Should i still be giving them nutrients?

[ToKe Up]

Hey guys i need to borrow your expertise in the growing department. My plants are 1m 20cm in height, i have 3 of them. Now my question is should i still be giving them nutrients, and if so seeing as there are pistols how often should i apply the nutrients?They only have pistols while other plants that i have seen have buds at this time. I give them a teaspoon of multigrow and sulphate of potash mixed in with water every three days, is this too much or too less and how often should i feed them. Please i need your help.btw i am in nsw

cheers !!!

Edited January 6, 2004 by ToKe Up

[ThcAholic]

..Outdoors I presume?? Wel i'd lighten up on the watering a little. When I do water, I'd be Giving them a Full strength of Thrive Soluable all purpose (or similar - High in Nitrogen) mix 15-20L once a week for consistant warm weather periods, once a fortnight for cooler weather. Once she goes to flower, (or say 2 waterings from now), change to a Water Soluable Flower and Fruit blend. This contains More Pk and Ph, than the Nitrogen rich all=purpose (veg) blend.......

 

..Have U previously dug in any Organic Nutrients to the Soil?? If U have, Unless the plants look Stunted/pale yellow (or yellow), don't apply water soluable fert's any more than 1nce a Fortnight......

 

...............ThcAholic....

[ToKe Up]

yeh thcaholic i have previously dug in seasol ,nitrosol, and charlie carp into the soil on a weekly basis. One more question is there anything i can do to make them bushier besides trimming them>??

thanks for your info too

~!!

[Luke Skywalker]

Tie them down.

[ToKe Up]

tie them down, how do i do that, or is there a specific topic on here that tells you how to tie them down??

they are bout 1m 30, how do you tie something that tall down

any info would be appreciated

cheers!!

[Luke Skywalker]

Outdoors you could use tent pegs or stakes driven into the ground around the plant, to which you tie the branches via lines and bend them down this way, or even just tie upper branches with twistie tie, pantihose, natural fibers or even rubber bands down to either the main stalk or lower branches. The aim should be to keep the tops of the plant even, so that they all grow at the same time instead of producing a single "leader" or "crown" bud which takes most of the energy of the plant.

 

The tops of the branches on mj are fairly supple, and you can use ties to pull these branches down to a horizontal position. This will let in more light to the lower buds as well as encouraging the development of many more crowns than normal. It has a very similar effect on the plants as tipping or topping the plants, but without actually removing any plant material or the hormones they accumulate.

 

Check out the Growing FAQ here, there should be something on tipping and tying in there. You can also see the effects of tying down branches in my grow threads, as this is my main method of increasing yeild and coverage in my growroom.

[ToKe Up]

Thanx heaps luke skywalker that was very useful.

So when you talk about tying a plant down you mean tie down the branches of the plant not the actual plant in itself. i thought tying it down consisted of bending the plant at an angle. Instead you have clarified that you tie down the branches coming off the stem, thanx alot i appreciate it.One last thing i lloked for pictures of "outdoor" plants tied down and i couldnt find anything, i looked in the FAQ section and i even looked for your topics i couldnt find anything though, if possible could you please post a link or topic where it has a pic of a tied down plant.

 

 

when you say "the aim is to keep the tops of the plant even", what do you mean by that?

 

thanx again mate!!

Edited January 10, 2004 by ToKe Up

[Luke Skywalker]

Thanx heaps luke skywalker that was very useful.

So when you talk about tying a plant down you mean tie down the branches of the plant not the actual plant in itself. i thought tying it down consisted of bending the plant at an angle. Instead you have clarified that you tie down the branches coming off the stem, thanx alot i appreciate it.One last thing i lloked for pictures of "outdoor" plants tied down and i couldnt find anything, i looked in the FAQ section and i even looked for your topics i couldnt find anything though, if possible could you please post a link or topic where it has a pic of a tied down plant.

 

 

when you say "the aim is to keep the tops of the plant even", what do you mean by that?

 

thanx again mate!!

 

No worries mate. Yeah, I'm referring to the branches of the plant, although if you start young you can top the plant at 4 nodes or a few more, and then train the 4-8 main branches that result into a low lying shrub... It's sorta like training a vine, but it's slightly different. I suppose topiary would be the best description, but it doesn't necessarily involve removing any plant material....

 

Anyway, try the search function... you may find a topic about someone who did a tying down experiment here a while back... My plants in my growing threads are indoor, yes, but they're also trained using yo-yo's (check the thread for a description and pic) and twist ties to create an even canopy. It's sorta the same process, only I've got a stable, moderate light source with heat probs and you've got a nuclear powered star which the earth moves around in space as your light source... Similar things, but the sun definitely beats out my hid... You're most likely to find something using search functions tho.

 

 

The comment about keeping the tops even is referring to making the canopy of the plant as even as possible. MJ plants dictate how much energy to expend in growth of a growing tip, (be it flowering or vegging tips) by how high on the plant they are. The highest branch tip will get the most hormones accumulate in it, and these will stimulate the plant to provide nutrients and other supplies to make it grow, more so than the lower branches on the plant. If you tip the plant, by removing the growing tip, then the two tips which are just below that cut will then become the highest growing points... But as they are opposing on the node, (this of course refers to tipping in veg) then these two tips are at the same height... So instead of one dominating and the other being smaller they both share the hormone and this makes for two smaller, but overall larger buds developing at the same rate....

 

Now, if you can manipulate the plant, instead of tipping to create this bushiness and even tops but by tying down the higher branches and tips to the same vertical height as the lower ones, then the development of the lower ones will be stimulated... Now, the previous crown which was higher may not develop as quickly, but as there are now many more tips at the same level, the hormones are spread, and you get many, (although smaller) buds develop... This makes for a larger yeild, and a happy grower.... Hope that helps to describe it... there should be some other topics here on the subject of tying down and topping, and you should look at scrog growing techniques here too, as these are using the same principles as tying down to create an even canopy of buds.... Anyway, the search function at the top of the screen is a great one, check it out, but of course, if there's anything that doesn't make sense or you can't find, then by all means post away... There is no such thing as a stupid question on Oz Stoners...

 

Talk to you soon. How're the plants doing btw?

[ToKe Up]

Thanx skywalker

i tied them down as you said with some of those white plastic ties, making the branches even , and as you said you do notice that is also lets more light into the plant to the other branhes.My 3 main plants are 1m 30 high yet not very bushy, but that iswhy i am tying them down, i should notice an improvement in the next week or 2. I have a fourth plant which i am growing horizontally along my fence i just bent the shit out of it but its doing alright and is less noticable than others.

 

I did do a search, i like your grow, coming along well and along with many others that i found. I saw some other threads on tying so your info is greatly appreciated.

 

You have pretty much covered up all my questions yet i still have one more. My plants have pistols but no buds, is this unusual?? And should i stop giving them nutrients as i made an inference that the nutes may be preventing buds but i am not sure at all, i give them multi grow and sulphate of potash every 5 days.

 

cheers mate!

[Luke Skywalker]

You have pretty much covered up all my questions yet i still have one more.

 

Ah, but this is the nature of learning, my young padawan... you will always need to learn more.

 

My plants have pistols but no buds, is this unusual??

 

"Buds" are a collection of small flowers, which themselves are made up of calyxes and stigmas. (the little white hairs which eventually turn brown.) The plant will start flowering by showing "pre-flowers" at the nodes of the branches, and then proceed to "stretch" where the plant grows very fast. It's creating a structure to hold and develop buds on, these branches are there to hold up masses of calyxes. Now, when the first true "buds" are forming, you'll see a new growth come from the node, but instead of a normal branch you'll see an explosion of white hairs. These are the young, immature buds which are the start of the whold "bud" as a whole. After they've grown for a while, the hairs will turn first tipped brown/red, then totally red, and the calyx will begin to swell... If this happens early, then you potentially have fertilisation occuring. There's a post here somewhere with a picture of developing calyxes...

 

Anyway, it's normal to look at the plant and say, "where are all the buds?" but at the end of the flowering period, after anywhere between 6-16 or even more in some cases, weeks, you'll have a large collection of calyxes together, with progressively fewer blades on the leaves which intersperse them... When the leaves are at the one finger stage, right at the top of the plant, you know that the plants about the finished height, and it will fill in with flowers... Don't panic, it's still summer in Australia so any plants will only be early in flowering if they were brought up in the normal spring/early summer planting period. Normally outdoor plants are harvested in early to late autumn, depending on the strain.

 

Whew... hope that helps....

 

And should i stop giving them nutrients as i made an inference that the nutes may be preventing buds but i am not sure at all, i give them multi grow and sulphate of potash every 5 days.

 

I would say no, don't stop giving them nutes unless they're showing obvious signs of nutrient burn. I can't tell you how much you should use as I'm not a user of those particular nutes, and you haven't said how much of each you've added in how much water. Generally, the plants will require more and more nutrient as they mature, and all nutes should be ceased in the last two or so weeks of flowering, with lots of flushing to ensure there are no nutrients in the soil/media to feed the plants. You want the chlorophyll to be broken down by the plants for food, essentially you're starving them to make the end smoke smoother...

 

Aaaaanyway, yeah, get back to us with some detail on exactly how much nutrients you've been using, and what your watering methods, and ph levels are, and we may be able to give a more specific answer. For the moment, if you're in early flowering, and there is no leaf tip burn, then you can continue to water and fertilise as is... maybe slowly increasing, only mildly, as the plants grow larger. Don't overdo it tho, it's always better to slightly underfertilise than to overfertilise in any instance.

 

Well, I hope this has helped, ttys.