This is my first grow, and I think I’m hooked on it. I’m having a blast. But I’m not sure if I’m doing the right thing. My plants are 4 weeks from seed. I cut some of the fan leaves that were bigger than my hand. There was a lot of growth underneath that wasn’t getting any light. Did you think I may have stunted their growth by cutting the fan leaves off to soon or should I have waited to cut them? Is it ok to defoliate in the veg state and or the flower state?
4x4 grow tent
Vivson vs2000
6” inline fan
2 small fans
FFHF in 5-gallon fab pots
Nature’s Living soil autoflower
Water – R.O.
Temp/RH 76-78/55-65
4 Zkittlez Autos from ILGM
Welcome to the community.
You can tuck those bigger leaves down to expose the new growth or chop off a couple that are blocking the light.
Good looking plants. Keep the training going.
Fan leaves are like solar panels providing the necessary food for the plant. Once they are grown they keep working until the plant naturally disposes of them. They will eventually yellow and die.
Some will say they are taking energy from other parts of the plant, but energy comes from the light, not the roots. With autos its best to leave as many leaves as possible. If they are touching the dirt I remove them as there is a risk of mold. Lower branches will recieve benefits from fan leaves. The light does not actually have to hit the branch for it to grow. Nutrients will travel from fan leaves to other areas.
So in the dirt…Remove it.
Later when you have buds if the air movement is blocked by a large leaf remove it. You want good airflow.
@KennyD I love your outlook! Your plants look very healthy. Yea with autos I like to be conservative with pruning. Just prune to provide air flow and tuck fans that block buds. Toward the end she will start to suck the nutrients from the lower fans. That’s when I get rid of them. But I’m a recovering prunaholic!
That’s funny right there! But I grow wonderful tomatoes, we prune them and train the plants to grow on fences etc… The big difference is auto flower weed. They start flowering when the DNA says go (3-4 weeks). As opposed to photo periods which you can let veg as long as it takes to get them looking robust. If you F-up on autos in those first few weeks, they have no time to come back. That said, I’ve topped, trained, pruned and super cropped autos with success. But they need to have that real good start. The “Solar Panel” idea is valid but the solar panels in the basement produce far less energy than they require!
@BuddyHolly1212 as does your stalk lol. If you got bugs in your pot or tent you got bugs period. Keeping your undercarriage cleaned out keeps good quality airflow down there to help reduce any potential mold issues imo.
But I’m not sure if I’m doing the right thing. My plants are 4 weeks from seed. I cut some of the fan leaves that were bigger than my hand. There was a lot of growth underneath that wasn’t getting any light. Did you think I may have stunted their growth by cutting the fan leaves off to soon or should I have waited to cut them? Is it ok to defoliate in the veg state and or the flower state?
