Hello friends! It’s time for another What’s Going on in Dave’s Grow? This week you are in for a treat because I am going to strip the leaves off my veg plants. This process is called defoliation and I do it before flipping my plants to flower.
And away we go!
First off I have to say this method is controversial and definitely not for everyone. There are many many growers out there who don’t subscribe to this practice at all. In fact, not so long ago I was one of those people who when first heard of this said “You mean you take almost all the leaves off the plant? And they grow back?”
I can say that since embracing this practice I have experienced a dramatic increase in yields. It’s one of the many “tricks” you hear about from growers. So why do it?
Stressing the cannabis (or hemp) plant produces greater results. Defoliation is part of a group of stress inducing practices which also include: low stress training and super cropping. Timing is critical when it comes to defoliation. Doing it when the plants are too young may result in irreversible damage. I wait until 1 week before flowering to defoliate in veg. Since the plant is in the 4th week of veg , it’s large and hearty and can take this kind of punishment. Once you are in flowering, all bets are off and it’s time to treat these ladies like the gentile princesses they are.
Advantages of Defoliation
Defoliation rids the plant of it’s lower leaves so it can focus all energies on the bud sites of the plant. Leaving the bud sites in tact allows the plant to absorb more light in those areas thus producing larger colas in flowering.
Another advantage is to open up the canopy of the plant and allow light to penetrate the lower parts of the plant. These are the areas that do not receive much light during veg. Now they can bathe in the magical light from above promoting vigorous growth!
Believe it or not, the plant regrows all of the leaves back rapidly. You will see everything just the way it was in around 4-5 days…just in time to defoliate your second time. Yes that’s right you do this exact same thing a week later. This time you have your plants set to flowering time and maybe under a scrog net.
One thing about scrog netting. This go round I opted for no scrog net. Man was I wrong to stop scrogging. The thing about embracing practices like defoliation means bigger yields which also means heavier plants that fall over when ripening. A scrog net is the ideal solution for holding your plants up when they are top heavy with mighty colas.
I promise to get more consistent with grow videos. In the meantime, feel free to email me with any questions at david@thestonermom.com. Thanks for watching!
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