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FINAL FLIP PREP POST #1 of 2
Demo Continued
Ghost Train Haze Final Canopy Prep
This is How We Go to WAR
Grow/Veg Day 69
In looking at the amount of work it takes to do this final canopy prep for the flip tomorrow, it was a little daunting. As I've made clear and you can see, it really IS a ton of work, and frankly I'm pretty psyched for this outdoor grow without all this craziness, lol. I need a break. So I decided to get started and do at least one of the plants today. I chose the Ghost Train Haze to start with.
It is easier for me to present the demonstration in terms of picture by picture, and I think it's clearer for the reader and certainly makes for a shorter overall post with less verbiage. This will be a two part post for the sake of the demo, as the system only allows for 10 photos done the way I post them (without using the "attach multiple photos" button, which I can't stand) and to truly show this step takes more than 10. Please refer to post #2 of 2 later on to see the finished plant and a few words on that.
So.....
Pictures 1-4 show you my first step, creating the bonds. You take the common household items pictured (ok, so bamboo isn't a common household item, gimme a break, lol) and you create a ton of the chain/post system as pictured. A quick cut and snap at the dirt end, followed by 10 seconds of whittle with the knife, allows you to have a more pointed end so that you aren't crushing your roots as you push in the posts. The twist ties in this case are secured with duct tape, as they are going to be tested. This is not when you want the tape coming loose and messing up your perfect canopy cuz you didn't pay attention to detail. These are about 18" long, which is longer than all the sticks used up to now. This is so you can use the same ones for as long as possible and simply move the ties up as the plant gets taller. The less you have to mess with stuff from here on out, the better, and this at least allows you to not constantly be pulling stakes in and out of your dirt for 14 or 19 or 22 days or however long the stretch goes for.
Pictures 5-7 show you the starting point on the plant now that you have your chains done. Picture 5 is where you have chosen one of the main colas (they are easily identified at this point) to start with. Tie it down to where you want it. This is going to be the strongest, thickest branch on the plant and the one that if you break it you'll be the most dismayed about. It sucks. So don't do that. GO SLOW. Be careful. Push the branch down first with your finger and see what it'll give you. Use several sticks to tie down any of these main colas as they are the strongest ones most likely to pull out your stakes, and you want the whole branch down ideally with as little a hill in the middle of the branch as possible. Use scotch tape to secure the other end of the twist tie back to the post after you have the plant hooked and positioned, at least with the main colas, as again, this will make it easier to adjust as you go and we stretch. The cola pictured has three stakes along it's length to hold it in place securely. Once you secure the branch, you will see what Picture 6 shows, which is the growth you have developed without even knowing it along the stem of this main cola branch. As you can see it's quite significant. Four buds that'll all be real buds just right there on top of everything you already saw. It's like fricking magic. Picture 7 shows you how I secure the back end of the twist tie so that it's easy to move later. The duct taped end stays where it is.
Pictures 8-10 show you slowly working your way around the plant. Defoliate as you establish a completed piece of pie, or maybe every eighth of the circle. Once that piece of pie is done, continue to the next. In Picture 8 you see a piece of pie section finished before you defoliate that piece. Picture 9 shows it defoliated and all the growth you didn't even know was there. And Picture 10 shows you about 2/3 of the way home around the plant.
Don't worry about getting it perfect the first time around the plant, just get it as close as you can. When you are finished you will do the tweaking final step, where you will simply push in the branches necessary to achieve a perfectly flat canopy, and tweak the defol a little bit. That part is simple. You can't tell in the pictures, but there are some branches which instead of needing to be brought out and down, need to be brought UP. I do that to them too. Raise them by using a twist tie from a next door tie down (you'll have plenty) and sit the stem up on top so it's supported and stays up with your canopy instead of falling back down to underneath where it'll get no light and you might as well chop it. You are maxing out the buds that will be your bounty now, and those underneath branches may very well be legit if they have long enough stems to make it out to the canopy. If they don't, they get the chop. Those are just energy eaters you don't want stealing energy from your bounty buds.
So that concludes Part #1 of our Final Canopy Prep Demo, please see #2 of 2 later on for what the final, finished product looks like as we flip these girls tomorrow. And as always, thank you so much for your interest in my journal.
Demo Continued
Ghost Train Haze Final Canopy Prep
This is How We Go to WAR
Grow/Veg Day 69
In looking at the amount of work it takes to do this final canopy prep for the flip tomorrow, it was a little daunting. As I've made clear and you can see, it really IS a ton of work, and frankly I'm pretty psyched for this outdoor grow without all this craziness, lol. I need a break. So I decided to get started and do at least one of the plants today. I chose the Ghost Train Haze to start with.
It is easier for me to present the demonstration in terms of picture by picture, and I think it's clearer for the reader and certainly makes for a shorter overall post with less verbiage. This will be a two part post for the sake of the demo, as the system only allows for 10 photos done the way I post them (without using the "attach multiple photos" button, which I can't stand) and to truly show this step takes more than 10. Please refer to post #2 of 2 later on to see the finished plant and a few words on that.
So.....
Pictures 1-4 show you my first step, creating the bonds. You take the common household items pictured (ok, so bamboo isn't a common household item, gimme a break, lol) and you create a ton of the chain/post system as pictured. A quick cut and snap at the dirt end, followed by 10 seconds of whittle with the knife, allows you to have a more pointed end so that you aren't crushing your roots as you push in the posts. The twist ties in this case are secured with duct tape, as they are going to be tested. This is not when you want the tape coming loose and messing up your perfect canopy cuz you didn't pay attention to detail. These are about 18" long, which is longer than all the sticks used up to now. This is so you can use the same ones for as long as possible and simply move the ties up as the plant gets taller. The less you have to mess with stuff from here on out, the better, and this at least allows you to not constantly be pulling stakes in and out of your dirt for 14 or 19 or 22 days or however long the stretch goes for.
Pictures 5-7 show you the starting point on the plant now that you have your chains done. Picture 5 is where you have chosen one of the main colas (they are easily identified at this point) to start with. Tie it down to where you want it. This is going to be the strongest, thickest branch on the plant and the one that if you break it you'll be the most dismayed about. It sucks. So don't do that. GO SLOW. Be careful. Push the branch down first with your finger and see what it'll give you. Use several sticks to tie down any of these main colas as they are the strongest ones most likely to pull out your stakes, and you want the whole branch down ideally with as little a hill in the middle of the branch as possible. Use scotch tape to secure the other end of the twist tie back to the post after you have the plant hooked and positioned, at least with the main colas, as again, this will make it easier to adjust as you go and we stretch. The cola pictured has three stakes along it's length to hold it in place securely. Once you secure the branch, you will see what Picture 6 shows, which is the growth you have developed without even knowing it along the stem of this main cola branch. As you can see it's quite significant. Four buds that'll all be real buds just right there on top of everything you already saw. It's like fricking magic. Picture 7 shows you how I secure the back end of the twist tie so that it's easy to move later. The duct taped end stays where it is.
Pictures 8-10 show you slowly working your way around the plant. Defoliate as you establish a completed piece of pie, or maybe every eighth of the circle. Once that piece of pie is done, continue to the next. In Picture 8 you see a piece of pie section finished before you defoliate that piece. Picture 9 shows it defoliated and all the growth you didn't even know was there. And Picture 10 shows you about 2/3 of the way home around the plant.
Don't worry about getting it perfect the first time around the plant, just get it as close as you can. When you are finished you will do the tweaking final step, where you will simply push in the branches necessary to achieve a perfectly flat canopy, and tweak the defol a little bit. That part is simple. You can't tell in the pictures, but there are some branches which instead of needing to be brought out and down, need to be brought UP. I do that to them too. Raise them by using a twist tie from a next door tie down (you'll have plenty) and sit the stem up on top so it's supported and stays up with your canopy instead of falling back down to underneath where it'll get no light and you might as well chop it. You are maxing out the buds that will be your bounty now, and those underneath branches may very well be legit if they have long enough stems to make it out to the canopy. If they don't, they get the chop. Those are just energy eaters you don't want stealing energy from your bounty buds.
So that concludes Part #1 of our Final Canopy Prep Demo, please see #2 of 2 later on for what the final, finished product looks like as we flip these girls tomorrow. And as always, thank you so much for your interest in my journal.
