Cannabis Topping vs Fimming - Which method should you use? Answered!

Cannabis growers training - Topping vs Fimming - Which method should you use? 

In this article - we'll cover two of the most popular forms of training methods used for growing your marijuana plant. Maximize on your harvest potential.

Training your plants will allow you to control the height and canopy of your Cannabis grow. Allowing you to grow in almost any environment. It's all about making the most of what you have available at your current disposal.

The two most popular techniques to train your plants are:

TOPPING

The image above shows a TOPPED Cannabis main stem - 2 secondary shoots will grow directly below the cut as a result.

To top a Cannabis plant. You simple cut the main stem at the very top (hence the name topping).

You can top a plant above its 2nd - 5th node depending upon your growing space and how many  colas you want to end up with.

TOPPING forces the plant to spread its growth hormones downwards - encouraging new shoots to form as well as bushier growth. The traditional vertical growth (christmas tree shape) of Cannabis isn't efficient use of indoor space due to limited height availability. Outdoors, height isn't so much of an issue. TOPPING helps you keep your cannabis plants nice and low. Those growing with limited vertical space favor this method as it's simple to perform and the results are extremely predictable.

When topping Marijuana, you will lose your main central cola but you will be compensated with multiple smaller colas (which can usually yield more).

Benefits of TOPPING include; Height management, Canopy control, Easier to SCROG / SOG, Reduced mold risk with certain dense bud strains, increases yield with many strains. 

FIMMING

The above image shows the difference between the areas to cut for FIMMING vs TOPPING

FIMMING is a technique that was derived from TOPPING. FIM stands for Fuck I Missed.

The technique is said to have come about from someone screwing up a topping attempt and found out that this technique actually produces more shoots and is a suitable alternative to topping when you have less plants to fill out a bigger/wider area.

FIMMING is unpredictable in exactly how many shoots it will produce. Sometimes it's 4... and sometimes it's much more!

To FIM a plant. You need to take off about 60-70% of the main top growth and leaving 30% of the main top stem intact. This allows the plant to develop new shoots from the FIMMED location.

If you miss a FIM (FIMA?) you will end up essentially topping your plant.

I recommend FIMMING if you wish to fill a wide area - for instance like a single plant in the decently sized flowering tent or if you're going to grow using the SCROG (Screen of Green) method.

Benefits of FIMMING include; Produces more shoots than topping, Height management, Canopy control, Easier to SCROG / SOG, Reduced mold risk with certain dense bud strains, increases yield with some strains, Better than TOPPING for single plants that are to fill a tent on their own.

Summary

The best method to choose for you, would depend upon your personal growing area. If you had multiple marijuana plants to fill a relatively small area - my recommendation would be to top them above the 2nd or 3rd node and then when they recover; start thinking about additional training such as using the SCROG technique for better canopy control.

If you had 1 or 2 plants to fill a decently sized area. I would recommend you FIM instead as this will help you to maximize the use of your grow space and final yield result.

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