fimming/topping versus tying down

[shawnskush]

what do you use? any personal results good or bad with either method?

Me personally i like to tie down tille i get a pretty even canopy the i release and fim works pretty well for me

 

[squiggly]

I am interested to hear more about FIMing. What is the actual distinction here between topping and he FIM?

 

[Konto]

Should one top in a scrog?

 

[squiggly]

Should one top in a scrog?

There is some disagreement on this one. I grow from clones and just let them do their thing under the screen.

 

[Konto]

There is some disagreement on this one. I grow from clones and just let them do their thing under the screen.

I'm just about to start my first scrog, thats why i ask.

 

[Ladyv]

Fim

This isn't the best picture, but it's what I have that will demonstrate what I get when I FIM.

When you "FIM" you take about 80% of the tip top most growth - and you get up to 5-6 branches coming out of the spot you would have only had 2 should you have topped.

Look at the middle of the photo, you will see a point where 5 branches are coming out of a single one.

 

[squiggly]

View attachment 292120 Fim

This isn't the best picture, but it's what I have that will demonstrate what I get when I FIM.

When you "FIM" you take about 80% of the tip top most growth - and you get up to 5-6 branches coming out of the spot you would have only had 2 should you have topped.

Look at the middle of the photo, you will see a point where 5 branches are coming out of a single one.

Where/when precisely do you make the cut. Are there any specific requirements?

 

[mastacheeser]

I top and scrog
I prefer to do it when theyre a lil younger than what ladyv showed. I found it was alot more difficult to weave through the trelis when you top/fim when theyre that big

 

[ftwendy]

Where/when precisely do you make the cut. Are there any specific requirements?

Topping is the removal of the entire growing tip, whereas FIM'ing leaves just a bit of the tip of the shoot. Think of topping like decapitation (the very tip of a shoot is the head in this example), and FIM'ing is like an extreme haircut (shorn to the skin, but the head is intact).

Make sense?

 

[Ladyv]

Found this, I work better visually too :rolleyes:

 

[Ladyv]

Where/when precisely do you make the cut. Are there any specific requirements?

The photo above will take care of the where. As for when, I like to turn my girls into little shrubs with lots of tops so I FIM when I have about 3 new leaf sets on my clones (the bottom two will eventually be skirted off when I flip). I then allow those to develop 2-3 leaf sets (depending on how lanky they are), then do it again. You can see how the number of branches becomes exponential....

Be aware that you will get some mutated looking leaves when they start to grow out, that's because the new fan leaves get damaged (partially cut) in the process - nothing to worry about. I can do this now with a simple pinch between my middle finger and thumb now - a little practice and you'll get it.

Play with it, have fun! LOL BTW - FIM stands for Fuck, I missed.

 

[Seamaiden]

Aye, LadyV is right. You're trying to get at the very meristem of new growth tips. Doing this is mimicking, say, deer browsing on the plant. Plants respond to this type of 'assault' with growth in different directions.

I have an issue with my clones getting what I call 'hairy', that is to say that I get too much extra, small-stemmed growth along the branches, and so try to avoid that. I just chop and for things to the sides instead of trying to get even more branching.

 

[ftwendy]

That's a nice graphic... :)

 

[below frigid]

I use the pinching method and do some tying down as well. Just grab the tallest stems 3 or 4 inches below the top between your thumb and fore finger and gently squeeze until you feel the pop. This slows down the taller branches so you get a even canopy. Tying down will definitly make them shoot up more branches. I personally don't top anything anymore.

 

[sun]

I like to lst .Mostly just because I like the hands on feel i get(close , & personal)Seems like I miss a beat tooping . Ive only fimed acedently .I wasnt impressed.

 

[squiggly]

Yeah I knew it was "fuck I missed" -- I can see why now. Thanks for the tip.

Would this work well for a SCROG do you think?

 

[ftwendy]

It works well as a prep for meeting the screen. I like to top within the first week after the clone's first transplant so she bushes out from the starting line. This usually ends up being within the first ten days after the clones have started rooting.

I top once, early, so that the plant can recover from the stress.