Help an old man start?

[Hemingway]

Good afternoon, all! I'm not sure if there is a more appropriate place for noob introductions, but I did try to look. Please don't hesitate to let me know if I'm doing this wrong.

Anyway, hi! I'm stoked to be starting my journey and decided it's time to find some community. I'm a middle-aged (45) dad who found that cannabis helps my anxiety way better than benzos years ago, and now trying to get self-sufficient. I started out with advice from a friend in a fantasy league, purchased some Gelauto seeds from Mephisto, and received a Vivosun 2x4x6 kit for Christmas. I have done tons of reading, bought some books, and feel reasonably prepared. I come from the tropical plant growing hobby as well as the mushroom hobby, if that provides context.

So my two girls are planted in 5gal pots with Ocean Farm soil (couldn't find Happy Frog in my small town). They broke the soil on Christmas and are looking good. My big initial question is: Should I let these two go without attempting training since it's my first-ever grow, or should I attempt some kind of training?

Thanks so much in advance for what I hope is the beginning of a new journey in this community for me.

Kris

 

[Olderfart]

Thank you for all the valuable input, and clearly this community is a welcoming place to start. It sounds like I'll be topping my girls. I'm super nervous for that, but stoked to have some direction

Don't sweat the topping, that is a lot less of an issue than the watering and nutes. Not one of the plants I have topped (probably dozens by now) has reacted badly. Hardly at all really, active growth again in 48 hours at the most. Good luck with it, and keep the questions coming if you have any. Someone here will always jump in to help if they can.

 

[Hemingway]

Is she ready to be topped? She's growing pretty fast now

 

[Dab]

WIth auto's I like topping between the 4th and 5th node it's usually early enough it doesn't bother them. Which normally happens after day 14 and before day 21. Once you can get a clean shot I'd take it above the 4th node. Maybe another day or so it looks like but hard to tell from here.

 

[Hemingway]

WIth auto's I like topping between the 4th and 5th node it's usually early enough it doesn't bother them. Which normally happens after day 14 and before day 21. Once you can get a clean shot I'd take it above the 4th node. Maybe another day or so it looks like but hard to tell from here.


View attachment 1775452

Thanks for the help! I'm at day 15, and I think you're right, it should be tomorrow or the next day. I had seen some folks saying not to top until well into the 20s, and I didn't want to miss my opportunity

 

[Dab]

Thanks for the help! I'm at day 15, and I think you're right, it should be tomorrow or the next day. I had seen some folks saying not to top until well into the 20s, and I didn't want to miss my opportunity

No problem I guess you could wait till their well into the 20's but lot of auto start sexing and flowering then which is not when you want to be topping. I know some folks here do between the 5th and 6th node but I wouldn't wait any longer then that with auto's

 

[MesaBoogie]

I agree with @Dab , if it's not ready for topping at around day 21 I usually opt for some of the other methods mentioned above for training. Yours looks pretty on track to me, I'd be topping that girl within a week's time.

 

[Cannaficionado]

Thank you for all the valuable input, and clearly this community is a welcoming place to start. It sounds like I'll be topping my girls. I'm super nervous for that, but stoked to have some direction

Don't be nervous about topping. Its very easy. As long as your plant is moderately healthy they will be completely unphased by it. I top and 2-3 days later you'll see the side branching starting to take off.

 

[Hemingway]

I topped her, or at least I think I got it right, and she's bouncing back a bunch. Any thoughts on the next step for training, or should I leave her alone?

 

[Cannaficionado]

I topped her, or at least I think I got it right, and she's bouncing back a bunch. Any thoughts on the next step for training, or should I leave her alone?View attachment 1776434

You can start training the secondary branches that form at the nodes if theres enough there to wrap some wiring around, definitely. Looks like the top was fine and even if it wasn't, thats something the community likes to call a FIM (Fuck I missed) Ive done it before. Sometimes this still causes the main stalk to continue to grow like it was not topped or will developed 2-3 main colas but the side branching will still pick up for a bit while the plant sorts out what its doing at the top cut

One thing to note though id she looks a little hungry, leaves are starting to become more pale and I see some tips turning yellow too. Idk what or if you are feeding yet though.

 

[Hemingway]

You can start training the secondary branches that form at the nodes if theres enough there to wrap some wiring around, definitely. Looks like the top was fine and even if it wasn't, thats something the community likes to call a FIM (Fuck I missed) Ive done it before. Sometimes this still causes the main stalk to continue to grow like it was not topped or will developed 2-3 main colas but the side branching will still pick up for a bit while the plant sorts out what its doing at the top cut

One thing to note though id she looks a little hungry, leaves are starting to become more pale and I see some tips turning yellow too. Idk what or if you are feeding yet though.

I'm thinking that it's lockout from too much nitrogen since I planted the seeds straight into OF. I've seen enough signs of excess nitrogen between this girl and the one I planted next to her that I'm convinced I need to find another soil option for my next grow. I'm in SC, don't have access to local grow shops, so I'm wide open to suggestions. So far, I'm only watering with Ph-adjusted dechlorinated tap and haven't added any nutrients.