2 bad years, looking to keep plants smaller

[Murciano]

Over the last 2 years we have had bad luck with outdoor growing, last year we lost our Arjhans haze to some thieves, this year we decided to grow our WW females up on the terrace (we live in Spain) which was going great till the Policia came around and seized all 7 plants cos they saw them from the road and told us that in Spain it was illegal to grow your own (we all know this is a grey area in Spanish law, but arguing the point with the authorities aint the way to go)...

So now we are planning next years grow, which will definatly be up on the terrace which has a wall around 3 and half feet high around it, so we are looking at growing smaller stuff or maybe Bubblegum or Abyss but leaving it later in the year to sow rather than in mid-may..

I have read on here about LST techniques, growing in a sort circle, nipping out the main shoot and then letting the lower branches grow vertical, does this method keep the plants much smaller?

 

[MadBuddhaAbuser]

LST is awesome cuz you can shape it all sorts of ways. like bonzai or something. and if you cut the main shoot, the lower branches will still grow straight up unless you bend em or something.

EDIT: better luck next year too

 

[LionVibez]

Yea I would say lst or some type of training/topping will be your best bet. Just keep tying down and topping branches when they are gettin to tall and create more tops :) U will end up with more buds and be less visible if done right!

 

[sun]

tie em down

 

[Murciano]

thanks for the input guys its much appreciated, just one further question now, with LST will it increase or decrease the yield (not that it matters too much as next years plan at the moment is to manage to keep a hold of em without some #### taking em away)

 

[cannabaholic]

Hey Murciano..I been pondering your situation.

My thoughts.....maybe next year you can turn your whole terrace into a scrog.

Doesnt Spain have a pretty decent season also?

Maybe start plants early indoors and put them on the terrace when they reach a decent size and/or your weather is appropriate. Put your screen in place and once your screen is 70-80% full force flower them. at this time start some more cuttings inside and by the time the terrace is ready for harvest your new cuttings will be ready to go out to the terrace to provide you with a 2nd crop. With LST, Scrog and force flowering you should have no problems keeping your ladies out of the piggy's sight while actually yielding a nice sized crop.

Just an idea. Good luck.

 

[ISeemToBeAVerb]

thanks for the input guys its much appreciated, just one further question now, with LST will it increase or decrease the yield (not that it matters too much as next years plan at the moment is to manage to keep a hold of em without some #### taking em away)

With proper LST you should see an increase in yield, as more of the plant is receiving good light. Obviously this depends on your particular situation and technique. I'd have to think that with a good LST technique you could achieve good yields while also giving your plants a lower profile, thus hiding them from police with prying eyes. In the end, even a decreased yield is better than your whole grow getting seized by the police.

-Verb

 

[d420]

I agree, you can last, or tie andtrain the individual branches to shape them any way youwwant.

 

[7rayos]

Bad luck Murciano, coppers or thieves, to us growers they team up. 3 and a half feet, that's slightly over a metre, taking the pot and a bit for drainage, you cannot go higher than 2-2'5 feet, anyway. Not that i know it as a technique, more like an intuitive cropping, but with some bending you shouldn't have problems. As for production, both sog and scrog seems to yield better and keep the desired height, but also when bending or cropping you can get near enough, after all it's the same without the top mesh. Man, you know it's a hard enduring vegetable. I have plants virtually eaten by a donkey which will still produce some bud. Winter is just fine in southern Spain as cannabaholic says. It's also time for experiments, less insects and less plant snatchers in general. Anyway, a la tercera va la vencida, you can't lose this time, good luck.

 

[Murciano]

Once again thanks for the input, im very much interested in Cannabaholics advice, over the last couple of days i have been reading about scrogging and it seems ideal for the terrace, taking into account the height of the terrace etc and whats more i cant believe how easy it looks to do.

@ 7Rayos where i am in southern Spain the winter temps at night can hit around 0 degrees centigrade (very rarely though) would this not be too cold, plus theres the problem of long nights and short day..

 

[7rayos]

Hi there, Murc. Well, i live in the Alpux, and it can be also a bit cold for plants in the worst spell of winter, that is, from well into december, but all in all it's a question of a bit of luck. A couple nights reaching 0º won't kill big plants. In winter you get too much leaf and smaller buds, but also increased potency imo. The important thing is that the substrate doesnt' freeze, and for that I mix it with hay, (heno, paja rubia). When hay's composting in the substrate, it produces some heat, enough to stop it freezing. Black pots preferred in winter. Also covering the pots with paper helps, or there're other ways to keep pots warm, (with electricity).
Still, i'm starting from seed today, will veg for 4 or 5 weeks and expect to have them ready at the end of December. I've had sativas outside harvested in january. True that the weather risk is bigger, but the summer threats (pests, thieves, coppers, etc) decreases significantly.
Also, if you keep a folded plastic for roofing in emergencies...
More and more, three harvests a year are what southern Andalucia growers can apply for, all you need now is to do the vegging in small pots with a bit of extra light. I use a 200W and add 6 hours to the day until the plant (or clone) reaches about 2 ft, then let natural light do the rest.
Hope all of this applies to your terrace!!!

 

[cannabaholic]

Hell yeah Murciano!!!

I would love to see how it works out for you!

You got all the information you need to make it work for you right here!

2 scrogged terrace crops in a season, fuck yeah!!!

 

[Murciano]

Hell yeah Murciano!!!

I would love to see how it works out for you!

You got all the information you need to make it work for you right here!

2 scrogged terrace crops in a season, fuck yeah!!!

Your wish is my command, im gonna start things rolling next week (purely for testing purposes only of course, ready for a big push once i have gained more experience in things) and will be keeping a diary of the progress on here so you can see how things go along.

@ 7rayos thanks for the info in your last post, its given me just about all the info i need to go ahead with confidence, just need to get her indoors to agree to a small cupboard for vegging.