With my current grow, I was playing around with different HST (high stress training) techniques with my bagseeds. I FIMd one and I realized I should have been doing this all along with my micro grows. The FIM slowed the main growth down tremendously for a few days, BUT all the while giving the lower nodes time to catch up. Within a week I had a plant with 4 main tops.
The reason I bring it up is because because when it comes to micro-growing, I feel that we are restricting ourselves by ONLY using the traditional form of LST; but the problem with not implementing HST (High Stress Training), the main branch will always outgrows the rest.
BUT if you decide to TOP or FIM the remaining branches will be equal in auxin distribution!
Here is a pic a few days after the FIM. Too bad this plant ended up being male!
Here you can see where I circled in RED would be the two main branches you would get if you TOPPd the plant normally. The 4 BLUE circles indicate where you FIMd new growth. You are basically allowing two more nodes to grow, creating 4 more tops, but since it was cut at the developing stage of new growth, these 4 new tops will be much closer together at the node point, giving you more height to work with.
Now this pic shows the 4 blue new tops that were created, and the red circles are the from the nodes below it. Notice how it stunted overall growth, allowing for the lower nodes to catch up. You end up with a something that resembles a cabbage!
Note that a FIM is basically a double top. There will be no one main point of growth as in a normal plant, instead you have 2 pairs of main growth, and whatever lower growth that caught up in this time period.
The trick is how low down you cut to predict the amount of shoots. If you cut just above where you would traditionally TOP, then you will most likely get 2 new growths from this cut. Leaving you with the traditional TOPd 2 branches.
It really is based on judgement here for how high up above the traditional TOP that you should FIM. In my experience I have over cut the FIM (giving me a regular TOPing) and I have also undercut the FIM (completely ignoring the cut, and continues growth with 1 main cola).
Here is a pic of one that I thought FIMd but really I just amputated LARGE sections of leaf.
If you still feel that you may be running low on space given the 1 week time frame it takes for a FIM to reach this point, you can always transplant in a deeper pot, burying the stem all the way up to where you feel comfortable.
Now this leads me to my next Blog Entry, on other techniques of how to stunt plant growth in a way where the plant still strives and absolutely no damage is inflicted!
Good Luck
The reason I bring it up is because because when it comes to micro-growing, I feel that we are restricting ourselves by ONLY using the traditional form of LST; but the problem with not implementing HST (High Stress Training), the main branch will always outgrows the rest.
BUT if you decide to TOP or FIM the remaining branches will be equal in auxin distribution!
Here is a pic a few days after the FIM. Too bad this plant ended up being male!
Here you can see where I circled in RED would be the two main branches you would get if you TOPPd the plant normally. The 4 BLUE circles indicate where you FIMd new growth. You are basically allowing two more nodes to grow, creating 4 more tops, but since it was cut at the developing stage of new growth, these 4 new tops will be much closer together at the node point, giving you more height to work with.
Now this pic shows the 4 blue new tops that were created, and the red circles are the from the nodes below it. Notice how it stunted overall growth, allowing for the lower nodes to catch up. You end up with a something that resembles a cabbage!
Note that a FIM is basically a double top. There will be no one main point of growth as in a normal plant, instead you have 2 pairs of main growth, and whatever lower growth that caught up in this time period.
The trick is how low down you cut to predict the amount of shoots. If you cut just above where you would traditionally TOP, then you will most likely get 2 new growths from this cut. Leaving you with the traditional TOPd 2 branches.
It really is based on judgement here for how high up above the traditional TOP that you should FIM. In my experience I have over cut the FIM (giving me a regular TOPing) and I have also undercut the FIM (completely ignoring the cut, and continues growth with 1 main cola).
Here is a pic of one that I thought FIMd but really I just amputated LARGE sections of leaf.
If you still feel that you may be running low on space given the 1 week time frame it takes for a FIM to reach this point, you can always transplant in a deeper pot, burying the stem all the way up to where you feel comfortable.
Now this leads me to my next Blog Entry, on other techniques of how to stunt plant growth in a way where the plant still strives and absolutely no damage is inflicted!
Good Luck
