WWAF ILGM
6 weeks in flower today
Just some buds from my bigger girl
Enjoy! I know I can’t wait too!
Maybe 10-14 more days
Snipped a popcorn bud last night to “dry n try”
TGIF
7 Likes
So I took a risk with my big girl 5 days ago…did a lot of reading and video watching…my final decision controversial but I think it was the right choice from a “farming” perspective. All the while I could hear @latewood in my head saying “solar panels, lungs, don’t do it” and yet, I persisted 
I hadn’t done any FIM, scrog or training methods with my WWs and big Girl was 18" tall and 18" across - HEAVY with foliage and buds, using sidelights to enhance under canopy flower development was working BUT humidity in my small tent was running 50-84% for several days with all the flowering and respiration happening, condensation all up and down the walls dripping, had a fan going across the tent…but I was concerned about mold so I did the unthinkable…i seriously defoliated big girl taking nearly all of her fan leaves …
24 hrs later a bit of stress as she turned a yellowish green but no drooping and then as of today, those buds are really getting fat and she has full light penetration everywhere.
I may have compromised quality, I’m too much of a noob to know but all along I’ve listened to these plants and made decisions based on one part conventional wisdom and one part gut. At any rate, it will be a lesson for me going forward.
6 Likes
I defoliated an outdoor plant, for air circulation it was so leafy, a few years back and it stopped growing for a few weeks.
usually defoliation is a planned event weeks before flowering starts…be careful of impulses, some will work, some will do no obvious harm…and others may do more harm than good.
2 Likes
@kabongster
Agreed - totally a calculated risk…at that point my concern about mold and losing the whole crop vs “how much are these leaves providing the plant at this point” and " without them she’ll have great air circulation" won out. It will be interesting for me to see anectdotally how she compares to my other WW who received no defoliation.
2 Likes
lol, that was the process that led me to defoliate years ago…
but more seriously, it’s your baby, play and learn, doing things differently might work…keep us updated!
3 Likes
Thanks! I figure for better or for worse, I’d share! Might help someone else, or just provoke interesting and valuable conversation!
5 Likes
The buds look nice to me not sure I would have done the same but looks like it worked for you this time lol @Sl1
2 Likes
defoliation is a bad word…the leaves are producing the functions necessary for it’s life.
It’s not a recommended practice.
Cutting some smaller lower leaves off at the base or some lower stems that won’t grow big is okay but try to leave the leaves alone…even the ones blocking buds are helping that hidden bud grow.
Low Stress Train the plant ahead of time to spread it out for air circulation is so much better.
Plan ahead, know when to flower, when to stop topping, how many plants will fit in the grow area.
those leaves ARE the hearts and lung, cutting them off when you did is a stress…a major one that can cause problems…a hermie plant, slowed growth, maybe smaller buds because of that slow down.
it is your girl, the leaves are gone, time to watch!
@Sl1 what is your fan situation, how many, when are they on and off, where are they pointed?
2 Likes
She is looking good one week out, no signs of hermie switching and buds fatter and sugary, trichromes almost all milky but no amber yet. Think I dodged a bullet here, won’t be doing this again!
@kabongster I just have a 6" floor fan. On 18hrs, same timer as lights.
Here is Big Girl, looking a bit nekked
Here are Big n Little side by side, no defoliation of Little Girl
Little Girl
4 Likes
as an example,
I have a 4" in line fan venting the tent and a 12" oscillating fan blowing just below the leaves and on the pots, running 24/7.
Then I have a fan cooling the air cooled HPS light fixture and two 6" fans blowing between the light and canopy on timers with the light.
maybe a simple upgrade there for all future grows?
1 Like
Not seeing before and after…errr, maybe that was above, lOL Anyway, I do not see defoliation here. To defoliate means to strip the foliage, and I see plenty of leaves.
I think you meant I removed all the Fan leaves.
1 Like
Yes, thanks, @latewood – that’s what I did and there were ALOT of them…so not to worry then? Was concerned that I may have gone overboard but my plant is still growing strong so…
Your killing me LOL
No need for concewrn once you go and do something to your plants. As my Dad once said; “There is no reason to worry over something you have no control over.”
All you can do now is watch and experience the results of your gardening methods. 
Happy growing, lw
1 Like