The Thread You Need To Read If You Want To Do Away With Strech, Supercropping 101....

OK,


alot of members here are having a REAL problem with strech...from ppl with seedlings to members with 4 ft plants. i am going to try and sum up the things you can do to combat this problem members have from the infancy to adulthood of our beloved cannibis plant.


now this is to the beginners:


if you have seedlings that are streching hard and are 4 inches plus with only the baby sets of leaves and the firts two leaves popping out then:

you have a few problems- a light with the wrong spectrum, a light thats proper spectrum and to far away (for flos. place light under an inch away) or heat in the growrooms is to high.

some plants even placed under HID lighting will strech under any conditions and this is what i recommend....


when transplanting these seedlings to bigger container- bury the stem that is streching under fresh soil up to an inch leading up to the first baby leafsets (cottlydons). this will discontinue the problem after transplant.

you might need to use a popsicle stick to prop the plant up to keep it from falling over before transplant. using a fan will help keep the stem strong. (its best to keep the fan off directly from the plants and diflecting off one surface blowing then on the plant to keep it from getting blown over)

it might take a few days for the plant to strengthen up for a transplant. keep in mind a baby is VERY tender and can hermie if yer not GENTLE.

now here comes the part for the supercropping.

now SC (as ill refer to from now on) is nothing but a word for stem pinching.

now what does stem pinching do and how can it help strech?

this might SOUND BAD for a second but as soon as u understand and try the method you will be sold...


ok ....to pinch a stem or branch is to partialy damage the plant stunting growth for a short period of time until it fully heals. to pinch one stem or more is to stub a toe, it heals in a few days but comes back stronger than before, making it harder to "stub" the next time.
while the plant heals itself it will stop streching and heal the pinched spot.

now lets put this in review- why would i try and harm my plant?

now to pinch a few stems is to barly damage the plant. your only "ripping a muscle" so it can grow back stronger....the concept goes back to benching weights for humans...you pull/snap muscles for them to come back more ripped and ready to carry more load the next time...yes its sore for a day or two- but its ready to accept more in a few days.


the same goes to plants....to pinch a stem is to pull a muscle...it might be weak that day but the day after and the next it eill be 75%, then 100% then 120%....

to "pull the muscle is to make room for more the next"

ok lets get to it.

imm gunna tell you what u need to look for when stem pinching.

find the main stem, any main branches ,branches to a big fan leaf, whatever- put your index finger and thumb finger on the stem your planning to pinch....

now very gently..add pressure with your two fimgers until you feel the inner hurd squishing inside the outer hurd....


when u feel that squich...yer done. release pressure immediately and yer finished.

u can treat a plant in multiple places the first time. depending on how mature the plant is u can treat up to 20 times or more the very first treatment.

u can treat main stalks, branches to leaves, to budsites etc....anywhere on the plant.

i start when the plants just cracked before the shell of the seed falls off. i start with one or two pinches and wait till they heal. then i pinch once more inbetween that growth...then i wait till heal. by then i have more area new to pinch and i move up on the plant.

now treating plants this young take care but with practice you will learn.


in a way pinching a stem is doing nothing but damaging the two lane highway that the plant is born with, creating side roads and back roads along with an extra lane for nutrients and minerals to travel on. if the lanes that are naturally occuring are hindered the plant will make new lanes to transport the need essentials to the upper portions of the plant.

and thats supercropping in a flash.

its really easy to do. and the more u pinch the stronger yer stems and branches will be....soon you wont be able to use pliars to pinch the stems you will have to use two hands and twist n snap the stems.

this method works GREAT on all strians and any age plant.

if your gentle you can do it on seedlings. i have plants in my gallery that show no strech and tublar roots because of supercropping. u can take a 4 ft plant and turn it into a 2 ft under plant EASILY!


eventually plants will be so hardened you can pinch over 20 times in one session. and it doesnt take that long. if there any ?s feel free to ask!!!

IF YOU TRY THIS METHOD YOU WILL BE SOLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


TOA

thanks TOA. I am a big fan of the tie-down. I like to grow sativas just because they lend themselves so readily to tie-down. I just tie the 1st shoot over 90 degrees, then the next 90 degrees to that, etc. sometimes the stems bend, but often they dont. excellent way to increase yield and availability to light. :clap:

Remember to also never, NEVER break the outside of the stem. What i'm saying is squeeze until you feel a snap but don't pinch so hard you split the stem. I also wait until about the third internode to try this method. It's may fav method of controlling height.

To me its more of a mush.(mush) Slowly, and carefully, untill you weaken it enough to move in which ever direction you take it. Also tie it in place so it goes exactly where you want.

here's a demonstration of using supercropping on younglings to inhibit "stretching"...


this first set of pics is of some little ones the day after I started supercropping them

and here they are after many supercroppings (about a month later)

when they started they were 6-8" in height at top growth... now they are all 10-12" in height

ok sory i havent been able to keep up, been real busy.

anyway yes you can pinch when they are babys, the sooner the better. if you are rebuilding the highways from the begining to handle the traffic. your not only keeping them short...your also weeding out the weaker genetics while keeping thm short. If the stressed plants show hermi triat your doing yourself a favor in the end, this is if your starting from seed and new genetics. if the females grow strong and stay female then your one step closer to finding quality parentage, along with yeilds, final bag appeal, potency, vigor, smell, taste etc...

id say if your gentle enough, pinch them after the first baby leaves pop after the first "pea leaves". be gentle and if you just simply pay attention to your motor function and dont get crazy.... you should have no problemfiguring out the right amount of pressure. the sooner you pinch the shorter the plants the more tublar roots the bigger the stems the bigger the nodes the more buds!!!!!!

and keeping the light low helps this process out ALOT. the plant having enough light to "fix" the "scraped knee" the quicker it recovers and the bigger the bulk. of course seedlings dont need a 1k hps but dont be afriad to throw them under one at nice distance to begin. intensity can effect growth rate like the SC. its a balancing act but ones you just put you mind i nto it and pay attetion to the p[lants and how there reacting, everything else falls into place. using lime, keeping ph in check making sure they get fed and can breath and arnt sweating like forrest fire its all relative to how hard you make it.

Thanks TOA, That's a great post. I will add it to the growers resources.