Main-Lining what is it & how to do it

[lamsbread]

Main-Lining What is it ?
  

"Main-Lining"

The act of training a cannabis plant to form a "hub" or "manifold" off a single node, creating a center for equal energy distribution from the roots to each cola.


See that main-lined marijuana plant at harvest.... Nothing but huge, dense buds!


Hub: A place or thing that forms the effective center of an activity, region, or network.
Manifold: A pipe or chamber branching into several openings, "the pipeline manifold"


The result of main-lining marijuana is an even canopy and bigger yields with little extra effort.
No more larfy popcorn buds stealing energy away from the main colas!
Here's a few more marijuana main-lining pictures so you can see what I mean about the effortlessly even canopy. Main-lining is effective for increasing yields both indoors and outdoors.
Outdoors - Greater stealth & control


Indoors - Easy flat canopies & bigger yields with the same grow lights





Forward by Nebula Haze: Nugbuckets is a talented marijuana grower and photographer who pioneered the term "main-lining" to describe his technique for marijuana training.
You can view his original set of posts about main-lining in their entirety here on Rollitup.org. You also don't want to miss his Nugbuckets' Lab thread where he posts additional pics and info about the main-lining technique as well as growing marijuana in organic soil.
In the original Nugbuckets main-lining threads, you must scroll through hundreds of pages to access all the information he generously put out there for the growing community. I have taken his work on main-lining marijuana and condensed it into one easy-to-navigate single-page article. Please note that Nugbuckets is the owner of ALL his photos!
I hope you enjoy this article and I encourage you to visit his original main-lining thread to offer your own support to Nugbuckets and let him know we are all interested in future growing information and pictures from him!
Benefits of Main-Lining

Bigger Yields - With the exact same setup

Set It and Forget It - After the initial training done during the very beginning of the plant's life, you don't need to do much else to get the benefits of main-lining

Effortless Canopy Management - Colas tend to naturally grow to the same height

Fatter Colas - Each cola grows to a similar size and weight, simplifying the drying/curing process and producing fat, even colas

No More Larfy Buds - No small, leafy "popcorn" buds to drain energy away from the main colas

No More Uncontrollable Stretching - Because energy is distributed evenly among all colas, main-lining reduces the undesirable "stretch" of just some colas when plants first switch to the flowering stage - this stretch often causes height/space problems for indoor growers

Indoors - More From Your Grow Lights - Get bigger yields from the same grow lights and setup

Outdoors - Increased Control and Stealth - Gain greater control over the dimensions of your final plant (for better stealth and reduced chance of mold) and produce a more desirable and consistent final product

Here is a picture of Nugbuckets showing off the fat, evenly shaped colas he produced from one plant using the main-lining technique


(click pic for closup)
Main-Lining is just a concept about builing a plant off a single node. You don't have to get everything perfect to reap huge benefits. Many growers do main-lining their own way, and still get the rewards as long as they build their hub / manifold off a single node.
Main-Lining is an incredibly powerful way to gain complete control over your plants in small spaces, and also gives outdoor growers the power to control the size and shape of their plants for more consistent yields.
One of the best things about main-lining is that it's a "front-loaded" process. Most of the work happens right at the beginning of the plant's life, during the first few weeks. After that you mostly get to lay back and reap the benefits.
Set Up Your Hub / Manifold In the Early Vegetative Stage
(take a few weeks at most, when starting from seed)


Then just sit back and allow plants to grow into this naturally efficient shape


Bonus: The main-lining technique can be adapted to produce plants that fit in almost any space

As you're growing out young plants, simply pay attention to building thick stems from a single node on the trunk, (aim for a high VCSA - vascular cambium surface area) to evenly deliver nutrients from the roots to each of your colas.
That's it.
It doesn't matter how a grower achieves this. This tutorial and all the examples should get you started, and I encourage you to adapt this technique to suit your own setup and growing style.
The Theory Behind Main-Lining

Note: "Main-lining" is a name that was first coined by Nugbuckets. Nugbuckets says he is sure main-lining has been done before and it probably even has a name, but he just naturally started calling it main-lining and the name has stuck for growers around the world.

Main-lining is a form of plant training to help cannabis plants grow evenly, with only fat colas and no tiny "popcorn" buds that many growers just throw away.
These tiny buds take away energy from the big colas. Many growers choose to "lollipop" their plants by trimming away all the lower growth, yet main-lining takes lollipopping to a new level, with better results and less wasted energy.
What's the Difference Between Plain Lollipopping and Main-Lining?

With main-lining, you create a plant where every cola is exactly the same number of "steps" away from the roots. All colas originate from the exact same part of the marijuana plant, which naturally causes each cola to receive an even amount of nutrients and energy.
As a result, plants grow with an even, flat canopy, which produces the best yields for indoor growers using grow lights. Many different training techniques can be used to produce an even canopy, yet main-lining seems to be one of the most effective technique for small-scale marijuana growers.
With main-lining marijuana plants, the purpose is to build a "hub" off of a single node, creating a manifold for equal energy distribution from the root mass to the growing tops.
This pic shows what i mean by "manifold" really well.......my little V-8!

Copied and pasted from grasscity origial technique by nugbuckets

 

Peace

Lams

[Salvatore Riina]

This mainling looks interesting man, i never heard of it before. Might have a go at it outdoor, if it grows nice plant il move indoor for flower ^^

[lamsbread]

I have posted the tutorial here  - http://forums.strainhunters.com/topic/7882-main-lining-tutorial/

 

Peace

 

Lams

[White Gold]

Hello to all Pro's out there! I have a question to you: in which scenario is it worth to keep the 2nd node after main lining your plant above the 3rd node (keeping 4 branches instead of 2) what are the Pro's and Cons to it?  Thanks in advance for the answer.