Jon's Final Florida Journal For Real

[Jon]

Sour Lifesaver Clone
And a Radical Idea

This plant….damn did my boy nail this cross. (No religion pun intended, lol). It’s Lifesaver #7 x Sour Bubble, his own creation. The internodal spacing is just sick. The color and growth rate are spectacular. It’s even beginning to smell already. She is gorgeous and Yoda, even though you’ll never see that!

So check out these pictures. You can see where I am with the screen and there’s a closeup on what the middle interior lower growth is doing for me so far. F-ing WHOA. ALL of that will make the screen and my middle is already basically finished and filled without me lifting a finger. If you have ever scrogged a plant, you know how extremely rare and dependent on awesome genetics this is. I’m feeling I may fill this screen using only the six branches that are all at the top screen level and the existing central growth. I may be able to lose every single branch below that. We will see soon enough.

But I have a more fun and more radical idea. What do you guys think of this, I’ve never seen it done. There may be for a reason for that, lol. But what if I am able to fill the screen with the six branches you see, which I assert may be doable? That makes anything below that a chop using classic scrog technique. What if we said screw that. I *think* (asterisks indicate an educated guess) I have enough time to allow the secondary/second level ring that you see coming up below the six at the screen to grow out BEYOND the width of the scrog. Like, 3-6” beyond. And I could easily do that. I could stretch a ring out from lower branches and create a ring outside of the scrog circumference and a bit lower. They wouldn’t get as dense as the top buds. But I could trim them down to just the cola bud on the tops and let them grow out. Those, I think, could match the scrog in density.

Otherwise I go classic and chop it all and force her energy into just the scrog. My guess is that the yields would end up about even. The lower buds extra volume would be close to equaling what I’d lose in size up top by dispersing the plants energy that much more. So that said and if it’s even or close as I assert, I may just try it to see if it can be done and if it’s at all worth doing.

Anyone have any thoughts to share on that idea? We’d love to hear them!

 

[Jon]

Is the ViparSpectra older technology. You say it is good for beginners. If I decide to ever start an indoor grow, I will need to find a light that maybe does not cost a whole lot and a tent for beginners. I got an old technology light from Shed for my germinated seedlings. I used a cheap $15 amazon light I used this year and it worked but it is real old technology. The light I was given is a GROWant G5 Pro HiPAR Series and I know it will work fine for seedlings. I still need to figure out how to use the GROWant light I have. All new stuff to me something I have never done before. I really appreciate the light I was given. This light may work for my first 1 plant grow. It is a LED light. Brand new in the box. Never used. Thanks, Shed.

This VS is not old technology, it’s about a year and a half old. The Blurple and diode closeup is from my first grow and although they worked, that’s the old technology. Only four years ago I used them, so that’s how fast the technology changes. As far as starting a first indoor grow, imho you would do well to start with a small tent and small overall setup given your circumstances. Maybe 2x4 or 3x3? The VS tent is only 2x4x5. It fits anywhere. And in that scenario or just hanging the lights in an open space (like a closet if you wanted and can bypass the tent expense and you grow autos since you would have a hard time light sealing it potentially), YES, I honestly think these would be perfect for you. In the tent, autos or photos, they’ll do great for you. They are only $119/each for us with Val’s 420 discount - and you won’t beat the quality for the price. They are super easy to use - no messing with fancy bells and whistles you don’t need. I’m not just using them cuz I owe Val a journal, lol. I sincerely believe in these lights. And you would use them start to finish, so no switching lights out PITA. If it were me I’d give them a close look and maybe even send Val at VS a DM and ask her what she thinks and if she might want to sponsor your first indoor grow. Lots of folks ask, I have often, and it’s not at all out of bounds if you’re nice about it. I can’t speak to the response of course but it wouldn’t hurt to ask!

 

[con]

Sour Lifesaver Clone
And a Radical Idea

This plant….damn did my boy nail this cross. (No religion pun intended, lol). It’s Lifesaver #7 x Sour Bubble, his own creation. The internodal spacing is just sick. The color and growth rate are spectacular. It’s even beginning to smell already. She is gorgeous and Yoda, even though you’ll never see that!

So check out these pictures. You can see where I am with the screen and there’s a closeup on what the middle interior lower growth is doing for me so far. F-ing WHOA. ALL of that will make the screen and my middle is already basically finished and filled without me lifting a finger. If you have ever scrogged a plant, you know how extremely rare and dependent on awesome genetics this is. I’m feeling I may fill this screen using only the six branches that are all at the top screen level and the existing central growth. I may be able to lose every single branch below that. We will see soon enough.

But I have a more fun and more radical idea. What do you guys think of this, I’ve never seen it done. There may be for a reason for that, lol. But what if I am able to fill the screen with the six branches you see, which I assert may be doable? That makes anything below that a chop using classic scrog technique. What if we said screw that. I *think* (asterisks indicate an educated guess) I have enough time to allow the secondary/second level ring that you see coming up below the six at the screen to grow out BEYOND the width of the scrog. Like, 3-6” beyond. And I could easily do that. I could stretch a ring out from lower branches and create a ring outside of the scrog circumference and a bit lower. They wouldn’t get as dense as the top buds. But I could trim them down to just the cola bud on the tops and let them grow out. Those, I think, could match the scrog in density.

Otherwise I go classic and chop it all and force her energy into just the scrog. My guess is that the yields would end up about even. The lower buds extra volume would be close to equaling what I’d lose in size up top by dispersing the plants energy that much more. So that said and if it’s even or close as I assert, I may just try it to see if it can be done and if it’s at all worth doing.

Anyone have any thoughts to share on that idea? We’d love to hear them!

sounds like a good plan & doable

 

[Jon]

sounds like a good plan & doable

Thanks @con! I worry it would work and take so much from the tops that I end up disappointed. It’s basically that risk we’re talking about taking. It sure would look badass though!

 

[StoneOtter]

My guess is, since she'll be in veg a while longer for the outers to arrive, she'll produce plenty more! Good use of your grey matter Jon!

 

[Jon]

My guess is, since she'll be in veg a while longer for the outers to arrive, she'll produce plenty more! Good use of your grey matter Jon!

Thanks @StoneOtter! Yes, the best case scenario is that I can get them out just a couple inches beyond the scrog circumference and let them grow up unfettered from there. I just looked again and as you suggest, I agree! I believe there will be enough time before the flip to completely catch them up to scrog level! Then effectively what we are doing is extending the size/circumference of our scrog without having to add any infrastructure. I am a little surprised now that I have talked it out a little that I haven’t seen anyone try this, although odds are it has been 1000x and I just haven’t seen it.

 

[Jon]

Good afternoon @Keffka. I have a question for you if you have a few minutes today at some point?

I have three photos in little half gallon pots as a tiny pot/yield experiment in this grow. Each is on the same Geo/RGR regimen as the clone and the Bubblegum Sherbet (a super majestic looking plant, bravo Blimburn!). Two of them are smallish and arguably a bit on the runtish side, but both healthy and happy. The third, a Skywalker, is simply gorgeous. Awesome growth, awesome plant formation, awesome nodal spacing, and too early to call on internodal but whatever - she’s a self made little superstar. I’m so in love with her that I have decided I cannot force her to hate 2/3 of her life in a root bound pot just for a yield experiment, and I can keep the other two for that. One is even a second Skywalker so I’ll have a contrast. The sweetie - I’m going to uppot her. That’s the backstory you need.

She is draining the pot to bone dry each day literally three times. I’m watering her three times for every one of the other two! Point being, although I *could*, I am not going to wait to uppot her. As you say, to really establish the colony I want for max initial impact after uppotting takes about a week at least, right? I don’t have a week. She’s tied to the flip on the scrog in terms of timing and she is already past uppotting time size wise.

So the question is, how can I get her going real well asap if I’m uppotting into a fresh (non-colonial established, lol, if you will) pot? I get that there will still be the existing root ball colony, and that may sustain her I guess? And I’ll add my bokashi and frass and kelp and Great White to my mix as I have to the uppot blend. But what if I were to waste a little Great White and put a small layer on a plate and roll the root ball in it before I uppot her? Completely coat the root ball. Would that potentially help offset the lack of prep time? Doesn’t the myco in the GW colonize faster than the myco from the dry Geo?

Does that question even make sense?

Thank you!

 

[Jon]

Here is the Skywalker sweetie I’m going to uppot and the subject of the previous post:

 

[Jon]

This VS is not old technology, it’s about a year and a half old. The Blurple and diode closeup is from my first grow and although they worked, that’s the old technology. Only four years ago I used them, so that’s how fast the technology changes. As far as starting a first indoor grow, imho you would do well to start with a small tent and small overall setup given your circumstances. Maybe 2x4 or 3x3? The VS tent is only 2x4x5. It fits anywhere. And in that scenario or just hanging the lights in an open space (like a closet if you wanted and can bypass the tent expense and you grow autos since you would have a hard time light sealing it potentially), YES, I honestly think these would be perfect for you. In the tent, autos or photos, they’ll do great for you. They are only $119/each for us with Val’s 420 discount - and you won’t beat the quality for the price. They are super easy to use - no messing with fancy bells and whistles you don’t need. I’m not just using them cuz I owe Val a journal, lol. I sincerely believe in these lights. And you would use them start to finish, so no switching lights out PITA. If it were me I’d give them a close look and maybe even send Val at VS a DM and ask her what she thinks and if she might want to sponsor your first indoor grow. Lots of folks ask, I have often, and it’s not at all out of bounds if you’re nice about it. I can’t speak to the response of course but it wouldn’t hurt to ask!

Hey Val - since I’m an overly forward ass, and since I truly love these lights, here’s my wish list for the R&D department:
- take the XS 1500 Pro and create us a 5x5 version
- size it one of two ways: either static bars, in which case it should be sized for a 5x5 as the KS3000 is sized to a 3x3, or, to really attract higher end growers, use bars that rotate at least 45 degrees each way. In that case the size could be cut down.
- use only the most current and highest end diodes, while keeping the existing spectrum. The existing spectrum works very well for full cycle growth.
- use the highest end driver you can find, equally as current tech as the diodes, and make it detachable, again a la the KS3000, and with an equally long cord.
- give us a 360 degree 100% infinite dimmer.
- consider multiple dimmers for various spectrums.
- make it passive so that we have supreme heat dispersion.
- make it at least 700 watts.
- retain the same build quality as the XS 1500 Pro.
- make it unfold just like the KS3000, but so that it can be adjusted in the middle to make a tent roof type shape in whatever angle you need if necessary instead of always having to stay perfectly flat.
- do not compromise the quality of the electronic components in favor of the diodes and driver.

See? I told you I was an overly forward ass. And congrats, you just entered the high end LED market. I’ll pay you $800-1000 any day for the light I describe.

Heh.

 

[Jon]

Strawberry Gorilla
Flower Time!

Well, suddenly we have arrived at the beginning of flower. The first picture shows you what I consider the beginning of flower for autos. This means tomorrow morning I will switch her feed to Flower Week 1 of the @Remo Nutrients feed chart. Remo, if you guys happen to see this and wouldn’t mind commenting on my interpretation of when flower on an auto begins relative to your nute use it would be greatly appreciated!

This also means I am done any and all training. I am not training through her stretch. From now to the end she goes all vertical. Note how I took care to make the canopy as flat as possible and anchored the colas towards their ends so that the colas are all pointing out horizontal to the ground. This allows me to begin with an accurate reference point. Now as they grow up vertically I have only two concerns: defoliation and maintaining even height on the colas, ie, making slight adjustments as necessary to kill any dominance that will inevitably develop shortly. Once they’re done growing vertically the goal is to end up with each cola the exact same distance away from the light. I will trim out as necessary any new growth in an attempt to end up with a flarf free plant.

Hope all that was clear. Lol!

 

[con]

Strawberry Gorilla
Flower Time!

Well, suddenly we have arrived at the beginning of flower. The first picture shows you what I consider the beginning of flower for autos. This means tomorrow morning I will switch her feed to Flower Week 1 of the @Remo Nutrients feed chart. Remo, if you guys happen to see this and wouldn’t mind commenting on my interpretation of when flower on an auto begins relative to your nute use it would be greatly appreciated!

This also means I am done any and all training. I am not training through her stretch. From now to the end she goes all vertical. Note how I took care to make the canopy as flat as possible and anchored the colas towards their ends so that the colas are all pointing out horizontal to the ground. This allows me to begin with an accurate reference point. Now as they grow up vertically I have only two concerns: defoliation and maintaining even height on the colas, ie, making slight adjustments as necessary to kill any dominance that will inevitably develop shortly. Once they’re done growing vertically the goal is to end up with each cola the exact same distance away from the light. I will trim out as necessary any new growth in an attempt to end up with a flarf free plant.

Hope all that was clear. Lol!

looks awesome there Jon can't wait to watch this one fill out, yeah i checked out sinister minister victor wooten's solo & defenetly can play & a few other vid's not bad

 

[Jon]

looks awesome there Jon can't wait to watch this one fill out, yeah i checked out sinister minister victor wooten's solo & defenetly can play & a few other vid's not bad

Thanks @con. Yeah, he’s a beast alright. He played bass with the Jackson 5 when he was 8 years old.

 

[InTheShed]

Is the ViparSpectra older technology. You say it is good for beginners. If I decide to ever start an indoor grow, I will need to find a light that maybe does not cost a whole lot and a tent for beginners. I got an old technology light from Shed for my germinated seedlings. I used a cheap $15 amazon light I used this year and it worked but it is real old technology. The light I was given is a GROWant G5 Pro HiPAR Series and I know it will work fine for seedlings. I still need to figure out how to use the GROWant light I have. All new stuff to me something I have never done before. I really appreciate the light I was given. This light may work for my first 1 plant grow. It is a LED light. Brand new in the box. Never used. Thanks, Shed.

It's a pretty cool light as I recall, with settings to simulate cloud cover and sunsets and the like. If you're not going to use it my only request is you pass it along to someone who will. It's a great light for a 2x2 and will grow a great plant in there.

I have enough time to allow the secondary/second level ring that you see coming up below the six at the screen to grow out BEYOND the width of the scrog. Like, 3-6” beyond. And I could easily do that.

Didn't you do that for the last in-pot scrog you did, or at least intend to? Can't remember if it made it beyond the edge or not now.

I worry it would work and take so much from the tops that I end up disappointed.

My (probably not original) theory on plants is that - under ideal conditions - the maximum number of productive tops is determined by the size of the space for roots. Cola Monster can grow amazing plants in solo cups but I'm not sure even he could fill a scrog with one! A long veg will get you beyond the edge, and a productive harvest will be powered by how much soil there is.

 

[Azimuth]

Holy crap you grow some good looking plants!

I like the idea of the experiment. We'll all learn something and you take all the risk.

 

[CaptainLucky]

This VS is not old technology, it’s about a year and a half old. The Blurple and diode closeup is from my first grow and although they worked, that’s the old technology. Only four years ago I used them, so that’s how fast the technology changes. As far as starting a first indoor grow, imho you would do well to start with a small tent and small overall setup given your circumstances. Maybe 2x4 or 3x3? The VS tent is only 2x4x5. It fits anywhere. And in that scenario or just hanging the lights in an open space (like a closet if you wanted and can bypass the tent expense and you grow autos since you would have a hard time light sealing it potentially), YES, I honestly think these would be perfect for you. In the tent, autos or photos, they’ll do great for you. They are only $119/each for us with Val’s 420 discount - and you won’t beat the quality for the price. They are super easy to use - no messing with fancy bells and whistles you don’t need. I’m not just using them cuz I owe Val a journal, lol. I sincerely believe in these lights. And you would use them start to finish, so no switching lights out PITA. If it were me I’d give them a close look and maybe even send Val at VS a DM and ask her what she thinks and if she might want to sponsor your first indoor grow. Lots of folks ask, I have often, and it’s not at all out of bounds if you’re nice about it. I can’t speak to the response of course but it wouldn’t hurt to ask!

I can attest to the quality of the @ViparSpectra XS-1500 Pro. Imho you’re not going to find a better light for the money . It’s really an amazing light. CL.

 

[Keffka]

I've read about the differences in penetration, and plant morphology, and I've seen how much stretch a red heavy spectrum can induce firsthand.
What I've read also indicates that it's UVB that has the greatest effect on resin and cannabinoid production, not reds.
UVB is the opposite end of the spectrum from reds, and carries a lot more energy. The plant doesn't need protection from red shifted light, as it isn't really energetic enough to cause damage. It's like humans and sunburn. That's caused by UV radiation. Intense enough IR can cause damage, but that's just straight up heat, not radiation burns which can damage DNA, especially in a seed.
You put on sunblock to block UV, and you don't get sunburn, but you can get heatstroke. As I understand it trichomes full of cannabinoids and terpenes are the plant's sunblock.
I really would like to see the weights and potency tests of some clones flowered under HPS, CMH, and a mixed spectrum LED, but I'd have to team up with an HID grower to do that.

So I dug in a bit on the light stuff. I’ll create a separate reply since it’s a bit more heady and I want to make sure I keep it consistent. Basically we’re both right in different ways, per usual lol. UV spurs trichome development but the heat of red also triggers defenses and hormones. A lot of it falls back on the rhizophagy bacteria which leads me to Jon’s Q

@Keffka, I’m wondering what is the difference between a colony one has established using say Geo/RGR like I am (semi-organic) vs any grow with mineralized soil one made themselves as you use. (Full organic)? Isn’t the same exact colony of the same microbes by name made in both cases? And if that’s true, then how does one apply the full organic term to soil one began with Ocean Forest as one of you said you do I forget who now. I get we are tent growing and compromising all over, and that may be part of the answer. I get that there is a difference, but I’m still not clear about the exact nature of the difference, if that hopefully makes sense. I’m feeling as if the ‘crobes you make with mineralized soil are in some way superior to a colony made from Geo.

I’m gonna hit this one first then I’ll read in full your next post. So, the microbes are gonna be a lot of the same microbes whether it’s something like Geoflora or a mineralized soil, especially because a lot of the amendments in Geoflora are the same inputs we use in our mineralized soils. The main difference is going to be balance and hospitability (is this even a word lol?).

Using something like GF is like using a shotgun. You hit your medium with a wide range of microbes, but their range falls off quick. If you’re in just a random medium feeding GF you’re going to need to replenish the microbes every couple weeks. There’s no balance to it, it’s just all the beneficial microbes all at once with no regard to the medium or plants preferences.

Since there’s no balance and we’re providing these by hand, the majority die away before accomplishing much, hence why we need to top dress every couple weeks. This is similar to using organic acids, in that we’re deciding what microbes the plant gets. It’s better than that though because it’s still microbes doing the heavy lifting.

When using a mineralized soil, we can tweak which microbes dominate by adjusting our inputs. The major difference though is that we’ve created a specific medium and environment to spawn, feed, house, and recycle microbes. This allows the microbes to regulate themselves with the grow, in ratios the plant itself prefers, when they jump from the seed into your medium. Instead of throwing all the microbes at the plant every two weeks, we’re raising the populations the plant itself wants.

This allows us to do even cooler things like strain specific soils. Rhizophagy bacteria play a massive role in the quality and growth of our root hairs, our trichomes, and a whole host of other processes. The way they spawn drives the growth itself. These rhizophagy bacteria are part of the microbe population that jumps into our medium from the seed. We want to keep these around and multiplying. We do this with our mineralized soils and the more we reuse these soils, the faster our plants grow at a higher quality.

This is where I believe the path to connoisseur cannabis is, in these recycled soils, maximizing the genetic potential of every strain.

Starting with something like FFOF as a base and tweaking from there is more about convenience and budget than anything. It’s easier to get it together and get everything started and still produce outstanding quality stuff while you dial in the recipe. It’s a known mix that fits the requirements with a decent rep. If I were doing it professionally I would go much more in depth and create a soil through soil testing, but I’m at home so I don’t mind going the long way.

 

[Jon]

So I dug in a bit on the light stuff. I’ll create a separate reply since it’s a bit more heady and I want to make sure I keep it consistent. Basically we’re both right in different ways, per usual lol. UV spurs trichome development but the heat of red also triggers defenses and hormones. A lot of it falls back on the rhizophagy bacteria which leads me to Jon’s Q



I’m gonna hit this one first then I’ll read in full your next post. So, the microbes are gonna be a lot of the same microbes whether it’s something like Geoflora or a mineralized soil, especially because a lot of the amendments in Geoflora are the same inputs we use in our mineralized soils. The main difference is going to be balance and hospitability (is this even a word lol?).

Using something like GF is like using a shotgun. You hit your medium with a wide range of microbes, but their range falls off quick. If you’re in just a random medium feeding GF you’re going to need to replenish the microbes every couple weeks. There’s no balance to it, it’s just all the beneficial microbes all at once with no regard to the medium or plants preferences.

Since there’s no balance and we’re providing these by hand, the majority die away before accomplishing much, hence why we need to top dress every couple weeks. This is similar to using organic acids, in that we’re deciding what microbes the plant gets. It’s better than that though because it’s still microbes doing the heavy lifting.

When using a mineralized soil, we can tweak which microbes dominate by adjusting our inputs. The major difference though is that we’ve created a specific medium and environment to spawn, feed, house, and recycle microbes. This allows the microbes to regulate themselves with the grow, in ratios the plant itself prefers, when they jump from the seed into your medium. Instead of throwing all the microbes at the plant every two weeks, we’re raising the populations the plant itself wants.

This allows us to do even cooler things like strain specific soils. Rhizophagy bacteria play a massive role in the quality and growth of our root hairs, our trichomes, and a whole host of other processes. The way they spawn drives the growth itself. These rhizophagy bacteria are part of the microbe population that jumps into our medium from the seed. We want to keep these around and multiplying. We do this with our mineralized soils and the more we reuse these soils, the faster our plants grow at a higher quality.

This is where I believe the path to connoisseur cannabis is, in these recycled soils, maximizing the genetic potential of every strain.

Starting with something like FFOF as a base and tweaking from there is more about convenience and budget than anything. It’s easier to get it together and get everything started and still produce outstanding quality stuff while you dial in the recipe. It’s a known mix that fits the requirements with a decent rep. If I were doing it professionally I would go much more in depth and create a soil through soil testing, but I’m at home so I don’t mind going the long way.

Wow. Thank you. Your answers are so thorough and you take so much time - it’s truly altruistic and beyond appreciated.

Ok I understand about the FFOH, and what you said is roughly the same as what I said - it’s an acceptable compromise.

On the recycled soil: my often mentioned Yoda in Oregon has five or six 100 foot greenhouses with four troughs in each for plants that run the length of the facility. He tells me he has used the same soil for almost 20 years! He says his soil is his most important aspect and he estimates it’s $ value at 100K. I always thought he was tossing hyperbole at me. Your explanation here tells me he is not, and also explains why he grows the finest weed in all regards that I have ever experienced anywhere. And as you say, he tells me if I could taste his weed from year one of that soil compared to the weed now I wouldn’t believe it. Again, this blows my mind. I don’t know if he makes strain specific mixes. I do know his ingredients, but he considers it proprietary and will not even give me the proportions. I am also not allowed to post his mix, sorry, I promised. But many of his ingredients are mirrored in your descriptions. (This dude also uses only frogs for his pest control! A purist like you all the way).

Your explanation about the difference is also understood. Very clear. Makes complete sense. I also see this is a permanent, long term thing we are talking about.

So on all fronts above, thanks!!

 

[Jon]

looks awesome there Jon can't wait to watch this one fill out, yeah i checked out sinister minister victor wooten's solo & defenetly can play & a few other vid's not bad

@con - as I said before, I consider the ring to be a sort of basic training 101 type thing. I’m not trying to single you out, I just tag you cuz we are talking about it but hopefully others can maybe benefit too. There are many forms of training that start with a ring. It’s a great skill to learn for any future training endeavors and the knowledge will serve you well long term. So that said, here’s the next step to my style of “ring” training on this particular plant.

You have established a nice evenly spaced out ring. You have ensured that it’s flat as you go into flower with a fully formed ring in a perfect world. So what’s the next step?

For me, the next step is to clear out the center all the way down. Anything that gets cleared from here will be light blocked bullshit you don’t need. I like to clear it out as the step I do now, as early as I can. That way I have a nice central empty core that can even be watered down if you want, and I can see every little new growth crap that emerges and remove it. I will keep the central core clean like this the rest of the grow.

Then we relax and wait a while and watch and enjoy. Just gently affect individual anchored colas as they grow upwards to maintain that sweet flatness and not let the colas that want to become dominant take over. And defoliate as required.

It’s an easy and very useful skill and it makes you feel really good when you see you did it right and what is to come. From the point you see here, if I keep her healthy, I cannot lose on yield for the size of this plant. It’s a sort of guaranteed way to come out ahead, and it’s a particularly important skill to have for growing autos in my opinion, because it is an effective training style that can be completed quickly - obviously important for auto training as the fuse is burning!

 

[Jon]

@con - as I said before, I consider the ring to be a sort of basic training 101 type thing. I’m not trying to single you out, I just tag you cuz we are talking about it but hopefully others can maybe benefit too. There are many forms of training that start with a ring. It’s a great skill to learn for any future training endeavors and the knowledge will serve you well long term. So that said, here’s the next step to my style of “ring” training on this particular plant.

You have established a nice evenly spaced out ring. You have ensured that it’s flat as you go into flower with a fully formed ring in a perfect world. So what’s the next step?

For me, the next step is to clear out the center all the way down. Anything that gets cleared from here will be light blocked bullshit you don’t need. I like to clear it out as the step I do now, as early as I can. That way I have a nice central empty core that can even be watered down if you want, and I can see every little new growth crap that emerges and remove it. I will keep the central core clean like this the rest of the grow.

Then we relax and wait a while and watch and enjoy. Just gently affect individual anchored colas as they grow upwards to maintain that sweet flatness and not let the colas that want to become dominant take over. And defoliate as required.

It’s an easy and very useful skill and it makes you feel really good when you see you did it right and what is to come. From the point you see here, if I keep her healthy, I cannot lose on yield for the size of this plant. It’s a sort of guaranteed way to come out ahead, and it’s a particularly important skill to have for growing autos in my opinion, because it is an effective training style that can be completed quickly - obviously important for auto training as the fuse is burning!

Also worthy of note is this little ring of interior growth. See how each of these is a first node growth from each branch? Those I keep. That ring is going to become the fill for the middle. It’s perfectly set up that way. I’ll likely kill node two of emerging growth on each as well, so as to not get too clogged in the middle.

 

[Jon]

It's a pretty cool light as I recall, with settings to simulate cloud cover and sunsets and the like. If you're not going to use it my only request is you pass it along to someone who will. It's a great light for a 2x2 and will grow a great plant in there.

Didn't you do that for the last in-pot scrog you did, or at least intend to? Can't remember if it made it beyond the edge or not now.

My (probably not original) theory on plants is that - under ideal conditions - the maximum number of productive tops is determined by the size of the space for roots. Cola Monster can grow amazing plants in solo cups but I'm not sure even he could fill a scrog with one! A long veg will get you beyond the edge, and a productive harvest will be powered by how much soil there is.

Forgot this one: yes, with the square homemade bamboo scrog in the 3x3 a while ago they grew out from below and some made it up and some not so much. But that one was accidental. This one I want to try by design. All it really is is a way to actually make the lower branches useful and extend the size a little for a one plant scrog screen. If it works.