The two-way pipeline
Roots
They push into the medium and send water and nutrients up
Leaves
They turn that solution into sugar and ship it back down
Pots
Seedlings in peat cells can be set pot-and-all. Roots grow through the fiber
Move-up
After a few strong weeks, many plants are ready for a larger container
Nodes and branches
Node
The joint where a leaf petiole meets the stem
Laterals
Branches start at those nodes and keep appearing higher on the main stem
Secondaries
New branches can also break from nodes on the side limbs
Untrimmed forms
Christmas tree, bush, single spear, or an uneven lopsided frame are all normal
What vegetative means
No flowers yet
The plant is building stem, limbs, and leaf only
Cue
It stays in this mode until the environment gives a flower signal
Short days
Outdoors that cue is lengthening nights in late summer
Indoor hold
Long days or continuous light keep the plant in veg
Canopy before the flip
Fill
Under long light the leaves usually just start to touch
Plan stretch
Many plants still add 25 to 50 percent size after flower starts
Shape now
Training in veg is easier than fighting a finished frame in week three of flower
Health
A clean veg plant is the only plant worth flipping