Issue #138 - Sunday, December 7, 2014 Dear Fellow
Grower, In today's issue... - Learn how to use Defoliation (removing leaves) to increase your yields!
- Haven't started growing yet? Discover how you can get started in your budget, so you're ready to start growing for the New
Year!
- This week's trophy pic features a grower who used defoliation to produce some big, fat colas!
Happy
Growing! Nebula Haze & Sirius Fourside (founders of GrowWeedEasy.com) “The truth is the truth. What changes is what we know about it and what we're willing to believe.”
― Jonathan Maberry
How to Increase Yields with Defoliation
by Nebula
Haze |
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Cannabis "defoliation" is the process of removing leaves from your cannabis plants. Many growers believe defoliation can be used as a tool to increase cannabis yields indoors, but there are also a lot of cannabis growers who will say that plucking leaves off cannabis plants (defoliation) is not beneficial for your cannabis yields in any way. I’ve heard lots of naysayers! They say things like... “My friend is a grower and he says defoliation doesn’t work” “I read in a book that defoliation is a terrible
idea” "I tried it and it hurt my yields!" “The plant NEEDS those leaves or it wouldn’t grow them”
And there is some truth to what they’re saying. Defoliation isn’t for everyone in all setups. It should only be used in specific situations. For example, defoliation doesn’t appear to be effective for outdoor plants. But for indoor growers, cannabis defoliation done right results in bigger yields. Unfortunately, I’ve also seen growers try to defoliate their cannabis plants that are slow-growing and sickly. Defoliation will not make up for other problems like too-hot conditions, not enough light or nutrient deficiencies. If you try to defoliate plants that are not in tip-top condition, you're asking for trouble because defoliation will only stress your sick plants further. The
truth is, when growers defoliate their plants the wrong way, they'll end up with reduced yields, and I believe that is where a lot of the defoliation criticism is coming from. Yet just because defoliation doesn’t work for all growers in all setups doesn’t mean that it doesn’t increase yields when done the right way! And today I’d like to show you what successful cannabis defoliation looks like, and how to use it to increase your yields indoors. You’ll see examples and picture-proof! If you still don’t believe defoliation works to increase yields after reading this
article, I still encourage you to give it a try. You don’t need to do any defoliation on your plants... just don’t complain when the defoliators get better yields ;) Outdoors, cannabis plants need
extra leaves to store nutrients and create an extra wall of defense in case the plant gets attacked by pests or otherwise loses its leaves. But indoors there should be no pests, and you are there to give your plants the exact nutrients it wants at the exact right time. This makes holding onto leaves a lot less useful for the plant. “In the wild a fan leaf is a pretty necessary thing. Not only is it a solar panel but it is also a holding center for the plants nutrients. Indoor grows, where you control a constant supply of food to your plants, makes the fan leaf less necessary. Yes, they are a solar panel but they are also a
huge blocker of light to your offshoots which need daily development to achieve greatness.” - AK GreenLover
Cannabis isn't the only plant that benefits from defoliation To those naysayers who claim defoliation can NEVER work, I think it's important to point out that cannabis isn’t the only plant that rewards growers with bigger
yields from defoliation. Some commercial crops, such as cotton, need to be defoliated during their grow to produce the best yields. In fact, even after 40 years of intense study on cotton defoliation, there is still controversy and ongoing
research by commercial crop producers to further pinpoint the exact time and way to defoliate cotton plants in the field to produce the best yields. And that's the thing: Defoliation is definitely not some magical
way to increase cannabis yields; it's a technique like any other and it can be done in good and bad ways. Let's learn how to do it the right way! Picture Proof - Cannabis Defoliation in the Vegetative Stage Some growers say cannabis defoliation in the vegetative stage can
only hurt your plant. They believe removing leaves only prevents the plant from growing. In our experience, we believe defoliation gives growers better control over plant structure, while also stressing the plant in just the right way to cause it to explode in growth... but only in the places you want! Now I would never recommend that someone take defoliation to an extreme unless they were a very advanced grower who can understand their plant... But, I do believe the following extreme example shows that defoliation doesn't necessarily hurt or stop your well-established, hardy indoor cannabis plant. Left was only defoliated slightly. Right was heavily defoliated (don't do this if you're not an expert grower! defoliating this much can is NOT recommended for most growers!) Now here's those two plants 12 days later. The defoliated plant has completely overtaken the other plant, but with a better plant structure to take advantage of indoor grow lights. Picture Proof - Cannabis Defoliation in the Flowering Stage How can taking away leaves help your plants in the flowering stage? Don't they need as much energy as possible to make
buds? Yes and no. Yes, your plant does want to make the most energy for its buds in the flowering. But, making sure all the bud sites are exposed to direct light is actually one of the best ways to do that. In the wild,
the sun has deep penetration and moves throughout the sky, getting light and energy to all the buds. But in an indoor grow environment, your grow lights just don't have that power. The only way to get light directly to your buds is by removing obstacles so the buds aren't left in the shade. Outdoors cannabis plants get light from all angles (since the sun moves through the sky). When all the buds of an outdoor plant get direct exposure to light, they don't grow larfy buds at the bottom like indoor plants do. But if part of an outdoor plant is in the shade, those buds won't develop. But why doesn't the plant just use the energy from the top leaves and send it to the buds below? Because the plant sends energy to the nearest budsite, instead of taking that energy and having to move it to all the way to another place on the plant. If you look at any indoor-grown plant, it's obvious that the buds that don't get light never fatten up. The less light received by a bud, the smaller it usually is at harvest. With indoor grow lights, the light is usually only coming from above, and so buds lower on the plant (and any buds in the middle that don't receive light) stay small and airy. Buds that don't get light stay smaller, so with indoor plants the lower buds stay small It's even worse if the plant is very leafy like the one below. Notice how tiny the lower and middle buds are. You can also see a few tiny buds peaking through their leaf cover at the very bottom middle. These "buds" are little more than a few hairs. This is the type of bud that grows at the bottom and middle of the plant grown indoors without access to light. These buds are often called "popcorn buds" or "larfy buds" and they don't really have any use beside being thrown in with the trim. Outdoor buds get light from all angles from the sun. That's why lower buds on outdoor cannabis plants are usually much more developed than the lower buds of an indoor plant. But indoor growers don't
have the sun, so they must try to keep all the colas near the grow lights to get the same results. This technique of keeping colas closer to the light makes buds develop bigger and faster. That's why indoor growers usually try to make flat tops
with many colas - you get bigger yields when all the buds get great access to light. In fact there are many plant training techniques besides defoliation for indoor cannabis growers. The goal of nearly all plant training techniques is to create a flat even canopy directly under the grow
lights. Defoliation is just one of the most advanced technique that builds on all the others. Let's show you some examples of what defoliated buds look like in the flowering stage. I hope these pictures show what I cannot express in
words!
Whether it happens naturally or manually, I believe this type of indoor result is only possible by exposing the buds to direct light from the grow lights in the flowering stage, but I would love to be proven wrong!
Prove me wrong! Find a indoor plant that has... And send us pics if you find a plant that fits! We don't mind being
wrong!
What do I
need to start growing? |
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What do you need to grow just a few cannabis plants?
It depends on what you're looking for! Here's some information about different setups to help you get started!
Choose your grow type...
I need more/different help getting started!
Take me to the 10-Step Quick Start Grow Guide
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Thank you so much for the inspiration, advice and knowledge. First harvest this weekend, all thanks to you. <3
-Grower Old Leaf |
Trophy Picture of the Week! |
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2 lovely ladies grown under 600W HID. Pic was taken 6 weeks into flowering. Defoliated the day before. Used Fox Farm Soil Trio
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We encourage you to forward this email to a friend in need!
Who Runs This
Newsletter? |
Nebula Haze:
As an epilepsy patient, medical cannabis is important to me, and I'm dedicated to showing others how easy it is to grow their own supply of cannabis at home.
It is my mission to
educate and build growing resources to help both new and advanced growers get bigger, better yields with less time and money. |
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Learn which seed sources are personally recommended by Nebula Haze |
Sirius Fourside:
Sirius Fourside is a hobbyist grower who has gained the bulk of his experience growing in water as a medium(deep water culture,
bubbleponics).
"Growing cannabis is a relaxing hobby in and of itself, but it also saves you money and keeps you from having to deal with shady characters. Cannabis is much
easier to grow than people give it credit for, and growing in water doesn't increase the difficulty much, if any. But whether you want to grow in water, perlite, or a different medium, we'll show you how easy it can be!"
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