OG for her

End of week 4 of veg. - she’s come on super strong the last few days. She’s officially in to transition now, albeit about a week earlier than preferred, even for an auto. Tore ‘er down at the end of the week to open up some air flow and make room for the stretch. Let’s hope it’s a strong stretch too because she’s a squat little beast. Really healthy, really vigorous and no issues to date👍. All well for the upcoming holidays y’all.😎 Tip ‘O The Week This week I’m gonna rant a little on defoliation. I know... a pretty controversial topic if you talk to anyone who’s got some grow background. There’s the school that says it’s silly and ridiculous - “just let the plant grow” types. Then there’s the school that swears by it as the sole reason for their increased yields - to the point they’re willing to strip the plant nude and rely on straight sugar leaves to provide photosynthesis. Truth be told and when experience speaks that truth😉, neither one of those perspectives is necessarily wrong IMO - the best of both worlds is actually in the middle anyway, between the two extremes. Like most things in growing, you need to ask yourself what you’re trying to accomplish when you defoliate your plants. Is it increased yields? Intentional stunting? Easier maintenance? Mold avoidance - aka better airflow? Once you’ve decided on what’s to be accomplished, you then need to consider your environment. Not just indoors vs. Outdoors but also light types, and environmental variance between spaces. For example, I’ll almost eliminate defoliation as an option when growing outdoors. It seems generally unnecessary and if I want increased airflow then I’m usually cutting full branches that just don’t look like a good use of the plants energy. The wind and sun really are game changers when it comes to growing anything and outdoor is really it’s own game alone👍. Consequently, defo is an almost necessary practice for me indoors but, the techniques I employ will vary based on which of my cabinets is in use and even what season of the year we’re in. In this particular case, this plant is coming up in our smaller cabinet and just started the transition (in fact, we’re early by a couple days). Given the plants small stature and the need to have each bud site produce as much as possible - we cut this one back pretty heavy, leaving only the highest and smallest fan leaves on each cola (+ a few on the outside that aren’t shading anything. This approach is really due to the grow light - these spiderfarmers are excellent fixtures but I’ve found them less intense overall than the cobs in the other cabinet. With the penetration from the cob lights u you can turn even the smallest larf into useable popcorn bud whereas with the quantum boards, the buds really seem to benefit from greater overall exposure and grow much more uniformly and characteristically to their strain genetics. Although high humidity and temps aren’t really an issue in this environment, the increased airflow does assist with keeping things less jumbled up in the middle of the canopy.👍 So is there a place for defoliation, absolutely. But, you should always be asking yourself why you’re doing it. End of the day it’s still damaging the plant and taking away something that’s it genetically accustomed to growing. But, if you do it right and do it strategically, defo’ing your plants can pay huge dividends. At least that’s the hope with this girl 😉👌👍😎. With that tirade ‘o bullshit now complete, I will disengage the soapbox and re-pack the bong😉🤟. Stay lit y’all!👊 Background From Exotic Seeds, Herz OG is a 4th gen. Cross of GG4 and black lemon autos, crossed again with a photo Herz OG mother. Supposedly piney, honey and woody tones with a calm relaxing effect. Just what the lady of the house ordered. She’ll be straight DWC like the rest. 2 weeks on the drip line and depending on how they all do, this may be the girl that stays under the Spider Farmers for the duration. My first go with Exotic so no idea what we’re in for. Let’s hope she’s a beast🤞. I’ve included a weekly tip forum for those new to the game that have an interest in trying out water based hydroponics. It’s vetted, reliable info that will hopefully help you avoid weeks of lost time and failed attempts. Comments, questions and discussion are always welcome👍.