Home stretch...

[masshole61]

Have 6 plants out in the sun that are just starting to flower. Got them in 20 gallon smart pots 1/2 full of super soil and 1/2 roots organic soil. Topped, bent and twisted these into nice round 4 foot shrubs. Fed with liquid kelp, caps bennies, molasses and teas.plan on harvesting around the first week in October , weather permitting. Now that they are starting to flower, should I lay off the liquid kelp ? Should I stop with the bending and just let it grow out from here ( without stressing it)? Anyone defoliate outdoors? Any tips to help me finish strong would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Blaze]

Kelp is helpful during flowering, I wouldn't lay off it till towards the end. I would also not bend them anymore, IMO that is something that works better during veg. Also I would recommend that you do NOT defoliate your plants, it will gimp them.

 

[caregiverken]

Kelp is helpful during flowering, I wouldn't lay off it till towards the end. I would also not bend them anymore, IMO that is something that works better during veg. Also I would recommend that you do NOT defoliate your plants, it will gimp them.

great answer Blaze

Im not sure what "gimp them" means though

I dont normaly remove healthy fan leaves myself..
..But it is a good idea to Prune lower/inner shaded growth, right?
and lollypoping branches wont stunt a plant will it?

 

[Blaze]

Oh haha I mean that it can slow their growth and yield w/o causing obvious harm to the plant. So in other words the plant will not look like anything is wrong, but you will see differences in rate of growth and other more subtle indicators. Thinning the lower growth that never gets sun is a good idea, but removing anything that gets direct sun, especially leaves, is not a good idea most of the time IMO. Lollipoping the lower branches can have either a negative or positive effect, depending on when you do it, the style of grow, etc. I usually clear out some of the lower branches on my plant so I have a small gap between the canopy and the soil. Makes it a lot easier to top dress and work on the plant. However those lower branches contribute greatly to yield so it is easy to prune out too much when you lollipop...