3 wks into flowering

[fishboybug]

hey guys, i'm 3 weeks in to flowering and want to thin out my bush a little. did i read correctly that i can prune off about 30% of the plant without any negative effects to the plant? thought i would take off some of the popcorn buds and leaves to improve airflow. BTW...still drinking 20oz of water per day!!!

 

[Locked]

I don't know about 30% part but I do know people take off the lower popcorn to do just that...

 

[fishboybug]

hey hamster, any idea of how much to prune and keep the energy going to the 5 main colas?

 

[Locked]

No. I hve never done it myself...I usually sample the popcorn when it gets close to harvest...other then totally dead fan leaves, topping and clones i don't mess with them....hopefully someone with more experience will chime in and gve you tour answer...

 

[fleshstain]

if you only want 5 main colas prune off all but the 5 best branches.... remove any of the buds on the lower 1/4 of those 5.... all energy, once it recovers, will go into those 5 branches....

personally, you're plants look fine as they are....

 

[fishboybug]

thanks, but i'm concerned because i am only using (4) 26w cfl's for this grow and worried about light getting to the middle of the plant. the center cola doesn't look all that thick to me. some of the side colas look better. i know that the cfl's will affect my bud weight but thought pruning might increase it.

 

[fleshstain]

if you prune, you're going to lose weight from whatever you prune off.... the lack of density is from your bulbs putting out low #'s of lumens.... your best bet for a good yield at this point would be to add more light....

 

[Locked]

Yeah that's the problem with flowering with cfl's....not enough light penetration....

 

[fishboybug]

thanks guys...6 more weeks to go but i already have more than my first grow. just checked out a 250w system from HTG and might make that my christmas present to myself

 

[fleshstain]

that would be a wise investment.... if you can afford it, a 400 watter would be an even wiser investment....

 

[fishboybug]

i'm just using a cardboard wardrobe box right now. going to build a closet in my closet for future grows. think 250w will be plenty of light for a 1.5x2x5 closet growing 1-3 plants per time

 

[Locked]

If you think you will be growing regularly I wld get a 400w or a 600w....I love my 600w digi ballast....

 

[Locked]

i'm just using a cardboard wardrobe box right now. going to build a closet in my closet for future grows. think 250w will be plenty of light for a 1.5x2x5 closet growing 1-3 plants per time

You want 3000 lumens a sqr foot for veg and 5000 a sqr foot for flower....so a 2 by 2 space wld need 12,000 lumens veg 20,000 lumens flower...

 

[fishboybug]

If you think you will be growing regularly I wld get a 400w or a 600w....I love my 600w digi ballast....

well the misses doesn't smoke so i am trying to make the smallest impact as possible on the power bill? any idea on what the cost differance is between the 250w and the 400w on the power meter.

she thinks i should give up smoking and just drink. she tells me how much safer it is. not health wise, just for LEO:ignore:

ideally i would like to start some autos and harvest every 2-3 weeks just enough to get me to the next harvest. as of now i only burn a 1/4 ever 10-14 days

 

[legalize_freedom]

I've never run a 250w, but the 400w on 18 hrs aday only raises my bill $25 a month, thats with fans running to, and sometimes a de-humidifier

 

[fishboybug]

I've never run a 250w, but the 400w on 18 hrs aday only raises my bill $25 a month, thats with fans running to, and sometimes a de-humidifier

thats not bad when you factor in the price of a bag. think i can handle that. thanks

 

[fleshstain]

the lights usually pays for itself by the time the first harvest rolls around....