Ok thanks! I’ll adjust. I really appreciate all your help!
How I perform low stress training on my plants: Lots of pics!
- Thread starter InTheShed
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- #562
Always glad to help where I can. Have a great night Will!
Hey Shed! So I have 2 blueberry autos from seedsman. I LST’d one and topped the other just to do a comparison. I woke up today to what definitely seems like white hairs. I hope I’m wrong. Both girls are only 3 weeks old. They had no stretch and seem like they could use a lot more growth before they flower. I’ve attached some pics so you can see what I mean. The first pic is the LST one the second two is the girl that was topped. Thanks for your help!
- Thread starter
- #564
Welcome to the wonderful world of autos! 21 days of veg is pretty standard, but on the plus side they can double in size during stretch. Stretch for autos starts now and runs for a couple of weeks, so there's still some hope.
If you want a plant that you decide how big it gets before flowering, grow photoperiods! The only real reason not to is if you can't provide 12 hours of darkness.
quinny
Well-Known Member
Subbed in il be in the backround watchin i use to grow with the ps500 and done 3 plants all low stressed trained . 2 xspeed seeds and 1 master kush that was a momster but unfortuntly got taken by the pigs . So happy growin to yas amd il try amd help along the way 
Thanks Shed! I’ve thought about photos. They seem more intimidating to me. I can provide 12 hours of darkness so that wouldn’t be a problem. Would you say they are easier - harder - or about the same in terms of grow difficulty.
I’m starting to lose faith and that I just suck at this. My first grow, I grew three autos and each produced about 2 ounces. I know a lot of people get more but I thought it was a decent first go. Since then I have gotten nothing but stalled autos….Both as seedlings and in veg. I did transplant from solo cups this grow, because I’ve seen other people on here start their autos in solo cups with success so I thought I would try. I wonder if I transplanted at the wrong time. Anyway my confidence is totally shot at this point so I’m willing to try anything.
I can just go down to the local dispensary and grab something but there’s nothing like growing your own! Thanks again for all your help and encouragement! Peace.
- Thread starter
- #567
Autos are so much harder to grow successfully that I have no idea why some folks they're for beginners.
Heavens no! Your plant is a lovely shade of green and that plus lighting is 90% of a good photo grow.
Get your hands on a photo variety you like and give it a shot. Start up a journal when you do and drop a link in my perpetual thread. Don't give up!
quinny
Well-Known Member
I think autoflowers are easy to grow . Wen i was growin Advance nutes phperfect were spot on i never had an issue or any sort of issue wen startin usin them before i used them i had alot of problem after that growin was made so much easier amd hardly had a problemAutos are so much harder to grow successfully that I have no idea why some folks they're for beginners.
Heavens no! Your plant is a lovely shade of green and that plus lighting is 90% of a good photo grow.
Get your hands on a photo variety you like and give it a shot. Start up a journal when you do and drop a link in my perpetual thread. Don't give up!
- Thread starter
- #569
Lots of folks grow great autos with all sorts of nutes. They're just not as easy as photos.
I totally agree, and have also heard argument that autos are easier for beginners. I'd say fem photos are the easiest to grow because you have more control of the plant, as long as you have the dark period sorted.
Hey Will11, InTheShed has an excellent journal in which some pretty expert advice is given and experiments are run to compare things like measures for pest management, or root pruning for instance. It's well worth jumping aboard the bus and coming along for the journey. Click on the link called PERPETUAL... A lot of learning is done and shared there.
quinny
Well-Known Member
Never grew photos but from my exsperience with auto there simple
- Thread starter
- #572
I hear you, but Will isn't having the same experience as you are.
quinny
Well-Known Member
Ah ye sorry never meant anythin by it i swear by the AN a amd b they make it easy is alll never had to do anythin other than do abit of tyin dwn ph perfect does the hard work
Thanks Carmen! I’m gonna check out Perpetual now. This community is so awesome. People have been really generous with their knowledge. I’m gonna definitely try a photoperiod. I think the flexibility they give during veg might be just what I need. Thanks for your input!
I’m definitely not having the success quinny is having. I hope to work up to consistent success like that….. Just hasn’t happened yet.
- Thread starter
- #576
You have so much control over a photo that any rookie mistakes you might make can be corrected (even prevented if you tell us what you're gonna do!) by the great hive mind here on the site.
You'll get there no doubt Will.
Here's a link to my perpetual, where I just posted the harvest weight on my last harvest of the year.
Don't be intimidated by the number of pages, just jump in today if you have time!
James Pot
Active Member
what a great guidance, thanks a lotGreetings all! I've had members ask about how I do my LST (low stress training) on my plants so I thought I would do a pictorial on it. My pics are of two different plants but don't let that confuse you. It's just easier to demonstrate that way.
Let's discuss the theory behind LST for a minute. Cannabis plants grow up to the sun. They have a top (apical) cola and side branching. Most of the growth hormones (auxins) go to that apical cola, which is why an untrained plant often has a beautiful huge bud on top and then progressively smaller buds as you head toward the soil. Topping a plant tells the plant that there is no longer an apical cola (damage alert!!!) so it needs to send the auxins to other branches to assure its chances to pass on its genetics. You then end up with two tops from that one.
That's great for photo plants which you can grow as big as you want them to be before you flip them, but autos are on an internal clock. Now many growers top their autos and get great results. I don't. I try to stress autos as little as possible so I do LST.
LST is a method for tricking the plant into thinking it no longer has an apical cola without actually removing it. The method involves pulling the top down flat so that it's not higher than the rest of the plant. The plant still thinks it's lost its apical cola and begins to send the growth hormones to the rest of the branches, but there is no recovery time as there is with topping because nothing has been cut.
As each of the lower branches grows in response, it gets tied down toward the outside of the pot, allowing light and air to get to the rest of the plant, and forcing the plant to continue to evenly spread the auxins.
Let's look at some pics!
I used to start bending the plant when it was much younger. Now I wait until the stem will be close to even with the top edge of the pot after it's bent. This was my Blueberry Auto from last summer.
You can see that I used a rock to hold the stem in place as I bent it. It's important that the base of the stem be upright so you don't put stress on the stem/root connection. Now I use a rock as well as a tie holding the stem in the opposite direction to the bend. This is my current Blue Treacle:
Let's watch the progress of the Blueberry Auto as it goes from the first pic to full buddage!
You can see how I have begun to take the side branching and lay it out flat as well - away from any other growth - using the sticks and twist ties. Flattening each branch forces the plant to spread the auxins equally:
Once the branches outgrow the internal size of the pot, I tie the branches to the edge:
Once they get this far into flower there is no more to be done except watch them grow! I do not untie them until I harvest the plant.
Here is the Blueberry getting close to the end. Can you spot the apical cola? This produced over 4 ounces of dried buds. Not too shabby!
Now let's look at an auto I have currently going into the earliest stages of flower. This one is a Blue Treacle, shown in the second pic with the white wire holding the stem in place opposite the bend. Here is a top view:
And here it is from the side. You can see how flat the top is:
This plant thinks there is no apical cola and is trying its damnedest to develop a new one. Not going to let that happen! I want each cola to be the same size in the end, similar to the last Blueberry pic.
Time for a closer look at the restraints!
My main stem no longer has any room for me to get a pipe cleaner in between the bud sites. No matter! I just grabbed a top fan and tied that down!
And here you can see some of the exposed lower sites that get full light and are close to the same height as the rest of the stem...more hormones!
That's the way I do it. Post questions or comments!
I'll update this thread when the buds develop and we can see if they're as even as the Blueberry was!
- Thread starter
- #578
Glad to help James!what a great guidance, thanks a lot
Subbing into this thread. After some introspection and listening to Coots I’ve confirmed what I was thinking about. I’m all about using the soil food web and giving control back to the plant. It felt counterintuitive to me to continue topping my plants when my whole ethos is giving the control back. It doesn’t make sense to me to give the plant control just to chop its head off. I acknowledge that topping the plant clearly had its benefits, especially since I’m growing photos and can take the extra days/stress.
However, it still felt/feels wrong. This thread though. This lets me get the hormonal shift benefits of topping without inflicting massive trauma on the plant. I’m gonna try this on my plants this grow and see what happens.
However, it still felt/feels wrong. This thread though. This lets me get the hormonal shift benefits of topping without inflicting massive trauma on the plant. I’m gonna try this on my plants this grow and see what happens.
- Thread starter
- #580
Thanks for reading through Keffka!
These days I top and then use what could be called LST to keep the top two nodes flat while the lowers have a chance to catch up (same auxin distribution method though). I found that using LST from the beginning made my plants so wide I had trouble fitting them through the door twice a day!
But anyone without a need to schlep plants in and out morning and night and enough room in their tent can use this technique to generate a shit ton of bud without ever cutting a thing.