Defoliation, Your thoughts?

bigbillyrocka said:

My current cabinet will be right around 10,204 watts per sq ft...

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You mean lumens?

nick88 said:

You mean lumens?

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LOL, yes it was one of those moments... that and i was wrong (edited my last post) the total is actually 11,224 per sq ft. (55K lumens on my new bulb)

Jeez. with a good indica dom, you're talking some seriously dense nugs.

nick88 said:

Jeez. with a good indica dom, you're talking some seriously dense nugs.

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I'm hoping so! Had the seedlings in there for 2 hours the other day so i can do a few checks (temperature, fan etc) and they loved it! I have 4 ICE in gallon buckets (though 2 are in 1) and I have 2 Alien Nightmare's coming in clone form this weekend. The aliens are going to be intense in there! Ill have a journal...

So lets talk about the density, what do you think it'll do? Im anxiously awaiting the day i put them in there (this weekend)

Your biddest concern is going to be canopy control.. The leveler you keep the canopy the denser and larger they will be. An uneven canopy kills light effiecency, if your colas are 12in higher than sides and you have to keep 18in off colas. Your looking at over 2ft above sides.. Light loses lumens incredibly fast over a short distance.

nick88 said:

Your biddest concern is going to be canopy control.. The leveler you keep the canopy the denser and larger they will be. An uneven canopy kills light effiecency, if your colas are 12in higher than sides and you have to keep 18in off colas. Your looking at over 2ft above sides.. Light loses lumens incredibly fast over a short distance.

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I keep mine trained (my small ones that is) to be pretty level on a nice incline. LST over either way, in this case the ones on the left will be to the right, and the ones on the right to the left. i can usually keep my light about 8" from the tops when i have my exhaust fan and inlet fan running.

See post #36. You guys are missing out on a real treat.

Cool, since this is a defoliation thread. Let me throw something out there..
The big major fan leaves, are they not primarily to produce energy for the intersecting node limb growth? They are the first thing that grows from node.. So after the limb has grown and developed it's own sets of leaves for energy production... Are the large node fans now not less important as they were during plant development?

nick88 said:

Cool, since this is a defoliation thread. Let me throw something out there..
The big major fan leaves, are they not primarily to produce energy for the intersecting node limb growth? They are the first thing that grows from node.. So after the limb has grown and developed it's own sets of leaves for energy production... Are the large node fans now not less important as they were during plant development?

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That's why you wait till the stretch is over before you start.

I'd say the fan leaf is producing the same amount as it was earlier, but the plant is much bigger, so the relative importance of that leaf drops.

I've cut fan leaves from a node before it starts to branch... the node keeps growing.

Rrog said:

See post #36. You guys are missing out on a real treat.

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Wow, that's some crazy stuff.. amazing

I was a big skeptic for a long time, but have been following this and if you only want premium bud, that's sure a way to do it. Mainlining.

I've read that and started doing one like it until my sister decided she'd throw a big party while i was away getting married. Needless to say things got stolen. (she broke into my house fyi)

Thanks for bringing that back to my attention Rrog. (the thread)

It was just a thought. It seems like with the timing of the fan growth and everything, that once the limb had sufficient leaves to support itself, the fan would be less important.. I try to do what i call creative tucking.. I tuck the fan leaves until i can't tuck them anymore. Then off with their heads about half to 3/4s way thru flower.. Then the last wk i give a good trimming to try and get some light to some of the bud sites that were missing out due to fans

People with weed or Bonsai trim fan leaves to limit further growth of a branch, so it may only slow growth. It's a training technique. I've never done it to slow stretch of a wild branch. I just tie it down.

I read extensively the ICmag thread and I can say it has made me think a little differently than I would otherwise. I'm thinking once i LST down to either side as i mentioned that i would leave a few leaves on the underside of the plant. This way if they are to help in any way they can. Plus less stress. I'm growing in a space smaller than my bbq after all.

But then again on such a small plant, i may not have a whole lot of leaves on the bottom side to begin with. I'll cross that bridge when i get there...

Yea, i let them go thru their stretch, but once the vertical growth has stopped, i don't worry too much bout the fans.

Don't know for sure if theres any benefit. But i do know that after only a day or 2 after uncovering a shaded bud.. There's a night and day difference.

Tell you what, this whole technique has me staying up late due to my over active brain. Thoughts are running rampant while i make my plans ahead of time on how i'll be doing it.