Disclaimer:
This post is about medical/recreational cannabis.
I recommend you don't use it.
It could be illegal in your country.
Be careful!
Height
Even though this is fully legal (I still can't believe it), I want to be discrete.
I am growing on a small balcony in an apartment block.
It can occasionally get really windy out there.
I want short plants.
I want sturdy plants
Lighting
Managing light is probably the least intrusive method.
Providing as much light as possible, as early as possible, keeps the seedling from 'reaching' for light and growing long.
You obviously don't want to roast them, though.
Topping
One way to limit height would be to take the main stem off and create a wider canopy.
I don't like it. I will probably try it at some point, though, for reference.
Maybe this is mostly personal preference, but from my observation, topped plant appear more spindly.
I get strong wind and weak branches will just get blasted too much.
I also like the aestethic of one main fat kola. (Comes with some problems, but that's for later)
Topping is not my preferred method for now.
Small Pot
The bigger, the better. Pretty much everything is easier in a bigger pot.
Better buffering, more water reservoire...
The main benefit from the small containers is that the plant will grow smaller.
And better handling. Perhaps better drainage.
Constraining the roots will cause stress. This can get problematic, especially with automatics.
I will get to that later.
I will try to transplant into a larger pot before root stress gets too bad.
The benefit this comes with: every time I transplant, I get to top up fresh, loaded soil, which will keep the plant going for a while.
Super Cropping
First I heard about this, it was called 'hyper cropping' 😅
It refers to pinching/folding the stem of the plant, but not breaking it off.
The plant will respond with a callus and (bro science) release compounds that make the stems and stuff thicker and more vigorous.
I have done this with good results.
The plant above does not need it. Wouldn't know where to pinch , even. It's thick. And too young.
Super cropping might be too much stress for autos...
Automatics
All these methods don't seem all that important when growing automatics.
But I'll probably have to use autos, only. I'll explain next post.
My hand hurts.
PS:
I will use the tag #grow-diary so I can use my own blog to document all this and have easy access.