Episode 6 - Defoliation, Pruning & LST before Flip - Preparing for Bloom

We want to move to the bloom phase and before we do so we need to prepare our plants by defoliating, pruning and LST (Low Stress Training). The reason we prepare our plants is to optimize nutrient uptake and minimize the risk of mold. We dont want our tent to become to congested so we remove excess leaves for better airflow and to let as much light to be absorbed. The best time to flip is when the canopy has just enough bud sites so that the top of the canopy can have a bud site in every 3 x 3 inch square. Defoliating is the process of removing excess or light deprived leaves. Leaves that are not in direct light cannot photosynthesize as well as leaves in direct light and they will be the first to die and yellow. Fan leaves are basically like solar panels that store and process energy but when a plant feels like the stored nutrients are better used elsewhere, it will move them. Mobile nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous , magnesium and potassium are taken from lower fan leaves and redirected to more important areas such as bud sites or colas so when bottom leaves yellow, it is a good time to remove or defoliate them. It is also a good indication that you should up your nutrients being fed. We remove all leaves that are under 6 inches from the top of the soil. Pruning is the process of removing smaller branches or axillary bud sites. Branches start off as axillary bud sites and if these are super small when initially starting to flower, they will turn into popcorn buds which are buds that are smaller than a nickel. These are extremely undesirable and by pruning and removing these, you now will conserve energy that would have been waster on them and redirect it to the higher bud sites. We are making bigger buds even bigger. LST is low stress training. There are many ways to do this, but we prefer to do it manually and without tools or trellises. This makes plants easier to access and defoliate. We bend by using one hand to support the base of a branch and the other to squeeze the branch where you want to bend it to soften it. Once softened, you can bend it and we like to bend it down to the point where it is upside down. Since plants recover rapidly, even upside down branches turn rightside up within 12 hours and the idea to to overdo it, because it will still even out. Once the preparations are made, youre plant will be ready to flip for the optimal results. For MASTER LIST on Feed Schedule, Measurements, Supplies and Grow Equipment, goto https://www.howweedgrow.com/meta%20feed%20journal.pdf Equipment and Setup: 🎪Tent: https://amzn.to/3brC47y 💡 Light: https://amzn.to/3zLGtKP 💨 Inline Fan: https://amzn.to/3vyVZbt Smart Mode, trigger at 78 2 degree variance, off at 1, On at 4 Carbon Filter: https://amzn.to/3zPfkru Duct: https://amzn.to/3zrkXut Dehumidifier: https://amzn.to/3TtkTms TPS Nutrients Complete: https://tpsnutrients.com/?ref=qa3xqavsea Also use code HOWWEEDGROW for 10% off Links to my favorite youtubers featured in these videos: Mr Canucks Grows: https://www.youtube.com/c/MrCanucksGrowGuide Mr Canucks Grows Soil Breakdown Video: https://youtu.be/VRaJHUnKIPc 420 Scene: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBF8Ada4xtmfL1RoZdTakaw 420 Scene’s Soil Breakdown Video: https://youtu.be/jXd8M40axto BuildaSoil: https://www.youtube.com/c/BuildASoil BuildaSoil Breakdown Video: https://youtu.be/gJpCjqiTy8U Coco for Cannabis: https://www.youtube.com/c/DrMJCoco Coco for Cannabis Feed Breakdown Video: https://youtu.be/8MkfBlgXGtM TPS Nutrients: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcQutv4Q0OjoEylxaoSIpHA TPS Nutrient Feed Breakdown Video: https://youtu.be/IiJz29wVzFY Video Highlighting the best strain in my strain hunt featured in this series https://youtu.be/jH3iKflqLo4 Playlist featuring all videos from this project: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJQAtl-KiXRJAFvGxfzckE-I3oI3cmFe6 📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growweedeasier ℹ️ More tutorials; https://www.howweedgrow.com/ 📅 Full My Proven Feed Schedule: https://www.howweedgrow.com/Howweedgrow%20Ultimate%20Chart%20Cheat%20Sheet.pdf PROOF: https://discord.gg/nwDXKeBV4g 💬 For questions, comments or to chat: https://discord.gg/zKG85AuQBj #LST #Defoliating #pruning