Hi everyone - (or at least I hope you all are - ) - wish I was l o l. Anyway - here's the dilemma. I'm growing 4 spoetniks in a small (20l) NFT. Of the four, one in particular is doing better than the others, probably due to its roots dangling like a sheet into the nutrient solution, while the others are fed whatever's left. The others are nowhere near as covered in flowers as the bottom one, I'd say about half as much. Other problem is that the tops of the plants' flowers are more developed than the bottoms, which are starting to flower all over the place, branching out everywhere. The top flowers are very close to the main stem and closely packed together. How should I harvest them? I doubt if I can uproot the bigger one without disturbing the others, but guess it'll be ready long before the others. Is it possible to cut the top half of a plant off, while allowing the bottom half to develop further, or should I nip the buds off individually as they mature, leaving the tops sparce but intact? I hope to begin harvesting in a couple of weeks, so, please, any/all help is much appreciated - many thanks - NG

Also - sorry if this is a total noobie question - this is my first grow and I'd hate to mess it all up in the final run-in. Again - many thanks. NG

Thats exactly what I would do in your situation....

i would'nt do that. id jus leave it as it is, not disturbing them at all, u get better results with no stress. jus leave em all intact, let them mature for as long as possible, then cut them down from the bottom in order when each ones really ripe. this is better because from expirience u get more bud in the end, that isn't jus average, but some prime weed and maybe u will get a bit of un ripe bud at the bottom, but u can still smoke it- i would have cut these nodes off before flowering... if u get what i mean. this is jus my way, and everyone has there own way tho.
good luck mate!

look out for mould tho. edit

chopping the top half of the plant is fine, i've done it plenty of times

Seriously? Thanks for the replies - that raises another question though - if I do chop them, where exactly do I cut? (I've never taken cuttings or anything like that before in my life - have doubts about things' survival rates - unlike Midas - everything I touch turns to ) Since I haven't done anything but feed them, I suppose I could just let them go and see what happens - the top flowers are attached directly to the main stem, while the bottom ones are branching out to get into the light. From what I've read about Spoetnik they don't really kick in until after day 40 (now day 43) so maybe, just maybe, everything will be alright and I can uproot and kill the bitches all in one go? I suppose time will tell and I should know better in a couple of weeks (hopefully). I tried contacting Paradise Seeds but they weren't very helpful, nor is their website FTM. Patience isn't only a virtue, it's an essential. Cheers guys - I'll keep you posted (sorry - I've no cam to take pix or else my dilemma could probably be solved at a glance). Good luck with your own grows.

You'd be amazed at how much abuse the plants can take, you can cut them back savagely and they just get on with it. Harvesting the top half will work just fine.