To Defoliate or Not To Defiate

[Chobble]

It's all source vs sink. Gotta make sure you have it evenly balanced or nothings going to work properly, The amount of leaves you have on the plant should play into the stage of growth. In my experience with hydroponic tomatoes, the plant generally has 6-7 feet of foliage to support a weekly truss of 3-5 tomatoes depending on the season.

The idea is to remove foliage that won't be producing energy. Figure out how deep your lights "penetrate" we all have our own numbers, This will help you when it comes to thinning your canopy, in my opinion its best to do it as you go. Im honestly in the middle of setting up how I'm going to grow my production strains, Watching how they react to flowering etc. I will defoliate them depending on how the plant responds to the process.

Using tomato principles is great, but commercial tomato production is quite different then indoor growing. tomatoes are constantly in a stage of growth and regenerative production, as to our plant that finishes it's life when we harvest. Tomato producers train plants weekly to keep them at the proper condition, I believe this can be applied but rather in stages then a repetitive process. Which is why I like growing weed more then tomatoes.

Few pointers on "sinks"...
Foliage infested with Powdery mildew = automatic sink. Even with the slightest tough the leaf is now using more energy then it will create.

First thing to do is to top the plant when she's only six inches or a foot tall, and select for the best four branches. Let those grow up and as they reach the height of your eventual ScrOG, begin to bend them sideways. You'll find that pot stems are quite flexible, and you'll develop a feel for how to handle them. I've bent my branches completely horizontal before, the process actually helps the plant get stronger and be more able to hold up fat buds later on!

I support this as one of the better ways to simply "formulate" your Source vs Sink. I personally use it, and I have a similar formula in the tomato house.

Chobble

 

[ttystikk]

@Chobble this is very much what I strive for when defoliating. Often the plant is trying to drop leaves by letting them yellow, that's a sign to pull it right away. Getting rid of the stuff that isn't useful and producing leaves room for stuff that is.

 

[ttystikk]

@Chobble I've been working on a vertical trellis approach recently, and it piqued my interest when you mentioned 'choosing a light penetration depth' above. In my vertical trellis, I'm aiming for just one single good layer of foliage, with relatively little overall depth. In fact, I'm actively working to reduce depth by training branches along the mesh surrounding the bulb instead of letting them grow very far through it. Once the stretch phase transitions into setting bud and stacking, I'll allow those sites to build inside the mesh trellis, where I hope they'll grow nicely!

The point of the above ramble is, what do you think of this minimalist approach to plant depth?

 

[sensicloud]

Awesome stuff from 619ster, thanks bro!

 

[BakedReality]

I voted yes! I defoliate...mostly the big fans...to some degree for me it is more strain specific on how much. I think the key is taking it in small percentages over a period....

my .o2

 

[Chobble]

@Chobble this is very much what I strive for when defoliating. Often the plant is trying to drop leaves by letting them yellow, that's a sign to pull it right away

@Chobble I've been working on a vertical trellis approach recently, and it piqued my interest when you mentioned 'choosing a light penetration depth' above. In my vertical trellis, I'm aiming for just one single good layer of foliage, with relatively little overall depth. In fact, I'm actively working to reduce depth by training branches along the mesh surrounding the bulb instead of letting them grow very far through it. Once the stretch phase transitions into setting bud and stacking, I'll allow those sites to build inside the mesh trellis, where I hope they'll grow nicely!

The point of the above ramble is, what do you think of this minimalist approach to plant depth?

. Getting rid of the stuff that isn't useful and producing leaves

I would shoot for 6" of canopy? You may be talking about something even less.. I would imagine by your general size specs (much to my own, and honestly I think you influenced that) that 6" down from 10-12".

With greenhouse tomatoes I would estimate for about 1' of canopy on each vine, with full sun etc. That would translate to 6" of canopy on each side receiving good light. This being my experince with vertical trellising.

Chobble

 

[ttystikk]

I'm inclined to agree with you. I could let it get closer to 10" thick if the bulb were in constant motion. This would allow for shading reduction and hot spot elimination of burnt leaves and buds.

 

[PaperStreet]

I voted yes! I defoliate...mostly the big fans...to some degree for me it is more strain specific on how much. I think the key is taking it in small percentages over a period....

my .o2

Yea man exactly i have never pruned my gdk mama just cuz she doesnt need it she grows pretty well decongested all on her own with decent spaceing between nodes and one major fan leaf per nuggsite. However some strains do not and they are rather leafy with less node spaceing those are the strains that are perfect candidates and agreed i take my leaves a few at a time where needed as they progress thru flower u know..

 

[papamike74]

I have water leaves that are in excess of 2" wide on my unknown indica. Wish I could determine genetics on this plant as she is a major producer of insanely good buds. The main stalk is about 3/4" dia @ 2 mos from sprout and look more like a tree than a weed, the stems are very thick as well . Any clues anybody?

 

[indonesia]

the plant uses the fan leaves to breathe more or less. u can really stunt the growth, be weary fellow traveler. the grow bible says if theyre 50% or more discolored/deficiant theres no harm in removing them.

 

[indonesia]

I have water leaves that are in excess of 2" wide on my unknown indica. Wish I could determine genetics on this plant as she is a major producer of insanely good buds. The main stalk is about 3/4" dia @ 2 mos from sprout and look more like a tree than a weed, the stems are very thick as well . Any clues anybody? View attachment 363956

Marijuana is a tree:)

 

[indonesia]

literally lol...... the only tree on earth with genders. Alot of people believe that cannabis was a gift from above, and that its a weed lol but its not

 

[mmmdankbuds420]

literally lol...... the only tree on earth with genders. Alot of people believe that cannabis was a gift from above, and that its a weed lol but its not

I've never realized that. I can't recall any other plants I'm aware of that are full male or full female.