend it.

I don't know if you have a lot to worry about in 2 weeks, if you've been spraying BT regularly. I understand the concern, though. I lost about half of my outdoor grow one summer in the Carolinas, to caterpillars.

So, does "squash" mean actually snap it? My 5th and last spray was 10 days ago. Oddly, I've only found 1 dead caterpillar. Perhaps you're right and it may be that their populations have been kept under control enough that worst case I'd have a few dozen to contend with. Last year it was literally hundreds of them. Between the infestation and herming I got so depressed I wasn't even sure I'd be growing again this year. Then came Spring, and hope springs eternal. :-)

 

[mysticepipedon]

You don't want to break it off, but you want to damage the stem to the point that it is a bit floppy at the point where you've damaged it. I use fingers, but I know someone who uses pliers to squash it. That might be necessary for a plant as old as yours.

I would do a search on super cropping and check a video or two. It is usually done at the beginning of flower or during veg, but your goal is just to shorten the plant a bit.

 

[nashobaTHC]

I have a reasonable solution for you. Get two pvc conduit pipes 1.25” x 10’. That’s a standard length at most hardware stores. They’re pretty rigid. Slide them over your bamboo stakes now you have 10 ft stakes over which you can throw your netting. The netting shouldn’t be too heavy. Ideally 4 stakes and pvc tubes would be used but two is minimum. To add support to your stakes you can get some twine, a few ground stakes and makes guy wires. No topping, bending, or breaking necessary. Hope this helps.

 

[NorCalGal]

I have a reasonable solution for you. Get two pvc conduit pipes 1.25” x 10’. That’s a standard length at most hardware stores. They’re pretty rigid. Slide them over your bamboo stakes now you have 10 ft stakes over which you can throw your netting. The netting shouldn’t be too heavy. Ideally 4 stakes and pvc tubes would be used but two is minimum. To add support to your stakes you can get some twine, a few ground stakes and makes guy wires. No topping, bending, or breaking necessary. Hope this helps.

I have a reasonable solution for you. Get two pvc conduit pipes 1.25” x 10’. That’s a standard length at most hardware stores. They’re pretty rigid. Slide them over your bamboo stakes now you have 10 ft stakes over which you can throw your netting. The netting shouldn’t be too heavy. Ideally 4 stakes and pvc tubes would be used but two is minimum. To add support to your stakes you can get some twine, a few ground stakes and makes guy wires. No topping, bending, or breaking necessary. Hope this helps.

That's brilliant! Thank you!! Part of what I find so enticing about growing cannabis is that it often necessitates/provides opportunity to find creative solutions, which seems apropos. :-D

 

[nashobaTHC]

Oh yes, if your bamboo stakes are 8 ft total you can push them into the ground 1-2 ft then slide the 10 ft pvc pipes over them. The imbedded bamboo will easily support the pvc pipes. Good luck.

 

[NorCalGal]

I have a reasonable solution for you. Get two pvc conduit pipes 1.25” x 10’. That’s a standard length at most hardware stores. They’re pretty rigid. Slide them over your bamboo stakes now you have 10 ft stakes over which you can throw your netting. The netting shouldn’t be too heavy. Ideally 4 stakes and pvc tubes would be used but two is minimum. To add support to your stakes you can get some twine, a few ground stakes and makes guy wires. No topping, bending, or breaking necessary. Hope this helps.

Oh, wait. That's not gonna work. The bamboo stakes have clips that are supporting the stalks. grrr. Still a clever idea, and I appreciate the effort to help.

 

[Chem77]

Snap the top over, it will still ripen.

 

[nashobaTHC]

Don’t snap just yet. Instead of sliding the pvc pipes over the stakes, use long plastic cable ties to attach the pipe alongside the bamboo stakes. I’ve done that on past grows. In fact I did that last year for one tall plant and lowered and umbrella into the top open end of the pvc pipe. I tied long strings to the outer spokes of the umbrella and secured them to ground stakes to keep the umbrella from blowing away. Had some lower branches get wet but the majority of the plant stayed dry. This pic shows umbrella over a smaller plant earlier this year (before budding) that I wanted to stay dry. I used cable ties and attached umbrella to a 6ft rebar I drove in ground near plant center.