I've been reading alot on this forum about trimming and pruning, and have only become more confused about whether or not I should prune the large fan leaves in my small SOG hydro grow.


Thus far the plants are about 3 weeks old in their veg state, and are nice and short, the way I wanted them to be due to the restricted space of my small grow.

I've kept the florescent between 1-2" from the leaf tops at all times.

I'm now starting to get side branches growing, which are basically totally shielded from light from the canopy of large leaves, and I'm worried this lack of light to them might inhibit their growth.

From what I've read, those in favor of pruning a SOG grow say to remove all the large fan leaves to allow light to penetrate, while others say that these leaves are necessary for proper plant growth, and you don't trim a SOG grow at all, as the buds will rise up above the canopy and grow vertically.

I've also been confused about whether I should top these plants at all, or just let them grow vertical naturally.

I'm about to switch to flowering lighting (12/12)and am under the impression that all pruning should be done in the veg state before flowering starts, so what should I do??

Take a look at the pics and tell me what you think I should do, should I thin these plants out by removing a few of the extra large leaves, or just let it run it's course??

As you can see, I have about 4 feet of vertical space, but that's it.

When switching to flowering, the lights will be changed and the grow area will be enclosed in black plastic.

Thanks!

what light are you using to flower as I didn't read that in your post as it doesn't make sense to grow plants to 1 foot then flower if you're using fluoros.

I went through a whole discussion previously about using florescent from start to finish, and while not ideal, it's just gonna have to do for this grow, I don't have the adequate temp control, ventilation, or space for a decent HPS light.

I also just can't afford a HPS with my limited disability income at the moment.

I'm swapping out half my 6500K 4ft tubes for 2700K tubes, as well as adding six 2700K CFL bulbs as more top and side lighting.

Are you saying I should grow them with a longer veg stage if only using florescent during flowering?

Veg less with florescent lighting. The penetration through foliage with florescent light is way less than that of a HPS lighting system.

Thanks for the info, but my initial question remains, should I prune them or not?

If so, where, and how?

Hey TBR, are you saying he should be using fluros only for a part of the vegging process, or simply veg under CFLS for a short period of time ?

Why Veg less (either way)?

NScooknet, in your situation and set-up you are going to be more concerned with attaining high quality smoke than yield. I would only prune leaves that are blocking light to bud sites. Since you do not have enough light penetration for tall plants, I would be flipping them at 9-11" ht or be willing to take the extra time for a scrog. Use common sense and it will be all good.

May I suggest you put up white plastic and not black to cover up your flowering garden? At least the inside walls should be white, flat white is best. I needed something for a removable wall, as my flowering bench is surrounded on three sides by permanent walls: went and bought a couple of cheap roller blinds. They are quickly raised to get out of the way, stay clean as they are not handled directly, and seem to reflect back a lot of light that hits it.

Goodluck

Thanks Dawg and Doobie, much appreciated info.

How do I identify the leaves that are blocking light to bud sites if I'm trimming it in the veg cycle before buds appear?

How do I know where the bud sites are?

You would not believe the difficulty I had just trying to find the "black" plastic to close in my grow area, in fact, I don't even have it yet, it's coming special order monday, geesh.

White plastic poly is simply not available as far as I know around here. It seems all anyone sells is clear poly these days for some weird reason.

I know your suggesting "white" plastic for the light reflecting properties but the reason I have to put the plastic up in the 1st place is to block light from hitting the plants during the flowering stage.

In the room where the grow area is built into, the lights will be going on and off all day and night, so I have to close that area in to have a controlled dark/light cycle separate from the rest of the room.

From all that everyone is telling me it must be absolutely pitch dark during the "lights off" of the 12/12 right?

I don't think white plastic would block out any light, even the really thick stuff would let some light through wouldn't it?

The other thing is the smell, it's REALLY smelly already in the whole back of my house, and I need to get that under control soon, I'm hoping that the plastic will keep the smell in and the fan will just suck it out of the enclosed grow area.

I didn't expect that from such small plants before flowering even started, hopefully that is actually a reflection of good health and potency of the plant.

I have the vent exhaust tube connected to a metal chimney tube that used to have an oil furnace connected to it, so it vents out on the top of my roof, but I'm still going to connect the "Air Tiger" ozone generator I have to the duct to hopefully keep the outside smell down by injecting ozone into the exhaust duct.

The last thing I need is anyone "sniffing" around here, literally.

So, about the trimming, how can I trim the plants if I wait until they are 9-11" in height when I'm just about to switch over to the 12/12 flowering stage?

I thought you weren't supposed to trim them during flowering, except the odd dead leaf??

Should I at this point trim off those really huge lower fan leafs that are blocking light to the side branches that are starting to grow so there is more light on them, and to get more air to them also??

Your guidance is much appreciated!

Good questions NS. If you feel you must trim leaves, why not just wait till you flip the plants, watch where buds start to form, then cut away larger fan leaves ? Personally I leave (pun!) most of the leaves alone, 'cept those sprouting lower down, as I've gone the lollipopping mode. You can chop them off, or tie them back.


Google 'Panda film'.



Yes and no, mostly yes. Many people incorrectly assume one photon during the dark cycle will cause hermies to pop up. The classic example is moonlight: wild cannabis has been growing outdoors for thousands of years. The moral of this story is don't freak if a tiny amount of light gets in there now and then. Do your best to keep out all the light, but don't loose sleep over this.



Um....no. The ability to stop light from penetrating has nothing to do with colour. Any opaque barrier will do the job.



Unless the grow area is sealed, odour is going to be an issue. Look around here for carbon filters or scrubbers.



As mentioned, I'm not big on trimming healthy leaves, but to answer your questions: afaik you can trim any time, whether veg or flowering. Many growers here, myself included as of late, are removing the lower branches all together (look up lollipoping - lots of posts about it here). All this depends on your lighting system, whether or not you are doing a SOG or SCROG, etc. If parts of your plants are in shade, either remove any offending leaves, add more light in these areas, or rotate the pots to maximize the amount of light getting to these areas. You may want to look into Low Stress Training, or LST. This is something many growers, myself included, make use of.

Good luck.