Super cropping is a method that is used to train your cannabis plants to significantly deliver higher yields. With that in mind, it can be challenging for cultivators who have not experienced this kind of trend. So, super cropping needs a deeper understanding to achieve higher yields, otherwise, it will be disastrous to your plants.
To help you out, we will discuss everything about super cropping, its dos and don’ts, and how this can work effectively with your cannabis plants.
So, What’s the Main Purpose of Super Cropping?
Super cropping is a technique that stress trains your plants which includes bending and pinching your cannabis plants’ branches that result in damaging its internal fibers. It may sound so counterintuitive, super cropping’s kind of stress usually provides a lot of benefits to your cannabis plants. One of it is it encourages your plants to improve its vegetative growth while it also develops healthier buds.
This happens when your cannabis plants respond to the stress you’ve applied to it. The plants produce more cannabinoid and trichomes that are rich in terpene as a response to the stress it experiences, forcing itself to survive and thrive under these circumstances.
The inflicted damage to your cannabis plants through super cropping enables your plants to activate its defense mechanism by reacting through the pinching and bending of its branches which ironically improves its growth and quality.
Generally, super cropping is the process of altering the cannabis plants’ structure through bending and pinching which allows the natural light to provide more exposure to shoots at the lower part of your plants. This results in improving bud production and size.
What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Super Cropping?
Just like other cultivating methods in cannabis growing, it also comes with its pros and cons that you need to learn to prevent any mishap while doing it. Check out the advantages & disadvantages of super cropping below:
Advantages
- Enhances the density of buds
- Effective in increasing yields
- Maximizes the indoor growing space
- Provides better ventilation
- Does not need equipment
- Does not need any expertise
Disadvantages
- Can’t be applied to auto-flowering cannabis plants
- Can kill the plants if not applied properly
- It takes significant time for the plants to recover from the stress
- Can take a lot of effort when applied to multiple plants
How to Start Super Cropping your Cannabis Plants?
Super cropping should not hold you back from doing it. Since it’s known intimidation for newbie cultivators, however, it’s actually pretty easy to do. All you need is the proper guidance to perform this method.
However, recklessness and one simple mistake will just make your plants suffer. However, with the proper application and supervision of your cannabis plants, super cropping will surely reward you with tremendous yields.
So, Here are the Proper Ways to do Super Cropping
- Choose the right branches to crop-It is highly recommended to crop the branches that are fully-matured, but not those that are already woody and too old. You can crop branches that are noticeably taller than the others. This will also lower these tall branches to provide more canopies to the rest of the vegetation.
- Find the best spot -Always remember that super cropping is finding your way to the best spot of the branch where it’s malleable without damaging the exterior part of it. In finding the best spot to super crop, you have to feel where the softest part of the branch. Once you’re done cropping it, your plant should look bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Crop the branch’s bottom part-After choosing the right branches, you must proceed by cropping the bottom part of it. You have to squeeze the bottom part gently using your thumb and index fingers and gently bend it towards the direction where you want it to grow. Your goal is to pinch the core of your plants’ branch so you can alter and force it to survive the stress you applied to it. Always pinch and bend it gently otherwise you will instantly kill the plant.
- Gradually crop your way up-Before you crop up the branches of your cannabis plants, make sure you avoid cropping not more than 2 nodes from your plants’ tip. You must also leave several centimeters between the single crops you made. After you cropped the branch, make sure it’s leaning toward the direction you want it to grow and tie it using zip ties or strings.
Can you Fix Branches that are Broken?
You can tape the duct tape around the snapped area of the branch so that you can improve some sort of a bandage. You can also provide support by tying the branch to the closest branch available or with a wooden stake.
Mistakes do happen especially if you’re a first-timer in super cropping. This is very common since this method literally puts your plant in harm’s way because of the stress you applied to it. But there’s always a fix to its problem.
You can remove the duct tape after a week since the branch can be fully healed at this time. Make sure that the duct tape is not tightly wrapped around the branch so that it can breathe naturally and won’t be difficult for you to remove it.
You’ll notice that your cannabis plant will start growing larger knots in different spots of the bent area which includes the broken ones. This is actually natural and can benefit you in many ways.
Conclusion
Super cropping usually ends up with positive results if the proper application is done. You’ll get better and bigger yields to your cannabis plants. It may look daunting and risky, but you’ll reap rewards from it especially if you care about the proper way of super cropping.
This high-stress method can surely create a huge impact on the quality and the size of your plants’ yield when it’s done right. Hopefully, this post will provide you enough information to start your super cropping.