Why Use LST?
By myMUSICveins
Now, lets talk about the practical reasons we train. Indoors, we only have so much light (our HID's) and we need to use what we have as efficiently as possible.
Think of it this way, as a plant grows, we have to either raise the light, or drop the plant, because with indoor growing, there is such thing as a plant being too close to the light (heat problems, lummen burn etc.)
If we don’t train, as the plant grows, and the light moves, the only part of the plant that continues to get optimum lighting is the part of the plant that’s closest to the light (the plant top). So think about it, the bottom part of the plant that doesn’t move becomes farther and farther from the light source.
Obviously, this isn’t a good thing; this leads to the plant being nice on top, and crap on the bottom. So how do we get around this? Well, we could do it the hard and expensive way and try to get multiple smaller HID's and light the plant all along the plant vertically. Nah, why makes things so difficult for yourself? How about we simply manipulate the plant ever so cleverly so that every part of the plant is the highest and lowest part of the plant att he same time. Kind of hard to imagine? Ok, just spread out the plant. TIE down the tallest parts of the plant to the same level of the shorter parts of the plant so we have an even plane.
This is all we are attempting to do. To get an even single plane of plant so all of the plant gets equally fantastic lighting, and in the process strengthens itself for the coming buds.
Sounds like fun doesn’t it? It is, this gets addicting, trust me. It all makes so much sense when you think about it. I’m a logical guy, and hell, this makes SENSE. Think about it.
So with the idea explained, and the gay real life example told, we can actually begin. And you know what they say, pictures tell a thousand words.
(Lets just hope the words are better chosen than mine were)
Materials Needed
Ok, to do this, we need some sort of restraints, and something to tie the restraints to.
I use thin wire, and a Publix crate, or milk crate (steal your own).
Now, as other options, Ive used kite like string, and also shoe laces for the restraints. I know Delta uses the 5 gallon buckets which he drills holes around the top of for what you tie the restraints to. This is cool because you can use the bucket to plant in, AND to tie to. Where as, I take a pot, and put it inside the crate. On the other hand, take a good look at that crate and see how many places all around the crate i can tie potential restraints to. No need to drill anything.
Pictured here as I said is thin wire. This is good and bad. On the plus side, its very manageable; I can easily shape it however I wish. On the bad side, if not watched, and used as a tight restraint, can cut into the stem. The thin kite like string has the same effect
Shoelaces seem to work best for me, but I simply don’t have a whole lot of laces laying around, nor the time to spare to tie and untie; as it takes quite a bit of patience.
Weigh out your options, use your best judgment.
So When Should Training Be Considered?
First of all, i'm getting this out of the way. It matters not if the plant was from seed, or is a clone.
This is more of a "feel" than an exact science.
I'm tired of useless time frames that simply don’t apply to everybody. I’ve seen some people take months to do the same thing others take weeks to do. Literally.
So we will do this instead; we will use characteristics.
You need the plant to have developed a decent root structure (we don’t want to be pulling the sucker out the soil now do we?).
Now, it’s obviously hard to know what the root structure looks like (as we cant see it), but we can take an educated guess.
You want there to be a certain amount of plant to actually be there to tie down. I used to think that "stretch" was the end of the world, but now I think otherwise. The amount of stem stretch has nothing to do with the future denseness of the bud.
In this picture here, we see a plant that’s definitely NOT ready; better give it some more time.
The Fun Begins
When the plant adapts to the new tied position, it will resituate its tops towards the light. So if you pull down the top of the plant, and its facing outward at a 90-degree angle, you need to plan ahead knowing it will right its top.
So how do you plan ahead?
First of all, don’t tie the tie too high up on the plant. If you grab the very top of the plant, the plant needs to actually grow to resituate itself. You need to leave a somewhat generous amount of plant above the tie. In other words, you need there to be at least half an inch of stem above the tie (because that’s where the bending will happen).
So I showed you a bad candidate, how about a good one.
A nice lanky plant like the one pictured here is a good place to start. Notice the nice amount of formed branches, and also the the generous room allotted for the ties. You know at this size, she’s got some healthy roots already, and will make you fight to pull her out.
Looks like this girl is ready to begin her training.
All That And You Still Managed Not To Show Where To Put The Tie?
Yea Yea, I don't wanna hear it. It's more organized this way
Notice the healthy amount of plant left above the tie.
Start out slow. As I said before, you will acquire a feel for this. Don’t push (bend) her too far all at once; baby steps (have you seen Bob?).
Make sure the tie is tight enough that it doesn’t slip, but not too tight that it cuts into her. Remember the pros and cons I went over with the ties, it's your decision.
This pic was taken seconds after I applied the tie there. Easy does it, no need to rush. This hobby of ours takes patience, get used to it.
Easy Aint It?
Alright, so you have the first tie *tied* down. very nice. see how she adjusted herself to her new position in just a day? depending on the strain and the health, you will notice changes in hours even.
At this time you should think about a counter tie at her *crown* (trunk)
Depending on the size of your lil one, you can decide to skip this step if you want. The tie will be temporary, as she will strengthen herself to her new shape down the road. But for now, you don’t want to be pulling her out of the dirt with your first tie
A day or two later with a counter tie. should look something like this
Back to work
This is an important time. you will be laying out her future shape. molding her to your liking, for both yours and her benefit.
I find that tying her AROUND the pot works well for me. Fan out her branches so that all of her is getting somewhat equal coverage of light. As she grows, she will continue to grow out in this shape.
I also find that leaving a gap in the *circle* to allow a place to water/feed is required. The larger she gets, the tougher it is for you to get in there and feed her!
All about maintenance! stay on top of it. Have a branch that’s large enough to tie down? then DO so! your in control here, remember.
Follow?
More Training
Notice the added growth and added black wire to train with. Just keep up on the feedings and stay on top of the temps and air flow
Try to stay below 88 if you can
More Training
More Time, More Training
I Am Having Problems, You Learn From My Mistakes
This is where I needed some guidance. As you can see in the pic, mama is very close to the light.
I used to think that the closest the plant could be to the light without getting burnt from the heat was where it should be.
This was also the time I was learning about flushing. I had not yet flushed, and this poor girl was by then, badly locked up.
I also opted for the safer spray down
I was told to go through the untying, flushing, and spray down, and to then drop the plant to give the plant some room to grow; let it reach for the light.
Like I usually do, I over compensated with the training since I was so against any stretching. As I stated earlier in this thread, I now know better.
Just needs a little lovin
Ok, so this is what happened. since the last shot, she got what she needed. she got a major tub flush, and a safers soap spray down.
Yea, like I said earlier, expect her to look pathetic. Just think thunderstorm.
-----
Shes been lowered, the ties are gone, and now she gets the drought while she *stretches her legs*
Notice in the center of her, it looks like a branch is dangling, well, it is. She fell in the tub while she was on the edge waiting to go in. she took one for the team.
The Rebound
Did she like that flush or what? Look at her go. She’s digging this boundless stuff.
Growing Unbound
More time has passed, and I continued to let her grow unbound. This was her first real opportunity to stretch
About a week has passed since the previous pic. She still would not have received any food or water at this point (aka fertigation).
Another Week
It was time to tie her back down at this point. She had stretched quite a bit as you could see in the last pic.
She starts to get her food again also.
One Week of Flower Over
I knew it was ok that I was letting my mom gain so much stem, in other words, the stretching. This is important because she needs to gain this weight in preparation of the oncoming buds she will grow.
She was still receiving veg ferts, since the first couple weeks of flowering are hardcore stretch weeks, for the reason I explained above. She is not yet concentrating on actually GROWING her buds.
She DOES however get the added light of the 400 watt HPS. It stays on from here on out along with 400 watt MH.
myMUSICveins Plays It Safe
After completing one week of flowering, I started to worry about mom locking up again. She showed very early signs (in my very underdeveloped leaf reading skills) of locking up, so I decided to give her another flush.
It ended up that she was probably not as bad as I had thought. Remember, you watch for the coloration of the water pouring out from the pot when you lift her out of the water
The more YELLOW the water is in the beginning, the more salts that had built up. My first flush, lots of yellow; the second flush, not so much.
Flowering Week 2 Over
Now since mom had gotten another flush, she needed another drought. I didn’t want to make it too long however, because I was eager to start her new flowering mix.
Mom ended up with a 3 day dry out period from the flush, and then got her first flowering food. During the 3 days, she was not bound. The remaining 4 days of this week, and here on out, mom was bound down.
Look how quickly she responded. Re-examine her branches in relation to the closet walls. She has put on quite a bit of weight. From here on out however, she will put all her energy into the buds.
Week 3 Over
Just adding weight. Fattening up.
Week 4 Over
Now, this is where if you were following Deltas ways, you would let up on the restraints and watch the buds swell.
You could also wait till the end up week 5 if you wish, there is no science to it.
This grow, things got complicated, and I ended up pulling the grow at the end of week 6. She was bound all the way until I pulled her also. Next grow, I will probably wait till the end of week 5 before I let her loose.
This is also the time that you start to pull back on the N almost completely. She has plenty stored up, and will use the leaves as energy, and at the same time, this helps the smoke become less harsh.
Week 5 Over
Now, looking back at the grow, I feel it went pretty well. Certainly not perfect, as among other things, I battled the salt build-ups and lumen burn. From week 5-6 she was showing signs of toxicity, because the nutes I was using, weren’t optimal, more *the best I could do with what I could acquire at the time*
Next grow I'm going to grow them slightly more vertical, and slightly less horizontal. And I will also be using raw salts. Not to mention letting her finish her 7th week, and possibly an 8th if I want that STONEY high
Week 5 Budshot
Not Bad, But Always Room For Improvement
So I harvested a week+ early, but it could have been worse. The result was very crystallized, fluffy, yet dense nugs. Each bud a treasure to be examined before packing.
Strong Motha, and as fruity to the taste as to the smell
Well, It Was Fun
I hope ya learned something, i know i did! Consider this the end of this thread
But how about you join me with this last bowl before you leave?
Article compiled from
http://www.gardenscure.com/420/training ... -walk.html
