First grow and trying LST instead of pruning because I went with autoflower and really just want to guarantee at least some good yield. I plan on using mainly clips if possible. I do have some rubber coated garden wire and one set of the clips purchased have the holes for tie points. I’ve been following the budtrainer guidance but one of my stalks is getting pretty thick and shows signs of being woody higher than the first bend recommended in their guidance and when I gently push the top the whole plant seems to move. Has this stalk already gotten too thick to train? Should I start training the others even though it’s earlier than the budtrainer guidance?
Note: I think this stalk is thicker and firmer because I inserted the germinated seed at a slight angle. It grew at that angle at first and I thought awesome this one came auto trained as well until the stalk doubled in size and straightened over night.
Oh quick add. These will be at 3 weeks from sprout tomorrow and I was planning on training at the fourth week or fifth node. It’s two Blue Dream Autos and 2 Green Gelatos from STRNG seeds. I think that translates to ILGM blue dream auto and seed supreme green gelato auto maybe but cannot confirm.
I don’t think I’d bend that stalk it looks to thick to me. I have used the clips last grow on the branches just not the main. They look very healthy. Clips has been all the LST I’ve done with autos however growers top them once or twice. I am just concerned it would shock them to much. I need to do it myself as a learning experience
Thanks! So you’ve only widened the side branches and didn’t bend the main with the clip?
The budtrainer company was saying you could use them to lay down the main stalk but the plant shown in their example seemed more malleable while about the same size. I also read something about letting them get thirstier can make them more amicable to bending, but I thought they should be thirsty enough for that yesterday and definitely felt more like the whole plant moving rather than bending.
Just a little update. I let them dry out a little longer and ended up bending them all over this morning with wire instead of the clips. Things seem to have gone over smoothly, will report back in a day or two on how they’re recovering.
There ya go Your off to a good start, plants look very healthy
Autos are all I grow (preference) and can tell ya selective pruning isn’t going to hinder yield …
Keep us updated
Thanks! Yeah I clipped a few sucker sites today but feel the rest are still a little too early to tell. I’ve been rearranging limbs a little too and still have light on 2/3 of the lower fan leaves so was going to wait a week and then do a 10-20% thinning of fan leaves from the bottom up to try and get ready for SCROG.
I saw one method I might go with next time too that took all of the fan leaves before bending. It was on Hey Abby and their end product looked pretty solid. Do you usually go that far? I won’t be with the first grow just to be careful but was considering it for next time.
Thanks.
Once it gets a few weeks, maybe 3 or so, into flower and I can see how it’s gonna set up flowering I’ll choose a spot on the stem where I want the cola to start and then strip everything beneath that.
I typically won’t prune anything until it’s vegged and has stretched.
Plants will typically look all crowded during veg, but you gotta keep in mind that once stretches everything spaces out.
Thanks again! Yeah definitely watching and learning the cycle this first grow and then plan on trying to do heavier pruning with a photo period in my second grow and then honestly maybe do both in cycles in 2 tents. I do plan on minor pruning though once they stretch a little. That’s them at week 3 from sprout.
You can do it all to healthy autos; those that say otherwise just haven’t, or haven’t needed to for space/environment reasons…LST, HST, supercrop, top, schwazz, etc:
Oh sorry I combined those posts and got lost. Yeah I plan to. I wanted the first grow autos LST, second photo with topping and LST. And then cycle in autos at flower and do the same with them. Those are looking great though and hope to get there one day.
Thanks. Sounds like a good plan. It is helpful to grow some natural, and some with the various methods over time to gain confidence and get a feel for whatever you need to produce.
And don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do with autos …the serious auto trainers are few and far between on this forum.
I assume you saw someone schwazz their plant for whatever reason…you’ll have some folks freak out when you talk about that method, but there are reasons it can help especially for space/environment issues.
If you have enough space and a proper environment, depending on your goals, no training may be needed…but as an experienced grower you can do almost anything to a healthy auto and still be successful.
Your off to a good start, plants look very healthy 
