What should I do with my plants that have grown thicc to receive more light? - First Grow

The products of photosynthesis are free flowing in the phloem. Apical dominance dictates where resources go in the plant. The best way for good light penetration is to not overcrowd the growing space. stick to 2.5-3 colas per sq foot and have the faith and patience to let it grow in - it will. this ensures space between colas for leaves to grow and less need to defoliate. If you have a full canopy that absorbs all the light (no holes in canopy ety) then your yield will be there. Fewer colas per sq ft also helps with proportion of good buds vs larfy buds. For the last 2-3 years out of spite i've been bending leaves to directly cover buds and those buds all turn out the same as all other buds of similar stature on the plant - i.e. apical dominance. It's consistent and repeatable. Don't think light has to directly hit the buds to make dense buds. there is 1/10th to 1/100th the amount of photosynthesis taking place when light hits the buds vs leaves... you want light hitting leaves. read the guides on cocoforcannabis.com . they go over a lot of this stuff. they bust a bunch of urban myths and bro-science nonsense. Beware of shit information. it's abundant. bruce bugbee is another acceptable source. seed sellers are not a good source for information. they peddle in common (mis)beliefs that help sell more products. my suggestion for future -- take your space in sq ft and divide by 2.5 and 3. That is the amount of colas you want growing vertically in your canopy. then, by working backward from there you plan out how you want to train/top your plant(s) to get there. this keeps you honest and you know immediately when you want to flip to flower -- when you get things organized and ready to grow vertically in an even canopy. Trust that it will fill in. there is another 4-5 weeks of vege growth after flip to flower phase. this is why the plant doubles or triples in size - not because it grows faster in flower... it's simply what happens in another 4-5 weeks of growth before it stops. cocoforcannabis has an article "to defoliate or not..." too. it's a worthwhile read.