After looking at the girls this morning I noticed some distinct differences.
#1 Untopped looks thick lush and to my untrained eye great bud structure.
#2 Topped at the 5th node looks spindly and thin as if the individual bud sites are over stretched. Perhaps they will still fill in over the next few weeks. (skipping the runt…)
#4 Topped at 4th node. I love the structure, height and density of this plant. I wish that I would have topped the 4 mainlines, but even with out that the bud sites are full and compact.
This journey has been a great learning experience, now to plan for the next grow and topping choices.
True that. I was escared and trying to find my way in the OG. Grow started on Jan 9 and if all goes well I should be caught up with the live grow in the next day or so. I am not the greatest at getting my together in the writing and editing of this grow log.
Trust you are well in your new place @cannabissequoia
Dr Zymes has been more than a friend!
I think you are correct on each of those calls @TARpits. And I have a hypothesis about those results.
It’s all about the ticking clock of Autoflowers. They are gonna flower and ripen fully on a pre-programmed schedule, or die trying. When shit happens along the way, like topping, they react to it with resources that were intended elsewhere. Sometimes it matters more than others.
So:
If you just grow them out au naturale you’ll see a plant that is reflecting its genetic nature, limited by light, pot size, nutes, pests, etc.
If you top a plant, you’ll inevitably stunt its growth somewhat as the wound heals and energy is directed to the lower nodes.
If you top at just the right time genetically determined (and unknowable to us on the first run like this) you can achieve an ideal canopy. The plant takes the cut in stride and blows up with growth.
If you top any time other than the optimal, you may end up with growth that is inferior to the un-topped form.
In your case, we had an overriding concern about the WPM and other threats, so it seemed prudent to attempt some pruning that would open up the plant and allow better airflow.
As it turns out, the WidowMaker’s natural growth habit is pretty well adapted to a decent shape without any topping at all. If you grow WM again, untopped would be the default. 4th node cut gets second place and might be the best in terms of quality due to having equality of photons over the canopy. That really matters for those buds to fatten.
I have more respect for #2 than you, every single one of those flowers is staring into the sun.
Good observations and a simple fact to remember: Your Second Grow with the same seeds will usually be Much Better. I grew White Widow for a full year getting things dialed in.
Can you take a direct Overhead picture of each of them. I wanna count budsites.
Are you feeding them your Bloom nutes? What strength?
I appreciate this quote: In looking at #2 from the top it has great bud structure and they are reaching for the flame. It’s the side view that seems sparse but there is room to fill those out over the next few weeks.
I am feeding them according to the directions, 1 tbls per gallon of soil. They are really thirsty right now and I have chosen to feed them every other water to see how they react. No sign of nute burn(as if I know what to look for).
I agree to let them go au natural or a 4 node top.
Here are 4 close ups of today’s frost in no particular order.
HARVEST IS COMING!
Get yourself some kinda magnifying picture taking setup going @TARpits. Seriously, you are going to be on Trichome watch soon, really soon. Your eyes are prolly sharper than mine, but they won’t be good enough for the harvest decision.
I get good enough results with a cheap 10x hand loupe clipped over the camera lens of my iPhone 7. There are also cheap digital microscopes and more. A nice tripod is also helpful.
You are going to want a solution, what sounds good, what do you have on hand?
I will shop options this evening, took some shots with my watch makers loupe. My eyes might be better than yours, but I will shop for a clip on lens for the iPhone.
The Active Eye Universal Mobile Phone Microscope is a compact, lightweight 60x microscope that can be clipped onto smartphones and mobile phones that are equipped with a camera. It is used for viewing very small objects and areas. It is especially…
Get targeted, optimal illumination with the Active Eye loupe. The loupe works by the light of an intensely bright LED bulb, giving you 30x magnification without eye strain. Easily identify pests, disease, or plant species to target fast solutions.
For my first try at this I am leaning toward the 3/4 topping. What about the 4 mainlines where do you top them? In all the excitement I neglected to top them. I guess I glossed over that in your tutorial.
Well here is one photo from 60x. I ordered a 3 pack of loupes on eBay 10$ free shipping out of Carlsbad. By the time I read your message I was already done spending my 14.98$
The removal of asymmetrical branches, way down low like 3-6th node is an interesting way to get uniform bud sizes & keep a flatter overall plant. I did it a couple times but never really had a reason to other than constraining height. I like to leave either 6/8 points on the star viewing from above…. Not just an X or …
Great Pics! The resolution is there with that 60x but you may want a cheap ass selfie tripod to hold the camera steady. I had focus and depth of field issues at that high rez.
Here’s the type of tripod I use.
The goose neck is handy bc you often can’t get close enough to the area you want to image. This little dongle is the remote shutter.
And that image tells us that 90% of trichomes are mature because they are cloudy rather than transparent/clear. It also indicates that there are no Amber colored trichs yet, so letting that bud mature a little more will allow some conversion of THC to CBN, etc., resulting in a more relaxing body high.
You can’t trust the sugar leaves, gotta focus on a calyx trichs for a reading.
You’ll want to have Trichome info at hand when the time comes so you can obsess daily, like the rest of us, as harvest comes neigh.
Isn’t it interesting that the fullest development is The Runt? Are you feeding them all the same? I’m surprised to see the large difference in trichome development between them. No sign of nute burn, so perhaps you should up the levels gradually.
This first grow round with input from @GrouchyOldMan I topped one at 4 and one at 5 and the other two I let ride. I currently have some seedlings going and will have to make a decision as to what I want. Whatever that choice is I would like to keep all 4 of these the same. I am leaning toward 4th node again but am always open to the voices of experience.
If it was me and I was doing auto’s I’d only top one time; just the main branch between nodes 3/4 and remove downward facing vertical growth and grow the plant out as a quad.
Thank you @BU2B for the image and input, I was warned that autos would react differently to topping by @GrouchyOldMan . I am more than satisfied with this inaugural grow and happy to have had a chance to experiment early on with a pseudo PPP training.
The one I topped at the 4th and let ride is certainly the better of the 2 topped ones at this point. I am watching and hoping the 5th node buds fill out a bit more.
together in the writing and editing 
of this grow log.
me no see too good
viewing from above…. Not just an X or 
…
