Defoliation question! ***With cool custom drawn picture!

Advanced Techniques Pruning
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I know you came for the cool custom picture…First grow. MAC Stomper, Day 3 of flower. HLG 100 RSpec. 2x2. 73 degrees, 55% RH. 15 Gallons of purple cow with cover crop and worms. Inline & 2 fans.

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I didn’t defoliate a week before. Oops I guess. I heard you’re supposed to a week before and at day 21 of flower…but she’s thick all over and I’m kinda worried about powdery mildew. I have 2 fans and an inline running 24/7, but still. Would hate to have something dumb like that happen. I haven’t cut anything yet, but instead have been tucking the big fan leaves to the outer part of the trellis leaving room for light to penetrate the canopy.

Someone on reddit said I should defoliate the big fan leaves on top. I know the fan leaves provide all sorts of good stuff. But when I was looking at the plant I noticed this.

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The huge fan leaf is definitely blocking all sorts of light. Is it still providing energy to the top cola if the cola has those small fan leaves growing?

Would it ever be something I cut off (like the two huge ones in the bottom of the first picture) and when? Today or on day 21?

The bottom part of the plant has at least 5 that size all the way around getting no light (I LSTd so they used to get light but not anymore).

Also made my own trellis. Crafty wife, Crafty Life!

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Above the net i leave them all alone till flower and then only if they block light from bud sites or airflow. After well into flower i strip all the crap under the net. I like leavung those Solar panels alone as long as i can.

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What about something like this? I would really like to get these off the tops but if they need them to produce better i am leaving them alone. @Audiofreak

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Those big yellowing fan leaves are going on their own but i would take them off for sure.

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Time to break out the Fiskars…lol

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If it is leaves I cannot tuck and block a good potential bud site it will not harm the plant 1 but to do minore leaf defols thru the whole grow basically as long as it is minimal leaves getting taken off the plant. I defol leaves a couple or so daily on my plants. If it’s looking bad I take it off if it seems too big I take it off. So far I’ve had minimal complaints to myself for things I’ve done wrong. Going back to working a job nor consisting of growing weed was a bad move. Lol. I’ve let the growing part go so much I barely have the uumph to wanna keep at it. Lol. If it was an auto I’d say be a lil more not so defolly as autos r a bit picky and too much defols can cause for smaller buds.

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