how much to trim?

[Dr. Green Fang]

I did the "don't trim, keep it as natural as intended" mind set at first too.

Then, when you experiment with cleaning up, you'll find loads of things out :aok:

 

[sopappy]

Yes, this place IS remarkable sopappy. I'm not trimming at all so I'll have the other end of the spectrum covered. lol. I'll let you know. :farm:

far out
(I can't believe I actually said that)

Mine look pretty sparse and I think I lost two already but I've had my fill of trimming popcorn, it's good stuff and does the job but man, it is just too tedious, I toss them in with the shake. I want them big fat colas!
So indeed! Let's compare harvests... I took a chainsaw to my gals and you did nothing.... excellent! This is almost SCIENTIFIC!

 

[jonnylorenzo]

..

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

it's good stuff and does the job but man, it is just too tedious, I toss them in with the shake. I want them big fat colas!

All the nutrients that go to that crap that you toss to the trim pile (popcorn) is robbing your main colas. I've experienced this the hard way, as well as many others. The "leave it and forget it.. let nature use the solar panels" idea is ridiculous. I've tried both and it's blatantly obvious to me what is the correct approach. You can WEED WHACK the damn things in veg, and never really hurt them (strain depending, but 99% of strain take a beating).

 

[sopappy]

All the nutrients that go to that crap that you toss to the trim pile (popcorn) is robbing your main colas. I've experienced this the hard way, as well as many others. The "leave it and forget it.. let nature use the solar panels" idea is ridiculous. I've tried both and it's blatantly obvious to me what is the correct approach. You can WEED WHACK the damn things in veg, and never really hurt them (strain depending, but 99% of strain take a beating).

music to my ears.... so, you're saying I may not have been completely out of my mind removing (almost) all of the fan leaves?
I was working top down and stopped at two weeks in to flower so you'll see some fans down there but most are long gone.
This picture is 3 weeks of flower but I still may pluck those remaining fans,
there's another dude here who is trimming NOTHING so we're gonna compare, one extreme to the other, should be fun

View attachment 100_0829.jpg

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

Rule of thumb. If it doesn't look like it's going to "make it to the top of the canopy", get rid of it during veg and up to 2 weeks into flower. Looks like you did a good job :aok:

The goal is to have as even a canopy as possible full of buds! If you have nodes below the first 20" or so from the top they will "suck" the nutrients from the thriving tops. They themselves will be mediocre in potency and PISS POOR on density.. and all the work your plant does to maintain them is lost energy.

This was a "theory" I read and a big thing in the horticultural world. Some told me "they are solar panels, and will drop off when used up" ... these people are also leaving nodes, not just fan leaves... yes the leave is a solar panel, but it's just a hindrance when it's so low down. Also, it impedes air flow!

I could go on forever really, but trimming is a requirement in my mind! These girls are my bonsai's and I'm the Sensi

 

[sopappy]

Rule of thumb. If it doesn't look like it's going to "make it to the top of the canopy", get rid of it during veg and up to 2 weeks into flower. Looks like you did a good job :aok:

>>>wow, thanks for that, undeserved though, all I did was remove half the fans one night and the remainder the next, just before 2 week flower too. Lucked out there.


The goal is to have as even a canopy as possible full of buds! If you have nodes below the first 20" or so from the top they will "suck" the nutrients from the thriving tops. They themselves will be mediocre in potency and PISS POOR on density.. and all the work your plant does to maintain them is lost energy.

>>> Indeed! and the true fury shows when you have to trim that crap, hardly worth the effort (but I've been surprised by the potency of some of that popcorn though). I have noticed one thing I really like about this severe trim, the stems are huge.

This was a "theory" I read and a big thing in the horticultural world. Some told me "they are solar panels, and will drop off when used up" ... these people are also leaving nodes, not just fan leaves... yes the leave is a solar panel, but it's just a hindrance when it's so low down. Also, it impedes air flow!

>>> fan leaves are for deer and insects, you don't need fan leaves indoors

I could go on forever really, but trimming is a requirement in my mind!

>>> agreed

These girls are my bonsai's and I'm the Sensi

>>> hahaha you actually lost me there but I'm a noob, I just wanna grow grass that gets me stoned

see >>> up there for my rebuttal

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

:aok:

 

[blowinthatloud]

These girls are my bonsai's and I'm the Sensi

well said! :smoke1:

BtL

 

[sopappy]

Yes, this place IS remarkable sopappy. I'm not trimming at all so I'll have the other end of the spectrum covered. lol. I'll let you know. :farm:

hey bongofury, still wanna play? I'm starting week 7 (I think) and checking trichomes daily now. I wanted to trim some more leaves but only took the ones that were lying on top of buds. Trichomes look pretty sparse to me, not much on the leaves at all. The colas look like they need another month hahaha, I might be in for a horrible trim job. I'll take some snaps before I chop.