For 6 weeks now, a cannabis seed in a bucket of dirt has been given nothing but plain water. I chopped the top off last week. This is what it looks like today:
The whole thing has been documented on the Hive/WeedCash blockchain! Previous snapshots:
As you can see, the plant (an unsexed Reclining Buddha indica) is looking healthy and doing well so far.
I topped it about a week ago, and decided to go with 2 tops from there (not 4 as originally planned). They've already advanced a full node and are popping out another. I'm going to top those, leaving me with 4 active tops, all at the same height, in square formation. I've used that plant structure before, and find it efficient. A generally-square shape is convenient, because then I can stack a few of them alongside each other in my small rectangular garden, making the best use of the the space.
There you can see the Y shape created by the first cut a week ago, and how much new growth has advanced on both sides since then. If you're hesitating on topping your plants, if they're in veg stage and fairly healthy, I recommend it. That little tuft of green you remove may seem like it's hurting them, but they'll come back literally twice as strong. And then you'll have a bushier plant, a real advantage when growing indoors.
(Note: When you take a top off a cannabis plant, the removed portion is EXTREMELY healthy and beneficial for you! It's loaded with nutrients and antioxidants. And it contains meristem, the embryonic tissue of plants, capable of becoming any other tissue. It's the tastiest and most valuable part of the plant, so when you remove it to cause your plant to react with renewed growth, make sure you make use of it! Add it to cooking, stir fry, salad, curry, smoothies, etc... or just chomp it up while it's still alive! Even though it won't get you high, it's a tender little power-up that I hope you won't just throw away!)
Next update, you'll see FOUR lush tops on this plant, not just two!
200% organic means nothing goes into or onto the plant (or its soil, water, etc). Just plain water, air, light, and dirt made of worm castings (poop). Imagine you're on a tropical island with nothing but a cannabis seed, dirt, and rainwater. THAT would be 200% organic. No sprays, no hormones, no fertilizers, no pesticides, no fungicides, no chemicals, no food, no products, no "nutes", nothing. Like Nature does things... but with optimized weather conditions. Plants that live clean, natural, and healthy lives produce superior medicine.
Garden Update
I've transplanted the other 7 Reclining Buddha plants into their adult pots. Now the garden is completely full - 8 plants including the bucket!
They're going to get big, and this garden is going to be STUFFED with weed! Hopefully most of it is female!
Nice and green, no sign of pests or nutrient deficiencies etc.
This was my vision for this crop, and it's rewarding to see it coming along as I had hoped. Anything can happen, of course, but I'll deal with that then. For now, I have my mind focused on the goal or flowering out these gorgeous plants, and harvesting an epic crop of sensimilia!
They're recovering nicely from their transplant, and will soon be expanding their roots into the new real estate.
7 of the 8 (all except the bucket plant) are structured like this. They've only been topped once, but an additional two tops have been allowed to grow up, from the 2nd-highest node. I haven't tried that before. So far, I don't really like it, because the plant doesn't put the same effort into the lower branches, and they fall drastically behind.
I might take those smaller side branches as clones to give away to a friend. And top these again, to produce the trusty square formation. We'll see!
If you're worried about chopping the top of your plant off, I totally get it. I was extremely afraid to do it the first time. But guess what? I've done it EVERY single time since then! It's really that beneficial. If you do it during vegetative stage to a healthy plant, you really can't go wrong, and often you can go really right!
Grow in peace.
DRutter
