Stretching is useful not only for people to maintain the beauty of the body, but also for cannabis to form a big harvest, which is why the LST method for miniature sativa is popular among growers around the world. This training allows the lower shoots access to light and helps distribute the growth hormone auxin throughout the plant. Coffeeshop® is looking into whether LST can be used to control cannabis plant size and yield without hurting the plant and being a pleasure for the grower.
What is Low Stress Training
LST translates to “low stress hem”. It belongs to the light training method. Unlike more stressful methods, LST does not strip the plant of leaves, does not make it difficult to survive, but simply changes the plane in which the main colas are formed. The LST method is mainly used for sativa because compared to indica it is taller and has more sparse leaves.
Benefits of the LST Method for Growing Miniature Sativa
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Plant size adjustment. The bush will stretch not only up, but also to the side. This will effectively use the growbox space and form a squat but full-fledged bush with many central stakes.
- Enlargement of the root system. To stay in a non-standard position, the bush will have to increase the root mass. In plants, everything is interconnected – the more roots, the more massive the trunk and the larger the leaves. The result is a more stress-resistant and larger bush with great potential.
- Increasing the size of the harvest. The more buds, the happier the grower. You can increase their number just by bending the central cola and releasing light to form lateral growth points. The lower floors will no longer be in the shade, they will have fresh air, and instead of one central cola, the grower can get 8-16 stakes ready for fruiting.
How to use LST correctly
You can start training when the plant has 4-5 floors of leaves. A day or two before the process, it is worth stopping watering: the trunk will become more flexible, and there will be less chance that it will break.
- Fix the bush at the very base – tie it to the edge of the pot with a flexible tie.
- Gently bending the plant, tie the meristem (top), securing the tourniquet at a distance of 2-3 cm from the upper leaves. As the bush grows, install new holders, forming a “cobra” – a long, fixed vine from the hemp stem.
- Large leaves should also be stretched and attached to the holders, making room for the formation and pulling up of new stakes.
Beginning growers may be tempted by the simplicity of the method, but without proper experience in cultivating Coffeeshop® plants, we do not recommend resorting to such techniques. They are stressful for the plant, albeit to a small extent. There is a golden rule for cannabis training – don’t stress! If the plant was recently watered, overdosed, or is starving for some trace element, and the untrained grower’s eye could not detect this, then any stress can be fatal for the bush, and you will have to forget about a rich harvest.
There are various ways to train cannabis: the LST method is just one of them. It is often combined with FIM-top pruning and they try to increase the yield by watering the bushes with ice water just before the harvest or leaving them in the dark. Regardless of which option you choose, they will only work if a quality variety is available. We offer to buy pure sativa seeds from trusted seed banks in South America and Europe. Coffeeshop® will send a package to any country and provide everyone with a pleasant surprise from the best online cannabis seed store.
