Plants about to outgrow tent: questions about scrog and flower stage

[Gurtgurt]

Hi slackers,

First time growing sativa dominant. Issues at the beginning so I let them veg for a long time, 8-9 weeks. Flipped light schedule 2 weeks ago. Had defoliated before light switch.

Observe:

My questions:

Firstly, when does "flowering stage" begin? The day you flip the lights or once they start to make white hairs?

But mainly: I bought a cheap scrog set from a large online retailer. It's elastic, and the squares are way too big; but I have 2. Only one in here now. Should I add the second net to lower the canopy? Will defoliate again in a week. The lights are at their highest position.

Finally; there is an oscillating fan under the plant in the back in the last 2 pictures. What do you think caused the curled leaves, wind? That's probably one of the tallest.

Thanks for your input

 

[Gurtgurt]

You'll notice I had to raise the 3 plants in front to get them to the height of the other two. Yes 5 plants in there. Didn't mean for them to grow so long but got busy.

Should I consider lowering those front 3 to the ground for more vertical space? Raised them for better light and equity. Lights are 2x 200W boards.

 

[Gurtgurt]

It's about 2.5 weeks from light flip and I just defoliated. Maybe a bit heavily but eh. Lights and fans turned down to let them recuperate.

If I'm going to use this second net for bending and lowering I should put it in soon. These nets stuck because each hole has 3 colas.

Anyone have any input as to whether I should install second identical scrog net?

 

[RootsRuler]

My suggestion would be to lower the pots to the floor, first off. The stretch of flower alone is going to put your plant into the lights. Is there any way to raise the lights anymore than where they are?

Can you unwind the plants from the first net and use that as your initial canopy and splay out the branches to lower the canopy line and give you additional room for flower stretch? I would do that first so that the second net can be used to support flower growth. This is my 5 x 5 with 6 plants, Gorilla Glue #4, with splayed branches, trimmed and netted.

You may need to remove a few of the plants and leave the best ones if you splay the branches. Depends on the size of your tent and if you can organize all the branches to not get in the way of each others light.

As far as when flip actually starts, that is a question you'll get a million different responses to. I personally count it when I start to see pistils forming. Some start counting the day they flip the lights. If you're trying to gauge when to harvest by light flip I would discourage that and go with visual inspection of the trichomes to determine ripeness.

As far as your fan and curling leaves, you probably have it set too high or it's too close to the plants. You want a gentle swaying breeze not a hurricane!!! I would run a couple small 6" fans underneath and an 8" or 10" on top. I have one 6" in my 5 x 5 but will purchase another to attach to the opposite corner for better under canopy air movement. I also have an 8" fan on the ceiling pointing down into the canopy. Both are fixed although I'm trying to figure out how I can convert my 8" to an oscillating fan.