Gnomo Auto - FIMing an autoflower

zorn_des_kinski The plant is growing nicely. The leaves have some discoloration, reminding of variegation in other plants but I think this is just some weird behavior in the beginning of the plants life. No fertilizer yet. After removing the humidity dome I didn´t want to stress the plant so the circulatory fan is still turned off. The lights are dimmed to ~40%.

zorn_des_kinski I decided to give fimming a try with this plant. I´ve heard mixed things on high stress training techniques on autoflowers but I´m curious to try it for myself. The plant is growing strong and fast so I hope she will recover quickly. I also started fertilizing with Green Power and Calmag. Even though my water is medium hard, my last two plants had issues with Calmag deficiency so I want to take preventive measures. The water is adjusted to a PH of ~6.2 using pure baking soda. I´m slowly turning up the light intensity as well and the fan is blowing over the plant.

zorn_des_kinski Quite a lot happened this week. Two days after fimming, I removed the lowest side shoots so the plant could focus its energy on the more promising upper bud sites. Two side shoots were covered by fan leaves, so I gently twisted the entire plant clockwise by tugging the leaves. This way, the fan leaves no longer cover the side shoots underneath, and I didn’t have to cut them. The plant has started showing its first pistils and is now flowering. Unfortunately, I noticed a small ball and removed it. I’m not 100% sure it was a pollen sack, but I included a picture - maybe someone who knows his judo can confirm. Maybe the fimming and removal of the two side shoots caused too much stress. I hope she doesn’t start herming, because otherwise she’s developing really well. The plant responded strongly to the fimming and, as far as I can tell, has developed seven new shoots. She’s also gained a lot of height. I’ve now turned the lights to full brightness, and I think I’ll start using flower fertilizer by next week.