Garden Two At 3.3 weeks In Vegetative Stage: Before and After Thinning

Three and a half weeks into growing my second garden and I am working on my pruning and thinning skills. I have learned that thinning (which translates to removing redundant leaves and leaves that become discoloured, as the plants age) will encourage the plants to grow into a stronger, denser hedge.

The first picture on the far left is what my Queens looked like 10 days ago. The picture on the right is what the Ladies looked like before I thinned them of some of their leaves.

 

       (Plants 10 Days ago.)                              (Plants Just Before Thinning.)

As you can see, these plants can grow a considerable amount in the span of just 10 days.

It's not called weed without good reason. (So I have quickly learned.)

It grows vivaciously and needs regular care and maintenance, To Achieve A Decent Yield

If you take some of the leaves from the plants at this point, it lets both the air and light get in and around the plants more effectively. It's also a calculated amount of trauma for the plants that will encourage the plants to recover and strengthen themselves.

I am also pinching off all the main centre sprouts to encourage the plants to eventually produce more bud clusters. Normally the plants would only produce one cola or very tight bud cluster from a centre sprout, but if you remove the centre sprout (early on in vegetative state) the plant will produce 2 more bud clusters and if you do this again, the plant will produce 4 more bud clusters. Ultimately, this technique encourages the plants to grow more buds or flowers.

At this point, I am also bending branches and gently squeezing the sides of some of the stocks

Bending the branches or larger stems encourages the plants to take a more horizontal position and once you achieve that position, it will stimulate the plants to grow more vertical stems that will produce more buds or flowers too. The plants will grow many vertical stems from the horizontally bent branches as it tries to reach for the light. I am also gently squeezing the sides of some of the larger stocks. This damages the plant and encourages it to repair itself. This repair, ultimately makes the stocks stronger and able to hold more flower buds which can become quite heavy as the plants mature. These techniques are often referred to as Super Cropping.

Staking is also a common procedure to give the plants support. This also becomes increasingly necessary as the plants grows.

                      

I have learned that when you thin the leaves from a plant, you should always pull the leaf and the leaf's stem downward on the stalk. You'll notice that the Queens have responded almost instantly to having their leaves thinned and they are drooping a little bit as a result of the trauma that they have just endured.

This is the pile of leaves that I have removed:

                      

In less than 24 hours, the plants re-bounded.

                      

It's difficult to tell that "thinning" has even occurred.

                      

I am also trying my hand at cloning or taking a cutting from an existing plant and getting it to take root.

                     

This particular plant (in the photo above) is the thinnest of all the plants that I am currently growing. Most of the other plants look like the photo below.

                     

You can see that these plants are looking healthier than the plants that I grew in my first garden.

I am learning. This is progress, one green leaf at a time.

I welcome your comments and I invite you to follow me on my journey...sometimes there will be a few piles of leaves and stems that are sacrificed for the common good of....all of humanity. ;)

~ Rebecca Ryan