New grower kinda that is anyways… I have a quick?? Fan leaves stay or go…??
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i remove most of the fans that shoot out more than 1 or 2 inches from the stem. the ones with red on them are good candidates as they are older and have been affected by the light over time. also, i try to take them when there are at least two new fans that will replace them at the top. if the fan is covering up a node, it usually gets removed. if the fan is super big, it may get removed. the worry is not just light penetration, but air flow for mold and other issues. I try not to defoliate a plant that is sick or is cannibalizing itself.
edit: i just noticed how far along the buds were. you should have done this all by week 4, but you can probably take a few leaves each day per plant. i might not take them all at once.
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This is a question that is hotly debated.
It comes down to grower preference and environment, but check out this thread that has considerations to help you make your own decision:
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If they were mine I would thin them out just a little bit.
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Haha! Love the gifs. 
I feel like I’m not in a many of the same threads as you these days @maddawg ; how ya been?!
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It depends…
and on this run it was a yes because:
1: I need to fit 10 plants in this 4x4.
2: Deeper light penetration even thought plants are over crowded.
3: Seed run, so pollen doesn’t get cock-blocked by fan leaves.
4: Better air penetration.
On another grow in a tent running RDWC I left everything grow wild because…
1: These are testers and I wanted to see what they will do.
2: Crazy airflow so not worried about PM or other similar issues.
3: Indifferent about lower bud formation with this run.
4: Test-run of this 6x site RDWC system design.
So there’s advantages for either/or depending on your and the plants needs 
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Remove everything on the bottom for the first 5 nodes and only remove the main fans if they are blocking something. Think of the leaves as solar panels. If you don’t have enough the plant can’t make energy and will spend its time rebuilding leaves when they should be flowering.
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Fucking beautiful!
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I only remove fan leaves that clearly block bud sites, or any large leaves bunched up within the canopy. Also low laying leaves that seem to not get optimal lighting, I pull those too
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I’m trying the opposite this round. Cutting fans up top, and keeping the lower fans. Exposing budsites but keeping lower leafs for photosynthesis.
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When I first started I was much quicker to strip my plant lol as I progress I try to keep as many as possible without blocking budsites. I usually strip them during veg to focus on parts of the plant I want growth on. Less is more though I’ve learned and I have better results with a medium amount of leaves.
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Love the hanging ones back there.
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My rule of thumb. Any fan leafs blocking budsites needs to gtfo!!!
Ok!
I have been kinda quite on this subject so here it goes!
Beware of the ones that tell you what to do!
Listen to those who tell you what your options are and let you make your own decision.
I was there as many of us were when the whole " Defoliation vs No(little) defoliation" debate went down!
I would say that if you haven’t read it It’s well worth it.
It was definitely spirited…
This sums it up 
%.
Judging by the pics on your New Grower. Girl Scout Cookies / Fallen Soldiers post you have more than one plant in there. (Great looking plants by the way)
I would say try a bit of a few options and see what works for you!
Defoliate a bit and see how it goes.
Don’t defoliate and compare the two.
and/or go with the Hybrid approach 
The only way to truly learn is to do! 
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Every leaf with A stem on day one of flower and the same again on day 21. Rest of flower maybe remove couple of leaves here and there but isn’t really that necessary on most strains.
A little cleaning. They look sweet. The leaves will die off some. You want a little light to get under the big ones. Man they look nice.
You’re already going I wouldn’t get too carried away, but you can clean up the bottoms. But I normally don’t touch them after four weeks. Sometimes I don’t do anything at all.
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