When it comes to growing cannabis, it is not all that easy. Some experienced cultivators may say otherwise, but there is a whole lot of steps and procedures that must be carried out in order to successfully grow some weed. There are also many tips and tricks out there that you can do to your plants in order to make them healthier and/or more efficient. While these tricks are not required for basic growing, they can help out in the long run. Such as super cropping.
Super cropping is a very easy trick that can be done on cannabis plants in order to help them yield higher results. Now, we aren’t talking about doubling or tripling the harvest. But maybe doing this one small trick will make the yields slightly higher than usual. That could mean one extra joint everyday. Now it doesn’t sound like such a bad idea, huh?
This post is based from a video that was published to our Youtube channel a few months prior. If you learn better from videos, feel free to watch that instead:
Link To Original Super Cropping Video
Beforehand…
Before you get started super cropping, there are a few things you need to have done first. The plant itself must be in a certain phase in order for super cropping to even work properly. Also, of course, you should have a basic understanding of growing cannabis before getting on with enhancements. For beginners, check out our post on getting started with growing:
The Basics of Growing Cannabis Link
In order to super crop one of your cannabis plants, it must be in the Vegetative Phase, which begins around 2-3 weeks after you initially begin growing. The Vegetative Phase lasts between 3-16 weeks, and it is during this phase that the plant truly starts to grow, from a seedling to an actual plant with branches and leaves.
It is very important that during the Vegetative Phase the plant receives light for the majority of the day (about 18 hours). At the very beginning of this phase, branches may be too short to super crop. You may need to super crop towards the end of this phase in order to yield the best results. You do, however, want to super crop your plant before it begins the next phase, the Flowering Phase.
Why Super Crop?
There are two reasons why a grower would want to super crop their cannabis plants. One reason is more practical to cultivation, the other is simply for visual pleasure.
Primarily, for slightly higher yields
If you understand the importance of 18 hours a day of light on cannabis plants, then you should understand that this applies to the entire plant. In many cases, a few tall branches will tower over many smaller branches, causing the smaller branches to receive far less light than the tall branches. Giving the small branches more light does not mean cutting off the tall ones, it only means you need to super crop them.
When the smaller branches are allowed to receive just as much light as the their taller counterparts, they will also flower like them. This means the buds that form on the smaller branches can be slightly larger, resulting in slightly larger yields during harvest. It may not be huge difference, but it is definitely worth it since super cropping is very simple.
Secondly, it makes your plants look nicer
Should you be one for looks, and you grow cannabis, then you may want to get familiar with super cropping. By bringing the tall branches to the height of the short branches, you allow the plant to have an equal top, which is much more satisfying on the eyes. It will also make your overall cannabis garden look much better, especially if you super crop each plant.
How To Do It
As simple as it sounds, we’ve still laid out steps for the super cropping process to make it even easier. It will only take about a minute or two to complete, and requires nothing but your hands and the plant. No cutting is necessary, as none of the branches will be removed, only super cropped.
You will only need to super crop the tallest branches on your plant. In most cases, this is only 1-3 branches. Your goal is to bring the tall branches down to the height of all other branches, making the top nice and flat. Here’s how to do it:
- Start off by rolling the stem of the branch back and forth between your fingers right where the tallest branch(es) meets the tops of the other branches. You should be grabbing the stem where it will be bent.
- Next, pinch the stem tightly in the same spot. You should feel it crush in between your fingers. This is normal and will not damage your plant.
- Roll the crunched part of the stem around in your fingers a few times, loosening the inside of it.
- Finally, once you loosen up the stem, bend it back towards the outside of the plant. The branch should now be level with the rest of the plant.
Try to make the top of the plant as equal, and flat, as possible. Here’s an image of what it should look like:
After a few hours, the crushed stem will repair itself and create a “knuckle” where it was bent. It will also maintain its new position. You have now successfully super cropped your plant!
Continue super cropping each tall branch, if necessary, to get the best results from this method. Hopefully this helped out with your cannabis cultivation! Check out more of our posts on growing if you have any other questions. Thanks for reading!
