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Topping Your Plants?

Hmmmmm.
As I start inside in late Jan., I am going to top and FIM everything to try and keep a bushier plant more resistant to wind because of smaller leaves.
And, I really want to see if there is truely a difference between topping and Fimming.
 
Gotrox said:
Hmmmmm.
As I start inside in late Jan., I am going to top and FIM everything to try and keep a bushier plant more resistant to wind because of smaller leaves.
And, I really want to see if there is truely a difference between topping and Fimming.
 
 
I cannot comment on FIM for peppers as I have yet to do it. However I know that FIM > topping in the herbal. 
 
About what % of plant matter do you leave when you pinch the growth? I have heard 20-30% but again have not heard about it on peppers.
 
coki said:
You force the plant to redistributate the hormons for the rest of the plant
^^^^^^^Fact.



Proper feeding,light and medium will give you large plants capable of producing lot's of fruit. The topping is for space issues and asthetics. Variety and genes play big roles also. It is similar to putting two plants in one pot compared to 1,you will get the same yield in the end. Capsicum are not cannabis,not even remotely close!
 
if you are growing outdoors in an area with a long growing season (the south), and you are talking chinenses, then topall you want, if you are in the short season North, it's probably best to not top long-season peppers if you want to actually harvest any before first frost.
 
 
Sneaky6 said:
 
 
I cannot comment on FIM for peppers as I have yet to do it. However I know that FIM > topping in the herbal. 
 
About what % of plant matter do you leave when you pinch the growth? I have heard 20-30% but again have not heard about it on peppers.
 

Haven't tried it yet, but the guides I see say 20%
 
Gotrox said:
 
 
Haven't tried it yet, but the guides I see say 20%
Gotrox,

I tried FIM on a mature Thai dragon that I had cut back about a monthand a half ago. The plant was just starting to bud again and it popped out with 2 new growth shoots and a medium cluster of buds. It's kind of a messy 3 way junction so I am not sure how it is going to space out as it grows. Waiting for my one of my c.chinense to be big enough to try it on. I think because of its robust size compared to my dragon it will respond better. The Thai dragon is just too dense of a plant once it's this far along.

Please let me know how your experiment goes!
 
Some people prefer cut for aesthetic reasons, but I prefer the natural look.  It also looks bigger if you don't go hacking off the tip.
 
The dangly bits'll taste the same regardless.
 
Sneaky6 said:
Gotrox,

I tried FIM on a mature Thai dragon that I had cut back about a monthand a half ago. The plant was just starting to bud again and it popped out with 2 new growth shoots and a medium cluster of buds. It's kind of a messy 3 way junction so I am not sure how it is going to space out as it grows. Waiting for my one of my c.chinense to be big enough to try it on. I think because of its robust size compared to my dragon it will respond better. The Thai dragon is just too dense of a plant once it's this far along.

Please let me know how your experiment goes!
Explain the terminology "FIM"
 
Top your plants when you have as many billions of years of growing experience as the plants themselves have evolved to do in their best interests.
 
Otherwise, if you remove a plant from its natural habitat and grow it somewhere else, then consider that new environment.   There are a few cases where overriding a plant's genetic tendencies can help provide a few more peppers from the first batch, but don't top unless you have a specific reason to believe your growing environment poses this sort of abnormal situation.
 
Otherwise, plants have adapted and will do what is in their best interests to produce viable seeds.  In other words, more often than not the question isn't whether to top or not, rather it is that if you would even think about topping because the plant isn't producing something you obviously shouldn't cut off, what is missing.
 
Topping off is like admitting defeat, that your environment can't grow the plant so you are doing your best to try to coax it into more pods.  We all want more pods so if that is what it takes, do it.  I just don't think it is the solution most of the time, rather it is a distraction and robs the plant of producing more.
 
In the end, listen to the highest producing plant grower near you.  That's the person who has tweaked their growing to the environment present.  You can match the soil of someone else, even buy the same water, but temperature and sun is still a regional limitation. and both are arguably as important if not more so than other factors.
 
Dave2000 said:
Top your plants when you have as many billions of years of growing experience as the plants themselves have evolved to do in their best interests.
 
Otherwise, if you remove a plant from its natural habitat and grow it somewhere else, then consider that new environment.   There are a few cases where overriding a plant's genetic tendencies can help provide a few more peppers from the first batch, but don't top unless you have a specific reason to believe your growing environment poses this sort of abnormal situation.
 
Otherwise, plants have adapted and will do what is in their best interests to produce viable seeds.  In other words, more often than not the question isn't whether to top or not, rather it is that if you would even think about topping because the plant isn't producing something you obviously shouldn't cut off, what is missing.
 
Topping off is like admitting defeat, that your environment can't grow the plant so you are doing your best to try to coax it into more pods.  We all want more pods so if that is what it takes, do it.  I just don't think it is the solution most of the time, rather it is a distraction and robs the plant of producing more.
 
In the end, listen to the highest producing plant grower near you.  That's the person who has tweaked their growing to the environment present.  You can match the soil of someone else, even buy the same water, but temperature and sun is still a regional limitation. and both are arguably as important if not more so than other factors.
Yup.
High Desert.
Short season.
Single digit humidity.
High winds, and often.
 
I am the highest producing grower in a 500 mile circle.
 
And that's not saying much.
 
Insane for trying to get them to pod up in an extreme environment?
 
Probably. :drooling:
HP22BH said:
Explain the terminology "FIM"
Short for "F**k, I missed".
Topping a plant and leaving around 20% of the tip you were planning to cut off.
I.E., you just cut most of the leaves off while missing the node.
 
There are too many variables to say for sure if topping produce better plants/yields or not...
This season i've learned that topping plants with a "leggy" growth pattern is really useful in the long run to get bushy plants and avoid broken stems and a lot of support work against the wind... Varieties that bush out naturally are only slowed down by topping imho

Cya

Datil
 
HP22BH said:
Explain the terminology "FIM"
Google FIM topping and you will find tons of info. It is very popular in cannabis and I had been curious to try it in other plants to see if it is something that can be used in other applications. Guess it was my little science project.I did it on a pepper and 2 kinds of basil just for curiosity sake and maybe on a few of my other things around the house. Both of the basil plants responded by producing 3 new growth shoots. You pinch the new growth instead of cutting the main stem off. I don't know any of the technical science behind it as I am just a hobbyiest when it comes to gardening but I figured it was something I would try. Tons of info out there on it though. Worth a look if you are a curious individual like myself.
 
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