Kyle Kushman's training technique

[josh223]

I want to share with you a training technique that I've recently become aware of. It is promoted by Kyle Kushman. If you don't know who he is, he's the breeder of Strawberry Cough and many new generation Haze strains. He only grows organically and has a new brand of vegan organic grow media and nutrients.

The technique itself is very simple. You basically grab a stalk below a leaf cluster with one hand, grab the stalk above the cluster with the other hand, then gently twist until you feel a slight pop. What this does is stress the cambium in the stalk. The result is a dramatic increase in bud size and weight.

Now this does not seem to cause any undue stress to the plant. A bulge in the stem will appear but the stalk itself will strengthen. This seems a lot easier than traditional Super Cropping.

A person could do a web search and find videos better illustrating this technique. I've been using Kyle's little trick for over a month with great success. No more broken stems from failed Super Cropping. I'm currently using this technique along with the Back Budding technique that Light Addict shared a few months back. So far so good.

 

[josh223]

I'll try to get some pictures up tonight. I have a large plant with about three weeks to go that I've used this technique on. She's also been traditionally Super Cropped and I have used Light Addict's Back Building Techniques.

From my personal opinions, I will no longer Super Crop. Kyle's and L.A's techniques will be used extensively in the future.

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

Hi Josh,

Believe it or not, I accidentally did this on one of my plants that I was trying to super crop. I misinterpreted the super cropping technique and twisted the stem until I heard the snap. She still has a pretty good bump on her stalk & then later someone recommended Light Addicts Back Building Technique. There is a considerable difference in size of the buds & colas of the plant compared to the others. I thought I made a mistake, LOL, just wish I made that mistake on the 8 others!

 

[josh223]

First, I know that there are some dead leaves that need to be removed. The stats are: this is my original Holy Grail Kush mother plant. She was started in soil, then converted to the Hempy Bucket Method (passive hydroponics) in a 5 gallon bucket. She outgrew my small veg tent-hence the need to flower her out. May not be Plant of the Month material, but this is the largest indoor plant I've grown. I'm expecting just under 1/4 lb of dried flowers of of her. Oh yeah, she's around three weeks from harvest.

Here she is taking up more than 2'x2' of the primest real estate in my 4'x4' veg tent.

Took some effort but I was able to move her out of the tent for better picture lighting. She's heavy and I gave her around 4 gallons last night.

So, onto the subject of this thread, the training technique. Here's stem pictures of what this looks like.

Now this technique can be used for the same reasons as LST and Super Cropping; growing more horizontally. That's fine and all, a person would have to use a bit more of a heavier hand, but it works. Even if you aim for pure vertical height, this is still relevant. Many strains have weak stems supporting heavy buds. Super Silver Haze comes to mind. This technique actually strengthens the stems. It makes them better capable of supporting bud weight.

The reason that I really like this is because it has thus-far worked 100% of the time. My phenotype of HGK seems to have a really robust cambium layer. As gentle as I am, when I attempt to supercrop I have a less than acceptable rate of success. I break stems, kill main colas, etc. I also feel that this 'twist method' is less stressful on the plant.

Here's some pics of the Super Cropping this plant has received.

Couple bud shots.

And just for giggles and because I don't have a current grow journal, here's my first attempt at SOG. Same HGK pheno.

 

[josh223]

I mistakenly double posted two pics. On is mislabeled in the twist technique and the other is under the LST section. My apologies.

 

[Lester Freeman]

That was a sight to see my friend!! It's great to see the dungeon again Especially with that big plant there! I can really see what the training technique has done for you and that plant. This is pretty interesting stuff, will have to put some more reading into the subject later. Thanks for inviting me to this thread. And wow you're right that is the biggest plant I've seen you grow in that tent. Keep up the great work partner!

 

[josh223]

I spent a month trimming her down a little at a time before flowering. She's around a year old or so now. I took many clones from her. Lots of bud sites. Can't really tell from the pics but I had to remove about 25% in the center about 6-7 weeks into flowering. She was just too dense. Think I did alright. Never going to attempt that with a 25% Sativa that stretches 200% in a 6' tall tent again. But that's why I wanted to share this technique. It works well. That's why I felt the need to share.

 

[CronicHempHog]

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

Great Pics Josh, I'm going to use this technique instead of the super-cropping from now on. It's easier for me than super-cropping & I like the results. I'll never get a "Plant of the Month" with all of the LST/HST & Kyle's methods that I use, but I know I'll have short bushy little buggers that can handle the weight of big buds & colas!

Thanks for starting this thread! Great Info!

 

[CronicHempHog]

actually if I read it right its just about the same thing
pop the stem do that to super crop the only diff is the bend in the stem
even when I do super crop sometimes a couple hrs later its straight up and you hardly see the bend
but I do super crop out of necessity to keep my plant height down

 

[josh223]

I've also achieved the same effect by squeezing a stem between my thumb and index finger-actually crushing the stem. Sounds counter productive but the plants don't seem to mind. They actually become stronger.

 

[geturgrowon]

im here, subbed bro !

 

[josh223]

If you haven't seen, I have a new journal up, top thread in my signature.

The large plant mentioned in this thread is going to be harvested tomorrow evening. Here's some hour old pics of her
.

 

[Lester Freeman]

Yeah, that's gonna be one hell of a trim job.

I see the nitrogen was depleted in a nice and balanced manner, that should be some really fine and delicate puff.

 

[josh223]

@ RL

The Botanicare Kind acts a lot differently than the former brand. The feeding schedule has a gradual tapering off of Nitrogen. The older leaves really get tapped out. The former brand gradually built up ppm wise with no flush needed. Crazy, with the old stuff I could have spent, burst trichs; over ripe, but the older fan leaves would be perfectly green. Kind of a steep learning curve there.

I'm just an informed idiot. Plant biology is not my forte. Still, I'm very pleased with our results.

Our SCROG plant is ready to get Kyle's technique. I'm going to try and do a photo-op with that plant on this thread. Another two weeks after she'll be getting Light Addict's back building technique initiated. Not sure if you read up on that one...It's a keeper. Let me know if you need a link because this is something that could be of your current benefit.

 

[SativaSpirit]

Can you share the link even if he dont need it? i would like to read it, I will try the one on this thread real soon!
Thanks

edit: btw, your link is broken for your latest journal, you need to remove the '='

 

[josh223]

SativaSpirit, here's the Link:

LA's Quick Guide To Simple Backbuilding Technique For Buds!

In my opinion, this is the simplest way to get dense nugs, even with Sativa dominant strains. RL needs to check this out.

This works and works well. So far I've implemented at 1/2 way trough 12/12 photoperiod and 2/3rds through. Simply amazing results.

 

[momomonster]

josh how different is this to super cropping other than the way in which you bend the plant. to an untrained eye like mine it looks almost the same. i used to crush soft stems in between my fingers but sometimes twist denser stems due to its thickness. thanks again mate.

 

[josh223]

@ momomonster, Kyle's tecniche sounds very similar to what you described. The main difference is not "kinking" or 'nearly' bending a stem in a 90 degree angle. This technique is similar to some other techniques. I'm going to blow this page up in the upcoming weeks per this subject.

Until then, the tech is not bending. Sure, some branches will lay over. That's fine and good---acts the same as LST.

Picture one of your plants...say there's a node that is getting taller than her sisters. Lower node in one hand, upper node in the other...feel me? Twist your hands in opposite directions. It can be that simple or using "crushing" techs, could be more complicated.

A person could google the subject, even find viral vids.I think, perhaps a person could look for a vid named 'cracking stems like Kyle'.

 

[Buddy Ebsen]

SativaSpirit, here's the Link:

LA's Quick Guide To Simple Backbuilding Technique For Buds!

In my opinion, this is the simplest way to get dense nugs, even with Sativa dominant strains. RL needs to check this out.

This works and works well. So far I've implemented at 1/2 way trough 12/12 photoperiod and 2/3rds through. Simply amazing results.

I second this motion!