TRAINING TECHNIQUES: Mainlining
vIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Hi, I’m your prof from Indica Institute, and this is my series of lessons on “Cannabis Plant Training.” I’ve designed this course to help and instruct people on how to train their plants. The course covers low stress, high stress and light schedule training techniques. Visit me at Indica Institute or my YouTube channel for a list of cannabis related courses, tips and more. T
his lesson will teach you how to implement the technique of mainlining on your plants. I hope you find the video useful, and please like and subscribe so I can continue making more videos like these!
Hello and welcome to my course on plant training techniques. The objective of this lesson is to learn the plant training technique often referred to as mainlining or manifolding. I will focus on what it is, what basic equipment you will need, how to execute the technique, when to start, how and why it works, and the resulting effects it will have on your plant.
Note that if you’re a beginner grower I suggest you first use and master the low stress training techniques of bend & secure, super cropping and screen of green. You can find an instructional video for this at Indica Institute or on my YouTube channel. Only after mastering low stress training should you move on to any high stress training techniques like topping, pinching, mainlining or defoliation.
So what is mainlining? Basically it’s a training technique that combines topping, defoliation and bend and secure training in a strategic way. By topping and defoliating your plant early to branch out from one main node, it creates a manifold for your plant do deliver nutrients and hormones equally to your main colas. By using this technique it allows the grower to put effort into training the plant early on, so the plant produces an even canopy and is much easier to control in a condensed space while still producing better than average yields.
In order to implement mainlining on your plant you will need some basic equipment to start. This includes so pruning scissors, gardening wire and a canopy ring.
To implement mainlining on your plants, it must be done in stages. When your plants have grown between 5 and 6 nodes, it is time to start step 1. You can start later, but do not start it any earlier as topping your plant too early could damage your plant to the point where it may not recover. So once your plant has 6 nodes, let’s implement step 1. Top the plant down to the 3rd node. If you haven’t topped your plant before, this simply involves removing all the plant growth above a chosen node. A full tutorial on topping can be found at Indica Institute or on my YouTube channel.
When topping your plant, leave a little bit of the stem remaining above the node intersect. This will ensure you haven’t damaged the axillary buds, and will give the area some strength and stability as your plant begins to rely solely on this intersect to hold it up. After topping, begin to remove all the vegetation below the intersect, including and especially any bud sites. You may choose to leave a few fan leaves in place for now, as it will promote faster growth - just make sure all bud sites have been removed. Secure your two new mains at an angle parallel to the ground. If it is too early for this and you’re worried about damaging the plant, give it a few days to grow out before bending and securing the new mains. When you tie them down, be sure to use equipment that will not cut into them. String will cut your plants. Soft coated wiring or plant twist ties will not. Air on the side of caution when tying down your plant, you don’t want to stress it too much at this point.
The goal at this point is to create a sturdy “T” shape that will be the base for the rest of your plant. Once your two mains have been tied down, wait until they turn and point up towards the light again. This means they have recovered from the damage you've inflicted. Begin to look for new nodes on your mains. When you see new nodes being produced, it’s time to begin step 2.
In step two, you need to locate the new nodes on your two mains and top your plant again. It is important to note that you are aiming to create symmetry in your plant when topping. This means you need to top the exact same node on each of your mains, and if there is more than one node, choose the pair of nodes that looks more equal in distance from the main split in your plant. This symmetry is crucial to the structure of the plant, ensuring nutrients and hormones are delivered to the bud sites with equal distance and effort, creating even growth and a flat canopy.
Once you have topped your two mains, again remove all of the bud sites below the node you topped at. You may choose to remove some or all of the fan leaves at this point as well. You now have 4 new mains instead of 2. Secure your four new mains to be parallel to the ground, pointing away from each other.
For the third step, simply repeat step two. Topping your mains a third time will double your mains yet again, creating 8. For indoor gardeners, I would stop at 8 mains. Outdoor growers, whether in a greenhouse or not can top up to 5 times, creating up to 32 main colas with each plant. It’s important to note that each time you choose to top your plant, you need to do the same with each main. Symmetry and equality is key when mainlining.
Step four is optional but highly recommended for those not using the screen of green training technique in correlation with mainlining. Purchase a canopy ring, or tomato ring, and gently secure your mains to the ring. This benefits the plant later in life by supporting it when it begins to flower and produce fat heavy colas. It also helps keep the colas far enough apart that they all benefit from light from all angles. If you notice one or two colas growing taller than the rest, feel free to gently super crop this main and secure it to the canopy ring to bring it back in line with the rest of your colas.
For step 5, keep a close eye on the areas you secured with twist ties. Once the manifold shape has taken form it is important to remove the wiring holding it in place as it can choke and damage your plant as your plant outgrows it. Similarly watch any other areas on your plant that you have secured in place.
Step 6 involves switching your plants to flowering mode and keeping an eye on growth. The heavy lifting of the training process is now complete and you just need to watch and adjust occasionally to keep an even canopy. When your plant reaches a height of about 18-24 inches it’s time to make the switch. If you notice any colas growing taller than the others, gently pull them off to the side until they are in line with the rest and secure it in place.
Consider mainlining when your plant reaches between 4 and 5 nodes in the early vegetative stage. Any sooner than this and you risk damaging your plant beyond recovery. To consider this technique you need to make sure your plant to this point has been healthy, and is growing fast and strong. It is a good technique to use when growing indoors in a condensed space to maximize your yield per square foot of grow space.
So why does mainlining work? Splitting the main stem in two in the early stages of plant growth counteracts the plants tendency to produce a single dominant main cola. Continuing to split the mains at equal intervals creates an evenly distributed set of colas that all easily access nutrients and hormones an equal distance from the roots, therefore preventing the plant from favouring any one main stem in particular. By removing all the bud sites leading up to your main stems it allows the plant to focus on producing large colas full of equal sized buds. Also because of the level of training early on in the plants life, it’s now equipped to grow through the entire flowering stage without much attention at all.
So in review, Mainlining or Manifolding is a training technique that uses topping, defoliation and the bend and secure method in a way that optimizes plant cola production for great yields. You will need pruning scissors, plant twist ties and a canopy ring to implement it properly.
Start when your plant grows 5-6 nodes, and top down to the 3rd node. Remove all bud sites and vegetation below the node you topped at. Secure your new main stems at a parallel angle to the ground.
Begin step two then your plants have started to grow up toward the light again and have a few nodes. Choose the same node to top on each main stem, making sure they’re an equal distance from the first main split in the plant you made. Again remove all vegetation below the new node split, and secure down your new mains parallel to the ground, pointing away from each other.
Step 3 involves repeating step 2 in order to create 8 main colas instead of 4. If you are growing indoors, stop at 8 colas. If you are growing outdoors or in a greenhouse, feel free to continue topping your plant up to 5 times, creating up to 32 main colas.
Step 4 involves securing your growing plant to a plant canopy ring for support and additional training.
Step 5 is removing any restricting secure ties still on your plant, or if your plant has taken shape, you can remove them all completely.
Finally, in step 6 you can switch your plant to the flowering stage once it has grown between 18 and 24 inches from your soil level.
Note that if you are planning to use this technique, make sure your plant is hardy, healthy and fast growing.
I hope you found this installment of my “Cannabis Plant Training” series useful. For more cannabis related courses or recommendations on the best grow products out there, visit me at Indica Institute or subscribe to my YouTube channel. If you have any comments or suggestions for a new video, be sure to join the discussion in the comment feed below.
Please like and share this video, and as always, thank you for listening!
his lesson will teach you how to implement the technique of mainlining on your plants. I hope you find the video useful, and please like and subscribe so I can continue making more videos like these!
Hello and welcome to my course on plant training techniques. The objective of this lesson is to learn the plant training technique often referred to as mainlining or manifolding. I will focus on what it is, what basic equipment you will need, how to execute the technique, when to start, how and why it works, and the resulting effects it will have on your plant.
Note that if you’re a beginner grower I suggest you first use and master the low stress training techniques of bend & secure, super cropping and screen of green. You can find an instructional video for this at Indica Institute or on my YouTube channel. Only after mastering low stress training should you move on to any high stress training techniques like topping, pinching, mainlining or defoliation.
So what is mainlining? Basically it’s a training technique that combines topping, defoliation and bend and secure training in a strategic way. By topping and defoliating your plant early to branch out from one main node, it creates a manifold for your plant do deliver nutrients and hormones equally to your main colas. By using this technique it allows the grower to put effort into training the plant early on, so the plant produces an even canopy and is much easier to control in a condensed space while still producing better than average yields.
In order to implement mainlining on your plant you will need some basic equipment to start. This includes so pruning scissors, gardening wire and a canopy ring.
To implement mainlining on your plants, it must be done in stages. When your plants have grown between 5 and 6 nodes, it is time to start step 1. You can start later, but do not start it any earlier as topping your plant too early could damage your plant to the point where it may not recover. So once your plant has 6 nodes, let’s implement step 1. Top the plant down to the 3rd node. If you haven’t topped your plant before, this simply involves removing all the plant growth above a chosen node. A full tutorial on topping can be found at Indica Institute or on my YouTube channel.
When topping your plant, leave a little bit of the stem remaining above the node intersect. This will ensure you haven’t damaged the axillary buds, and will give the area some strength and stability as your plant begins to rely solely on this intersect to hold it up. After topping, begin to remove all the vegetation below the intersect, including and especially any bud sites. You may choose to leave a few fan leaves in place for now, as it will promote faster growth - just make sure all bud sites have been removed. Secure your two new mains at an angle parallel to the ground. If it is too early for this and you’re worried about damaging the plant, give it a few days to grow out before bending and securing the new mains. When you tie them down, be sure to use equipment that will not cut into them. String will cut your plants. Soft coated wiring or plant twist ties will not. Air on the side of caution when tying down your plant, you don’t want to stress it too much at this point.
The goal at this point is to create a sturdy “T” shape that will be the base for the rest of your plant. Once your two mains have been tied down, wait until they turn and point up towards the light again. This means they have recovered from the damage you've inflicted. Begin to look for new nodes on your mains. When you see new nodes being produced, it’s time to begin step 2.
In step two, you need to locate the new nodes on your two mains and top your plant again. It is important to note that you are aiming to create symmetry in your plant when topping. This means you need to top the exact same node on each of your mains, and if there is more than one node, choose the pair of nodes that looks more equal in distance from the main split in your plant. This symmetry is crucial to the structure of the plant, ensuring nutrients and hormones are delivered to the bud sites with equal distance and effort, creating even growth and a flat canopy.
Once you have topped your two mains, again remove all of the bud sites below the node you topped at. You may choose to remove some or all of the fan leaves at this point as well. You now have 4 new mains instead of 2. Secure your four new mains to be parallel to the ground, pointing away from each other.
For the third step, simply repeat step two. Topping your mains a third time will double your mains yet again, creating 8. For indoor gardeners, I would stop at 8 mains. Outdoor growers, whether in a greenhouse or not can top up to 5 times, creating up to 32 main colas with each plant. It’s important to note that each time you choose to top your plant, you need to do the same with each main. Symmetry and equality is key when mainlining.
Step four is optional but highly recommended for those not using the screen of green training technique in correlation with mainlining. Purchase a canopy ring, or tomato ring, and gently secure your mains to the ring. This benefits the plant later in life by supporting it when it begins to flower and produce fat heavy colas. It also helps keep the colas far enough apart that they all benefit from light from all angles. If you notice one or two colas growing taller than the rest, feel free to gently super crop this main and secure it to the canopy ring to bring it back in line with the rest of your colas.
For step 5, keep a close eye on the areas you secured with twist ties. Once the manifold shape has taken form it is important to remove the wiring holding it in place as it can choke and damage your plant as your plant outgrows it. Similarly watch any other areas on your plant that you have secured in place.
Step 6 involves switching your plants to flowering mode and keeping an eye on growth. The heavy lifting of the training process is now complete and you just need to watch and adjust occasionally to keep an even canopy. When your plant reaches a height of about 18-24 inches it’s time to make the switch. If you notice any colas growing taller than the others, gently pull them off to the side until they are in line with the rest and secure it in place.
Consider mainlining when your plant reaches between 4 and 5 nodes in the early vegetative stage. Any sooner than this and you risk damaging your plant beyond recovery. To consider this technique you need to make sure your plant to this point has been healthy, and is growing fast and strong. It is a good technique to use when growing indoors in a condensed space to maximize your yield per square foot of grow space.
So why does mainlining work? Splitting the main stem in two in the early stages of plant growth counteracts the plants tendency to produce a single dominant main cola. Continuing to split the mains at equal intervals creates an evenly distributed set of colas that all easily access nutrients and hormones an equal distance from the roots, therefore preventing the plant from favouring any one main stem in particular. By removing all the bud sites leading up to your main stems it allows the plant to focus on producing large colas full of equal sized buds. Also because of the level of training early on in the plants life, it’s now equipped to grow through the entire flowering stage without much attention at all.
So in review, Mainlining or Manifolding is a training technique that uses topping, defoliation and the bend and secure method in a way that optimizes plant cola production for great yields. You will need pruning scissors, plant twist ties and a canopy ring to implement it properly.
Start when your plant grows 5-6 nodes, and top down to the 3rd node. Remove all bud sites and vegetation below the node you topped at. Secure your new main stems at a parallel angle to the ground.
Begin step two then your plants have started to grow up toward the light again and have a few nodes. Choose the same node to top on each main stem, making sure they’re an equal distance from the first main split in the plant you made. Again remove all vegetation below the new node split, and secure down your new mains parallel to the ground, pointing away from each other.
Step 3 involves repeating step 2 in order to create 8 main colas instead of 4. If you are growing indoors, stop at 8 colas. If you are growing outdoors or in a greenhouse, feel free to continue topping your plant up to 5 times, creating up to 32 main colas.
Step 4 involves securing your growing plant to a plant canopy ring for support and additional training.
Step 5 is removing any restricting secure ties still on your plant, or if your plant has taken shape, you can remove them all completely.
Finally, in step 6 you can switch your plant to the flowering stage once it has grown between 18 and 24 inches from your soil level.
Note that if you are planning to use this technique, make sure your plant is hardy, healthy and fast growing.
I hope you found this installment of my “Cannabis Plant Training” series useful. For more cannabis related courses or recommendations on the best grow products out there, visit me at Indica Institute or subscribe to my YouTube channel. If you have any comments or suggestions for a new video, be sure to join the discussion in the comment feed below.
Please like and share this video, and as always, thank you for listening!
