Right then! Hello everybody!!!
After one semi-successful grow and two that have rather failed I'm back in the game!
This time I'll be rocking the RQS Dance World and an OG Skunk from a regional seeds bank. I'll DEFEINITELY mainline these babies, bringing in the lessons I've learned from the previous grows.
I'm hoping that temperature won't be an issue like last time, especially given that now it's NOT the middle of summer haha π . But just in case I'll be installing a proper intake fan and furthermore I'll upgrade my small fan to a bigger and better one. π
I'll be using the GHE Flora Duo nutes like usual. Also I've got a whole arsenal of anti-pest solutions at my disposal ready to be deployed at a moment's notice πͺ (hopefully it won't come to that though)
Remember that it's always a beautiful day to be alive and keep growing, friends! βοΈπΏ
Looks awesome so far. Hey I noticed you did quite a bit of pruning. I am mainlining as well for my first time so I am curious. It looks like you pruned everything below the top most node right before 12/12. Is that to prevent side branching and larf? I'd imagine that side shoots would reach the canopy if you didn't prune those?
@tapciganin, Thanks for the advice. I'm definitely gonna try the conservative approach. Probably prune away the lower 2/3 of each branch a week before flowering. If I have the space and the branches get good lighting I will keep them. If I end up with larf, well l really love making hash.
@sacredgeometry, Hello there, mate and thanks for taking the time to check out the diary :) !
"When should I stop pruning" is definitely the question I had most trouble with. There's not a singular source of truth on it and the consequences of doing it wrong can be quite frustrating to deal with. Larf and side branching is definitely what will happen to a poorly pruned plant. And loss of yield is what you can expect if you prune too much!
WHAT I did: I kept diligently pruning everything below the topmost node up AFTER the plant had THREE OR SO nodes AFTER THE LAST TOPPING and up until the end of WEEK 1 of flower. You can go back in this particular diary and follow that process. The result so far is PRETTY UNIFORM colas and SOME larfy buds at the bottom of each branch
WHY I did it: I REALLY don't want side branching and I would rather not have TOO MUCH larf and I PREFER nice uniform colas. I don't have space to accommodate two plants' side branches, larf is meh (I don't care too much about it) and uniform colas are a basically a LIFE GOAL for me at this point haha :D
WHERE did I learn that: I learned some of my main lining techniques from a youtuber named RowsOfGreen and his series called "Mainlining for Colas". He stops pruning at week 1 of flower as well, so I figured why not try it. Check him out, he explains stuff way better than me. ALSO I snooped around other people's diaries and tried to figure it out by my own, but the variety of techniques is so great that I concluded there is NO SINGLE RIGHT APPROACH and followed my gut a little!
Conclusion: Two approaches - Conservative and Cola-Lover.
-- Conservative approach - stop pruning at week 1 of flower. Some larfy buds, virtually NO side branches.
-- Cola-lover approach - prune up to at least week 3 of flower. Probably no larf at all? I HAVE NOT TRIED THAT, but boy was I tempted haha
My suggestion would be: be as conservative as your heart allows you too until you know where the plants' boundaries are, from then on keep expanding your technique as far as you can. Patience is a key ingredient here :)
WORD OF WARNING: This is only my SECOND attempt at main-lining so take everything I say with a pinch of salt :)
BONUS: I'll post pictures of the smaller/larfy buds at the bottom of the plants for you so you can see what you will probably end up with if you follow my 'strategy'. I'll post either tomorrow or on Saturday.
If you've got any more questions I'll happily answer to the best of my abilities/ Take care and keep growing, friend! :)