Here is the Oldtimer's Haze plant a week later. It is starting to take the bushy shape that I aimed for. A few more weeks and it will have filled out the gaps. I tied the top branches so that they each form a circle on one side of the stem. Now that they have grown full circle I will let the tops grow upward and perhaps continue the LST training at the next level.
You can see that the plant has already started sending up shoots from what used to be low-level nodes.
You can see it in this picture at the top right-hand corner. You can also see the cool mist from the Humidifier. Buying this thing was the best money I ever spent. It keeps the relative humidity high and the plants love it.
Here is a couple of pics of the Kali Mist plant than I am veggin'. This plant does not respond well to topping because it prefers a few big main colas instead of many smaller ones. This is a slight variation of the things I did with the Oldtimer's Haze.
I tied the two branches together on each side of the stem right at the level of the next shoots. Now the plant should grow twelve tops instead of four. The main shoots will eventually curve upwards and try to keep pace with the others. All of these can later be topped to promote further growth.
I have topped all my plants several times over but these two required some training. The trick is to get as many shoots as possible on the lowest possible plant. I top them at almost every node. Once it gains size there will be a lot more bud sites than if the plant was left alone to grow as it chooses, which is usually the christmas tree shape.
I have a strong light in a small space so the light will penetrate all the way to the lower shoots. More shoots on the way from top to bottom ensures that I get a larger crop than if I left the plant unattended.
Patience is the key to successful low stress training.
Even if you have a lot of space it is still a very good way of growing weed. I have grown both tree shaped plants and plants that were heavily topped and trained, the latter always produce bigger yields. It might take a bit longer for the plant to finish when you consider the time it took it to get there but eventually all the buds will fatten and ripen to almost the same size as a single main cola.
One thing to remember though is that the plant cannot supply an endless amount of shoots with energy, so it is good to clip those weaker lower shoots once the plant goes into flowering. So you take the part of the "investment planner" for the plant and encourage it to direct it's energy to the strongest buds. When using a scrog net this usually means clipping any branch below the net, but it is also possible to continue training throughout flowering, bending in tying down branches in order to maximize the crop. Another thing to remember is that all of this is heavily dependent on root size so a larger pot is always better than a small one.
Happy Growing
-Kodiak-
