is it bad to cut off some of the lower fan leaves?? and is there any difference if i do it while the plants flowering??

What are you trying to accomplish but cutting off any fan leaves? that impacts the advise people will give you.

I think most will agree in most cases, unless you have a need to increase airflow under a manicured (SOG, ScOG) uniform canopy then prunning lower leave serves no purpose and may stress the plant

As a plant goes deeper into flower some fan leaves will begin to yellow as the nitrogen that they have stored is given to the budz. They die off and many will fall off enventually, people like to take those off when then come off with a gentle yes gentle tug...rather than let them fall and perhaps harber or attract mold, bugs ect.

Thats my understanding of the basics of dealing with fan leaves in flower...there may well be advanced techniques where these general "rules" do not apply

Tuck them under, out of the way or just leave them, I agree with Scott. These are the food factories for the buds. Let them die off naturally, and your buds will be better for it.

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^^as said above, these are your babies power plants - why would you want to cut em away?! sucker bud might make some sense, but thinning out the foliage is usually not a bright idea that leads to more buds, rather to less as less energy in sugars is produced by the plants after such treatment. really the only condition in which it makes sense is if the foliage infected by a disease or to prevent mold - so to care for air flow in SOG as Scott explained.

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really i just wanted to kow how it would effect the plants if i did.ive heard of people getting rid of the fan leaves but didnt know why.if i did,it would be to let light and more air flow get to the lower leaves that arent getting as much light.also, what does it usually mean when majority of the leaves droop down?i didnt over water or over feed because its been a couple of days since watering/feeding.and....do moth balls have any effect on the plants?will it hurt them in any way?? thanks again for giving me the knowledge i need to get the growing process right!i appreciate it Scott,Jangel and Green Nobody!!

I have found that my plants will droop if it is to warm for them. what kind of temperature are you running at in the grow area?

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Moth balls? Why do you have moth balls near them? I don't know that they would do anything good for them and I would think they could kill them. I think they are some kind of salt based stuff. Not sure. I would lose the moth balls babes. And keep the leaves.

As far as drooping, shinning has it nailed. Put your finger in the dirt,then touch your cheek. If it feels cool there is moisture in there, if not, it is dry. Also, do the heft test. Get a pot the same size as your girls and fill it with dirt. Keep it dry. Then raise that and the plant at the same size. If they feel about the same, then your plant is dry and drooping from lack of water. Quite often if they need repotting, they will dry out fast, so do not water by, say, every other day, let the plant tell you, not the time.

Peace

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My Little Grow LST'ing w/Hardware

My Outdoor Odyssey 2008 BONSAI MUMS

My Little Grow Indoor To Outdoor 2009

my fan broke on me and i didnt realize it do to the fact that i was asleep. so it did get too hot for my babies! :0( i watered and fed my babies this morning as for the moth balls,i have them in the opposite corner of the closet to smother the pungent smell.so thats not good?? let me know and i will definately take your advice and get rid of them!! thanks everyone!!

Just try googling moth balls and you will find the info you need. I have never heard of using moth balls before. I know when my daughter was 2 she had one in her mouth and the poison control center said they are poison, so I wouldn't put them anywhere near something I wanted to ingest. She was okay, as she had not chewed it! LOL! always had to have something in her mouth that one, pebbles, money, safety pins, open and closed. Once she ate one of those silica things that comes with things to keep the moisture out. They said she would be thirsty but otherwise not poisonous! LOL!

Good idea though, but maybe in your room instead.

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My Little Grow LST'ing w/Hardware

My Outdoor Odyssey 2008 BONSAI MUMS

My Little Grow Indoor To Outdoor 2009

mothballs = never
ONA = yep!

Odor nutralizing agent is a very well crafted natural product that covers up smell way more effectively than anything else I have ever tried...and I like most long term growers have tried alot.

I could be mistaken but I think mothballs use napthelyne which is pretty icky to breath for man plant or beast....moths also

well im glad the moth balls(and other objects) didnt harm your daughter Jangel!! ONA??where do they sell that?? is that something you have to order online or can you get it in-store?? oh and i got rid of moth balls because of the great advice and because it stunk up the whole room let alone the closet!!

its ok to cut certain fan leafs down the bottom of the plant to increase air flow. Also I cut fan leafs that are blocking buds from light but I try to keep that at a minimal if I can't tuck away some leafs. I also cut fan leafs that are dead.

And also throw away them damn moth balls. And do not over water your plants.

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Disclaimer: I do not buy, sell, cultivate, manufacture, or use any illegal substance. Any postings I make on this forum are purely for entertainment purposes. Any pictures that I may post have been created by artificial means from images gathered from the internet and other sources. Any statements made should not be considered truthful.

Months ago I was on the same search. This is made in Canada and yet hard to find so I had to contact the sales rep in England to get this info. Pretty stupid aiy? Anyway, here is the link to look it up in any city world wide. Hope it helps you.

ONA

Peace

Oh ! Also look up under DIY videoman's oder machine. I will find it and add the link.

Here it is.

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My Little Grow LST'ing w/Hardware

My Outdoor Odyssey 2008 BONSAI MUMS

My Little Grow Indoor To Outdoor 2009

will the buds yeild more if i the fan leaves are left alone

im using alaska bloom on my plants. had been doing one tbspoon/gallon water went up to 3 tblsp/gal do u think this will increase my bud yeild also can i add hydrated lime to water and put it on the plant for nute increase pick up to the roots or should i mix it in the soil when i trans plant. hope this make sense im learning to grow and use a comp to lol tha;nke

This kinda depends on your definition of lower fan leaves and how tall your plants are. Some people like to trim the lower branches including fan leaves to increase air circulation and transfer all the energy of the plant towards the canopy usually before flowering. This is what you usually take clones with if you don't have a mother. If the lower leaves or branches are getting moldy or yellowed or blocking air flow you could take it off and focus the energy of the plant toward the canopy. Some people might say it stresses them out or increases avenues of infection with open pores. There's also some stuff you can get to seal the open pore after you trim the branch or leaf off if you decide to. I'll have to look into it to see what that is exactly.

I remove fan leaves when the plant looks to be working to keep them alive...yellowed, tattered, drying up. I almost never take any off at or above the canopy until harvest. I sometimes take the ones off on the main stem, in the last week of flower...otherwise I just try to "tuck" them out of the way of the light. If you take to many off to early, then you will get less than desirable result. At least than has been my experience.

Peace.

If you have a nutrient "lock out" caused by acidic (low pH), then, lime will raise the pH, making the soil more alkaline. The soil's pH should be in the range of 6.5 - 6.8.

Pappy

Learn from jangel and ditch the poisonous moth balls. Yes, your added nutes should help boost bud growth. Just don't over do it according to the instructions and get a digital ph meter. If you want to measure the concetrations of the nutes you will need a tds or ec meter. You can add hydrated lime directly to your water or dolomitic lime directly to your soil. Use the finest grade lime possible, since it has more surface area it can take effect quicker.

Raising soil pH : (to make it more alkaline)
It is generally easier to make soil mixes more alkaline than it is to make them more acidic. The addition of dolomite lime, hardwood ash, bone meal, crushed marble, or crushed oyster shells will help to raise the soil pH.

In soil: add dolomite limestone to the soil; use small amounts of hydrated lime.

Raising hydroponic pH : (to make it more alkaline)

In hydroponics: use potassium silicate, provides silicon at an effective doseage.
In bioponics/hydro-organics: add small amounts of sodium bicarbonate or lime.



Stabilizing pH with Dolomite lime

The best way to stable PH is by adding 1 ounce of Dolomite Lime per 1 gallon of planting soil.

Dolomite Lime is available in garden nurseries. Buy the fine Dolomite powder (There may be several kinds of Dolomite like Rough, Medium, Fine)

Dolomite Lime has been a useful PH stabilizer for years, since it has a neutral PH of 7 when added to your soil it stabilizes your soil at PH 7.

Mix the dry soil medium and dolomite together really well, give the mix a good watering then after the water has had chance to settle and leech into the soil a bit give the mix a really good stir. Then water the soil/lime mix and give it another stir

Best plan is to mix fine dolomite lime into your mix before planting. Fine Dolomite will help stabilize your pH; however, if the ph becomes unstable or changes, you can then use Hydrated Dolomite Lime. Add some of the hydrated lime to luke warm water and give it a good stir then water your plants with it. Give the plants a good watering with this hydrated lime added and your PH should fall or rise back to 7

Other Benefits of Dolomite Lime

Dolomite lime is also high in two secondary nutes that can often be overlooked by fertilizers; dolomite is high in both (Mg) Magnesium and (Ca) Calcium.

Stabilizing pH with Dolomite lime

The best way to stable PH is by adding 1 ounce of Dolomite Lime per 1 gallon of planting soil.


I'm not sure how much the amount i use weighs out to, but per G i use about 1 TBSP (liberally). I added it to the soil before i added other stuffs. I know that some people think to add it to the entire amount of mixture, but IMO it's only for the amount of soil. So, if you add perlite, moss, etc...you wouldn't take that into consideration. My mix is black gold organic, worm castings, dolomite, perlite, and lime. so far so good.

kailiwela44

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