GamerChronic

Shorter Plants and Bigger Yields – Topping Cannabis & L.S.T. Explained…

A lot of people I come across want to grow cannabis, but have to do it in very small and confined spaces. Indoor growers have developed a series of techniques that are used to control the height of cannabis plants and create larger yields of bud.

Every aspiring grower should seek to become very familiar and comfortable with the techniques covered in this article, especially if they are planning to grow inside.

Not all cannabis grows alike!

Letting your cannabis plant do what it wants, especially when growing indoors, is not a great idea. A lot of the characteristics of your cannabis plant are going to be determined by the plants genetics. So before you even begin growing, your going to want to find the type of cannabis strain that will to work best for you and your growing situation.

Need help choosing a cannabis strain or finding seeds?
Check out my SEEDS page.

Basic indoor growing strategy…

The two main objectives of most indoor growers is to curb height and create and even canopy of bud colas.

When you make an even canopy, lights can not only be placed closer but the bulb’s light is distributed more evenly, allowing each bud site to maximize and absorb as much light as possible; and thus get equally bigger. If an even canopy isn’t made, a main cola will emerge to take most of the light, shrinking the yield of the other buds.

This will work if you want just one big stalk of bud (like a Christmas tree), but why not create four, six or more giant stalks of bud, each getting equally big in size.

The main means of controlling height is by TOPPING cannabis…

This is arguably the best technique you can use to curb height and get cannabis to grow wider and more bushy.

When cannabis reaches the flowering or budding stage, depending on your cannabis strain, they will start begin showing their unique genetic qualities, different from each other. Some strains are going to grow very tall once switched to flowering, doubling or tripling their height (or more). Other strains will stay short and squat after being switched to flowering, and won’t stretch much at all.

So… again, start by choosing the right strain first!

Topping cannabis consists of cutting off the top growth of your cannabis plant. By doing this you will actually double the amount of bud colas and thus increase your harvest. Once you top your plant, that area will grow like a ‘Y”, making two bud sites. Topping again will ‘Y’ that site again, creating another bud site, and on and on.

Topping cannabis plants also stops it’s upward growth and redirects that energy to other surrounding bud site areas, making your plant more bushy and stout.

How to TOP your cannabis Plant….

In order to ‘Top’ your plant, you will need to cut the plant’s top node off. A node is the separation in your plants sets of leaves. Starting from seed, you will notice your plant pack on distinct, symmetrical layers of leaves, which in this case are again, called the nodes. If you are starting from a clone, your nodes will grow asymmetrical.

TOPPING cannabis is best done while the plant is young and in the vegetative state. NEVER TOP your plant if it has begun to flower! If you wait this long it is too late, period.

The optimal time to TOP is when you cannabis plant has between 3 to 5 nodes. This means if you plant has 5 nodes, or 5 layers of leaves, you are going to CUT OFF the newest node. 

Once you TOP your plant, it will take a few days to recover and growth will be slowed. Don’t worry this is normal and soon enough you will see that in the area where you topped, what was one stem has now become two.

Use ‘Low Stress Training’ or LST after you TOP your plant…

Low Stress Training (LST) is a very effective technique used to control the way your cannabis plant to grows. As the name implies, it is a ‘gentle’ way of changing the growth pattern of your plant, unlike topping cannabis, which involves cutting off sets of nodes.

The main concept behind LST is to gently ‘bend’ and slowly manipulate the plant into a shape or pattern that first, helps create a more even level canopy, which then allows more light and air to penetrate into the plants foliage, that in turn will create and develop more bud colas.

Low stress training involves bending and tying down the main stem or other branches using gardening wire or soft twist ties. Once tied down (which can be to anything like a weight or even the pot the plant is in), it will not only shorten the height of your plant, but you will begin to see many new bud colas begin to form and grow upward towards your light.

The general idea with LST is to gently pull branches away from the middle of the plant. Doing this is what will make flat, horizontal rows of buds, and not a large “Christmas Tree” type shape that most indoor growers want to avoid.

LST should not be done all at once, but gradually and bit by bit throughout the entire life your cannabis plant until harvest.

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Ready to get SERIOUS about GROWING….

If you want to learn the exact methods for growing killer buds, you’re going to want the complete guide to growing marijuana that covers everything, from beginner to ultra-advanced; step by step.  

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