You have probably heard about fimming. But may not have an idea what it means. In this article, we discuss the same and everything you need to know about fimming.
What is fimming?
Fimming involves partly removing the latest plant’s shoot. That creates four main buds and not just one. The marijuana plant gets lower and wider than unfimmed ones. Additionally, more leaves get light exposure, meaning more lights get absorbed. Even though this might damage the plant to some extent, it has the potential to recover well.
Step by step guide in fimming marijuana plants
- Select the latest shoot
- Cut off two thirds
- Let the plant rest
The shoot grows into two petioles and has leaves left on them. The shoot’s middle will develop a new shoot which will then form the axils.
The shoot consists of 2by2 leaves, and by removing about two-thirds, you only get rid of the leaves, leaving behind the stems. These then grow to become the primary buds, making them four in total. Ensure not to cut off too much so that you will not remain with only two buds. Because the plant is damaged, it will use its energy to heal. And this may slow down the growth process. You might also see that the newest pair of leaves get damaged when it begins to grow. But this is normal.
Best time to fim
The best time to fim is during the marijuana plant vegetative growth period. When you clip some parts away from the plant, it causes stress and may need enough time to recover from pruning. And this is the main reason to prune before the onset of flowering.
You may wait until the plant is around 30cm tall before you can begin pruning for yield methods. When you allow the marijuana plant at least 3-4 weeks of vegetative growth, it gets to a decent size. And this means that they develop faster.
You can do fimming at any point in the vegetative stage because giving them time will save you so much later.
The perks of fimming
Fimming is ideal for increasing yields. And that is because four main shoots are more than two. Besides, fimming boosts the auxin distribution in marijuana than topping. Marijuana plants that have been fimmed also branch more abundantly.
Also, fimming is flexible and can get blended into other pruning techniques to gain maximum yield. Fim methods are also forgiving and allows even newbie growers to grow them with ease. And that makes it essential for every marijuana grower to know to learn to fim weed.
The disadvantages of fimming
Fimming may not be suitable for all autoflowering marijuana varieties. That is because pruning the plant’s stems may affect the recovery time of the plant and lead to stunted growth. Also, marijuana growers using the FIM method will on average keep the plants in a vegetative stage for about 4-6 weeks. And that is a long time for any auto grower to wait.
Finally, it may be challenging to keep the grow space well-arranged all through.