main-line topping ******best method******

[ByrneBurnham]

Heyyy - T79, so dig this...the lower one nugged branches you have on your ML'd plant are ones that a lot of us would take for clones right ? WAIT - you can bend those down to the surface of the soil (but ONLY AFTER making an "x" score just beneath the growing end of that shoot and dusting with rooting hormones) and stake it INTO the soil (the horticultural term is layering). Those one nugged branches will grow its OWN roots and pop like pomegranates.... just an idea if you or other members doing a ML grow right now might have extra lower branches....you can LITERALLY separate that new (what will be a bat as the nodes wont have time to grow long shoots) from the original ML'd plant.

I tried this (layering) on a non ML'd plant last season and was thoroughly impressed with the results. I did this like 10 days BEFORR preflowers showed up (I only know this because I went back and counted) and mannn....smiles all around.

I should point out that my grows are outdoors. I plan on doing the same this season but with a much longer veg period (doing it while still mainly in veg)...

 

[Toaster79]

That technique is comonly used in vineyards where I come from. My grow is way to small for such games. But outdoors is totaly useful. You really need to burry a part of one branch in the soil and like you said it'll start to grow it's own roots.

Keep it green!

 

[ByrneBurnham]

Vineyards huh ? Wow - I'm starting ti see that techniques used in other horticultural areas are/can be pretty useful in the cultivation of this fine plant.

 

[Toaster79]

Yeah it's an ancient technique :D You can use it with every plant that you can clone.

 

[happy b]

I mainline but once I have my hub I just tie down both sides like your meant to and i just keep pinching every top with a set of nodes underneath . I end up with this kinda thing

and this.

nothing like what it's supposed to turn out like but im happy doing it this way.

 

[ByrneBurnham]

Solid HappyB. Solid.

 

[happy b]

Thanks bb . I'm going to chop the top one down tonight.i,ll get a few more pics in before I take it down.

 

[FiveAM]

The pipe cleaners don't cut into the plants too much?

 

[happy b]

Its the plastic coated tie wire i use.if you put em on early on and theyr too tight and you forget to take it off or loosen it,the plant will grow right around it leaving a large wound wen you remove it . but to be totally honest it's never adversely affected my plants . the benefits far out way any possible negatives . although I still try not to let the wire dig into the stems.

 

[ByrneBurnham]

The pipe cleaners don't cut into the plants too much?

Hey there.....the fuzzy sticks are the soft fuzzy ties that are found in the crafts/party section of most stores. I have pipe cleaners that do indeed have spiky stiff bristles within the other coarse bristles - but these are the soft craft types. And Ive learned that you simply need a loose circle or triangle that fits JUST around the 2 or 4 shoots and as long as you have the other "end" of the fuzzy stick anchored (I use the main stalk-Ive also poked holes in the rim of the pot to tie to) you're good to go. Kind of like this one....

You can just "make out" the loose triangles I spoke about earlier in the second pic and the rim anchor point in the first pic....hope this helps....

 

[dwood]

Ok folks here is progress sine I defoliated and created the manifold. Any suggestion

 

[ccWTF]

not gonna de-foliage lower on this one. Just shooting for a short-flat canopy

 

[ccWTF]

My arms are getting too short or this

 

[ByrneBurnham]

Wow - thats an awesome move Fish' ! ! ! Very good tip indeed ! !

On another note - how on Earth did you get your stems so damn HUGE at such a young age ?

 

[Mr.X]

View attachment 484805 View attachment 484804 Here is my attempt at main lining.. I know the nodes are not perpendicular However these plants are from clone. Currently the plants are in one gal pots. I tied down the upper node so the other can catch up and hopefully close the node spacing. When I transplant more of the stem will be covered.
Any help is appreciated.n

Dont bury the stem deeper than the soil level. U might get rotting.

 

[henry]

Its a amazing technique. Any thoughts on the potential yield increase next to a untrained plant from the same stock grown in all the same conditions?

 

[Bangarang]

What kind of plant is best suited for mainlining? I had fantastic results with my LA Con but was wondering if a fast growing sativa don could do the same thing? What kind of growth pattern/structure are you looking for?
Thanks

 

[diamond2.0]

I like main topping the best. To much energy is lost on bottom branchs when topped on some strains . I learned quick with u.w. that was the only way to do her to get tabletop flat evenly filled out buds..I usually did 8 arms as pictured . u.w. was very easy , very semetrical so i never had to tie branches back. She was pretty sqwat already. plenty of room between buds to breath .....

 

[ccWTF]

 

[juggernaut]

very nice