How thick is too thick for a canopy and lower development

[MadeInAmerica1983]

So this is my second grow, and I learned a ton in the first one, I have trained these plants with a scrog net and tie downs, I have also lolli popped and monster cropped them. This picture is right before defoliation going into flower and I am one week in to flower now and the girls are thicker now than before I defoliated. I have been told to defoliate once again 3-4 weeks into flower, but I have a ton of bud sights starting to form and 50% of them do not get direct LED.

What I need to know is, how thick is too thick to get proper development? Most plants have 6-8 stems coming off the main stem, which with training and scrog netting I have turned each of those stems into 4- 6 stems, so in all I have an average of 25-30 kolas coming off of each plant. This is causing all the lower bud sights to not be able to get direct light, I have removed all the sucker branches and if it doesn't reach the light on top, I have removed them to ensure good development at the top.

I had alot of popcorn buds last go around and I am trying to prevent that this time around. Will the plants hold up and develop correctly, or do I need to do something different.

 

[Cracken]

it looks like you have things well underway there. only thing I will say is about the lower buds (fluff as I call it) if there appears to only be a couple hairs coming out at week 3 when you defoliate again, I say remove them because the plant energy will be redirected to the top buds where you want.

 

[FourthCity]

So this is my second grow, and I learned a ton in the first one, I have trained these plants with a scrog net and tie downs, I have also lolli popped and monster cropped them. This picture is right before defoliation going into flower and I am one week in to flower now and the girls are thicker now than before I defoliated. I have been told to defoliate once again 3-4 weeks into flower, but I have a ton of bud sights starting to form and 50% of them do not get direct LED.

What I need to know is, how thick is too thick to get proper development? Most plants have 6-8 stems coming off the main stem, which with training and scrog netting I have turned each of those stems into 4- 6 stems, so in all I have an average of 25-30 kolas coming off of each plant. This is causing all the lower bud sights to not be able to get direct light, I have removed all the sucker branches and if it doesn't reach the light on top, I have removed them to ensure good development at the top.

I had alot of popcorn buds last go around and I am trying to prevent that this time around. Will the plants hold up and develop correctly, or do I need to do something different.

The biggest issue with the smaller buds is most likely your lighting. Get a lumen app on your phone and check to see where the hot spots and drop off points are. The blurple lights have poor coverage and worse penetration so usually only the upper buds swell much beyond popcorn size. It looks like there is room in your canopy for even more branches and tops but at the same time it doesn't look like there is enough light to support it.

 

[MadeInAmerica1983]

The biggest issue with the smaller buds is most likely your lighting. Get a lumen app on your phone and check to see where the hot spots and drop off points are. The blurple lights have poor coverage and worse penetration so usually only the upper buds swell much beyond popcorn size. It looks like there is room in your canopy for even more branches and tops but at the same time it doesn't look like there is enough light to support it.

Yea, lighting is a problem. Im working on getting some big boy lights here soon, its costing me alot of time and yield. All the effort Im putting in I want to maximize the output. I have 1 - 2,000 watt LED, and 2 -1,200 watt leds powering this tent. the 2,000 watt light is an amazon chinese light and the other two are Bestvas.

I like the lumen app though didn't know about that. The only reason the lights are this color are because I had them in veg, now they are in blume and are red. You think running them full blast would be better?

 

[MadeInAmerica1983]

The biggest issue with the smaller buds is most likely your lighting. Get a lumen app on your phone and check to see where the hot spots and drop off points are. The blurple lights have poor coverage and worse penetration so usually only the upper buds swell much beyond popcorn size. It looks like there is room in your canopy for even more branches and tops but at the same time it doesn't look like there is enough light to support it.

SO I took your advice, it looks like one of the Bestva lights is putting out 900 - 400 LUX depending on where you hold the phone. The other two max out at 350 - 400 and go to 250 around the edges. Major difference, it explains why I had to switch my lights around to get one side to catch up in Veg. I knew the one Bestva was a pro and the other bestva was not but didn't realize how big a difference there was between the two. Sucks cause I dont got the extra scratch to get the lights to maximize production this run, but will be working towards it a little harder now. Thanks for the advise, I knew I was under powered, just didn't realize how badly.

 

[FourthCity]

Yea, lighting is a problem. Im working on getting some big boy lights here soon, its costing me alot of time and yield. All the effort Im putting in I want to maximize the output. I have 1 - 2,000 watt LED, and 2 -1,200 watt leds powering this tent. the 2,000 watt light is an amazon chinese light and the other two are Bestvas.

I like the lumen app though didn't know about that. The only reason the lights are this color are because I had them in veg, now they are in blume and are red. You think running them full blast would be better?

Your lights put out between 185-300 real watts fwiw and "big boy" lights will be white light, not colored diodes. Look at hlg, timber, kingbrite, etc for an idea. I meant lux not lumen for the app but either should serve the same purpose. Use it to see which parts of your plants are receiving enough light and which aren't, any branches outside the drop off point will produce significantly smaller buds.

Raising the lights up and running them with both switches may give you a better coverage area in sqft at the cost of some penetration and additional heat. You'll have to check the app with your lights to see if that change makes any improvement.

 

[FourthCity]

SO I took your advice, it looks like one of the Bestva lights is putting out 900 - 400 LUX depending on where you hold the phone. The other two max out at 350 - 400 and go to 250 around the edges. Major difference, it explains why I had to switch my lights around to get one side to catch up in Veg. I knew the one Bestva was a pro and the other bestva was not but didn't realize how big a difference there was between the two. Sucks cause I dont got the extra scratch to get the lights to maximize production this run, but will be working towards it a little harder now. Thanks for the advise, I knew I was under powered, just didn't realize how badly.

The apps arent super accurate but for comparison any decent light is able to offer lux in the tens of thousands across its coverage area.

 

[Freaky75]

Must say farmers . Some very useful tips a nu- bee can pick up browsing on here . I am looking for a led to replace my 600 w 3x3 and I now know to stay clear of blurple . I'm a bit confused with it all lol . Happy farming