Low-Stress Training Creates More Yields
By bending stems and guiding them away from the interior of the plant, you allow light to be more evenly distributed and reach more of the leaves, not just those on the top and outside. As those secondary leaves increase in number and volume, the plant's capacity to produce energy through photosynthesis increases, too, leading to even more foliage that supports the plant's needs. Bending the stems also encourages the development of more colas, the cluster of leaves at the end of a limb where flower buds form. More colas means more flower buds for you to harvest. Another benefit of LST: It allows you to limit the maximum height of your plants, which can be critical in an indoor garden when you're raising plants that may reach more than 7 feet tall.
How to Use Low-Stress Training on Your Plants
Many growers remove the top tier of foliage before starting LST. While not necessary, cutting or pinching off the uppermost leaf clusters stimulates the plant to begin branching out and it gives you a symmetrical base to start the training.
When you're ready to bend the stems, check to be sure each is flexible enough to be pulled downward. If any are stiff and resistant, move higher up on the stem to younger growth that will be more pliable.
Starting with the outermost branches, bend each stem away and down from the middle of the plant. An easy way to do this: Form a twist-tie into a hook and loop it around the stem where it won't break off any limbs or leaves. Use the hook to gradually, gently pull the stem down.
To hold the stem in place, loop the end you're holding of the twist-tie to the container. If there are no openings or handles on the top edge of your containers to which you can secure the twist-ties, you may need to punch a few holes yourself. Some growers attach ties to fishing weights to hold down the stems, while others anchor them with hooks pushed into the soil. However you decide to tie down your plants, be sure you don't attach them to something immobile, so that you can still move the containers, if necessary.
Be careful that the ties don’t slip across the surface of the stem and scrape it. If you have a stem that won't stay down, secure it in several places so the tension is spread out rather than focused just in one spot. If your plant gets wounded in the process (it can happen even when you're being careful), wrap the break with first-aid tape to close it and provide support to the stem.
Your plant may take a few days to recover from the training, but you'll soon see new shoots sprouting upward along the bent stems. Leave the ties in place as the plant continues to grow and form new colas. Each cola will produce buds that receive the maximum exposure to light, giving you not only more buds but denser, more solid ones.
One more benefit of low-stress training: When you're harvest is done, you'll have many more limbs to use for taking cuttings and turning into clones for your next crop.
The following are some best LED grow lights for indoor plants.
ECO Farm MB4 880W Master/Station Spectrum Dimmable Samsung +Osram Chips UV IR LED Grow Light Strips
Description:
- ECO Farm Master/Station version foldable LED fixture, with 8 bars, could evenly cover 4’X4’ and 5X5’ area.
- Actual 880W light, provide powerful and quality light to the plant.
- High-efficiency full spectrum light strips:
The full-spectrum led grow light is optimized for rapid growth and complete plant development. Using Samsung white chips and Osram red chips, could up to 2.8 μmol/J, PPF up to 2184 μmol/s.
- Master version light with built-in LCD color screen, showing the detailed status of the fixture and its group members. Such as dimming percentage, wattage, amps, PPF value, spectrum, timer status.
- Highlight: Built-in a control system on Master, with a step-less dimmer and five-step timer. One Master can control up to 50pcs of Stations. In other words, any changes made in Master will sync across all the connected Stations.
- Spectrum Tunable. There are four types of spectrum built-in this fixture, it provides a suitable spectrum for different stages of medicinal plant growth, such as V1 for VEG stage, F1 for the flowering stage, FS for the last two weeks of flowering.
- UV/IR enhanced bars was easy to install/uninstall from the fixtures. Item was our most creative mechanism design that enables you the most time-saving and convenient way to install the fixture.
- Note: Our lights contain UV IR by default
ECO Farm ECOZ Pro 700W/1000W UV+IR LED Samsung 301H Grow Light Strips
Description:
- ECO Farm ECOZ Pro 700W/1000W series was the latest trend and most popular for its good design and ease of use.
- Full spectrum: the light include IR and UV which is similar to the sunshine, ideal for all kinds of indoor plants veg and flower at all growth stages.
- Three channels: veg, bloom, UV.
- It is a perfect top-lighting solution for commercial horticulture cultivation, or a full-cycle top-lighting solution for home hobbyists cultivating.
ECO Farm SP Series 420W/630W/840W Dimmable LED Grow Light With Samsung Chips Foldable Light Strips
Description:
- High-efficiency full spectrum grow light: ECO Farm SP series led grow light have Samsung LM281B LEDs(3000k+5000k) +RED 660nm+IR 730nm +UV 395nm, provides the plant with the full spectrum from seeding to flowering. Ideal for indoor plants all stages growing, rapid plant response from seed to flower, speeds up flowering time and boost yields
- Market-leading efficiency to 2.6 µmol/J and 2.5g yield per wattage with 30% higher average PPFD
- Realize large-area harvest with LED lighting: Easy to dimming and heat dissipation, waterproof power supply, aluminum housing, long power supply life, suitable for large rooms and commercial places, make your plants get more energy, and get maximum headroom without burning plants
- Optional touch screen controller, an idea for commercial growing (max 100 lights) &timing and dimmable function.
- All in one design, build-in driver, free assemble, save time and shipping fee
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Low Noise & Low Heat: No fans needed meaning low noise; Ambient heat is very low, so there is no need to worry about burns or damage to your plant
If you have any questions, please contact us and we will respond to you as soon as possible.
Our emails address is: business@ecofarm.ca
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