Hello everybody. I have tried searching this forum and the web for realistic yield expectations for growing...but every single thread the OP seems to leave out all variables, so all the responses are "impossible to tell without knowing variables". So I have included variables, let me know what I missed. I am a first time grower who knows nothing about chemistry or botany, but I researched how to do this so I think I know enough (I hope!) 11 plants 4 northern lights 5 blue dream 2 cotton candy? I forget exact name, they were a bonus when I ordered the blue dream All plants are feminizied Set up is inside my closet. The closet is 3.5 feet wide, 2 feet long, and the light bulb is a little more than 3 feet higher than the soil (I will be moving the light bulb probably another foot higher soon, to make room for the plants to grow more....is that advisable?) I am 25-32 days into vegging (I started the northern lights a week earlier than the rest) My tallest plant is about a foot above the soil....but most are like 6 inches. That one is just so much taller because it was in the middle so it got the most light. I rotated it. I have a carbon fan in there, but no vent, just recyclign the fan constantly, and an ona block outside the closet, an ona block by the door in my room, and an ona block in my living room, air fresheners all hidden all over my house. A giant rug covering my closet so light won't get in during budding. 400 watt bulb Fox farm ocean forest soil Using fox farm trio pack for nutes (just started last week...started at 1/4 dose, slowly working up to full dosing, just wanna make sure theyre handling it well and not getting nute burn) I water and feed twice a week 1 gallon pot each with holes on bottom for water run off 1) Does it make sense to rotate my plants so that one doesnt get way more light than the others 2) I am worried that the plants might be too cramped and starting crowding into eachother. What kind of damage can that do? 3) How far away should the bulb be from the top of the plants? 4) When should I force it into budding? 5) HOW MUCH DRY YIELD CAN I EXPECT? Im trying to crunch some numbers and see if its worth it. With all set ups, mason jars, pots, electrcity, etc, it costs me about $1050 for all 11 plants. Future grows will only cost about $300-$400 because I don't need to buy another carbon fan and light, but I will need to buy new seeds, because I dont have an extra room, so I need to use the same closet for both vegging and budding, so I cant really make clones (unless I can clone after budding? In which case I can use those clones to immediately start vegging again in same room) Let me know if I forgot to add any details, and if you have any advice from what I have mentioned. Any and all responses are greatly appreciated! Thanks! I may post pictures later....kinda scared of taking a pic on my phone and sending it through my email for fear of being tracked...coming from a guy posting on a forum about growing haha
all those plants are going to have a very hard time flowering under 1, 400w regardless of rotation and such. they will triple in height and bush out when you slip them. get more light if you want to yield anything worthwhile. should have tried something small and got your feet wet before taking on that much. jm$.02 and good luck. welcome to the city
What size light should I get? Keep in mind its a small closet with white walls so I assumed the light would reflect enough...I watched a documentary that said that light was the right size. I don't mind spending another couple hundred dollars on a new light if it will give me enough bud to cover the expenses Also what do you mean by "slip them"? Also I have seen the terms "sog" and "Scrog" what do they mean? Thanks for the response!
SOG - sea of green - grow multiple plants with short veg time. they stay small and you have alot of them SCROG - frame with wire or rope in squares, you keep the growth under the netting, as it grows up, you put it down. flower when its 1/3 full, itll fill in.
check this out: http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-medical-marijuana-growing/1014275-overview-cannabis-training-scrog-sog-fim-supercrop-lst-etc.html
You keep the growth under the screen mainly to form an even canopy. More light gets to the budsites. good yields. Also check youtube for documentaries and how-to vids. I read and read about topping but since ive never grown before, i couldnt understand it until i seen it, so youtube helped me out alot there. Your in the right place. Everything you need to know is on this site somewhere. If you have a question and nobody answers, its most likely because they dont know, or got tired of repeating themselves. I usually just browse alot, but the search bar helps alot because you can go back to posts from many years ago to find your answer more quickly. Just read, watch, and learn. its the only way you will get the hang of it.
Cool thanks for all the help Do you agree I need more light even though its a small space with white walls? Also what kind of yield can I expect?
I would definatly upgrade or add more lighting. Unless you plan to keep them super small. Yield depends on plenty of factors. Everything from genetics, light penetration, nutes, growing conditions, pest problems, anything. Your best bet would be to go thru the grow journal, find an op similar to yours, and read from start to finish. everything they did, used, etc. and you can see what they yielded. but it varies to drasticly to tell.
Well I said the strain, the nutes, the growing conditions...there are no pest problems....any idea given what I stated in the OP? I couldnt seem to find anybody under similiar conditions
How did u even fit 11 plants into that closet, u need to post some pics, ur not gana get raided when there is tons of bigger ppl than u
Here are two pictures I just took....one of the room, one of a close up of my big one. P.s. the room is usually much brighter but I took the picture like 5 seconds after my light timer went on, usually takes a few minutes to reach full brightness http://postimg.org/image/aeylpl6yv/ http://postimg.org/image/hjgf4mved/
wow... Your best bet is to take a clone and keep it as mother plants. go buy a cheap light to keep the mothers alive (unless you want to buy new seeds next grow). after this grow, take clones from the mother plants, and see how many 3-5 gallon pots you can fit in that closet. Thats how many your gonna want to grow. Your gonna get more bud from 1 plant that can grow big, than 3 plants that cant. always remember that your roots are what keeps the plant alive. Bigger roots = bigger buds. You shoulda kept half of those seeds and only planted the other half in my opinion. It looks like what you got goin on there is SOG. Its cluttered and they wont be able to get too big because the next plant is going to be blocking the light and growing in between each other. Everything you want to know is found on this site. You HAVE to do YOUR OWN research!!!! We can tell you what to do your entire grow but unless you comprehend WHY were telling you to do these things, you wont know and youll be asking the same questions next time. READ!!! Also check out growing documentaries on youtube. I have youtube on my TV so id find something, put it on, and watch it as i goto sleep. As of right now, my plants are reaching their 6th node. their still babies and this is as far as ive ever came. Everything i know is from researching on this website before i started this. Granted, i dont know even half of everything, but i got the basic concept and basic knowledge to back me up, and if im not sure, i use grass city as a reference tool. As for yield, yes, you listed your nutes, lights, and everything else, but as i said, there are too many factors. everyone on here is going to tell you the same man. Wish i could help you on that, but i cant. And from my research, neither can anyone else lol. Now if your grow is similar to theirs, they can say they yielded x amount and give you a rough idea, but thats not a guarentee.
1000w is too much for your space I would use 600w or the 400w is ok but keep it closer to the plant without burning them. Aslong as your extraction can keep the temp down. When ppl say how did you fit 11 in that space course you can, you can fit 30 in there if you wanted but they would be small. I would say with space and if you get a 600w light with good extraction and a good feeding schedule you should be pulling anywhere from 1- 2 0z per plant. id say youd get about 10oz from it dry
You mention 400W bulb - what type of bulb? 400W HPS is probably good for that space if that's what you have. You could upgrade to 600W. But 11 plants - that's about twice as many plants as you should be growing for a space that size.
You need to draw the air out of your room or you might aswell just not bothered. Circulating the air what already in the room which is probably already used up. Get a small fan blowing above the plants directed towards your 600w that your going to get and extract the hot air out somehow keep the light as close as possible without the plants burning this will equal in higher yield. you can have a 1000w light in there but I think personally it wont do you any favours (Heat build up) if you get the 600 closer I will equal to the lumen output of the 1000w being in there cos you would have keep the 1000 higher away from the plant equalling in less lumen output per square foot.
As tylerm428 say 11 is too many, what I would do is select the best 6- 8 out of them. upgrade light and feed them well. don't matter how many you have they will balance them self out with 11 you have youd probably just get the same yield if not more with less plants as the light will be able to penetrate more Well I hope ive help you out.
Your first grow in a new setup... Your yield will be huge, but very little of it (if any) will be smokable quality bud. Most of your yield will be the experience and grow knowledge. Most people who made comments touched on some important issues with your setup. But "grow knowledge" is the biggest variable to yield. 1st step: Find a small space to keep mothers and clones (a dorm fridge sized space is all you need and a few CFLs). The next steps all have to do with your main grow room setup. Ventilation is the hard part, after you get that the rest will be pretty simple. You need two 4" or 6" holes at the base of your closet and make them light proof (PVC elbow). Your exhaust must go to a safe place outside your grow room (light proof as well). Pick a good quality fan and carbon filter. The sad part is, you can't grow all eleven of them plants in your small setup. Four will be your max number in that cramped space. Sure if you do a short SOG eleven is possible, but it will not be very efficient and a much better choice if your are doing flood tables (hydro ebb and flow). You will need to relocate/give away/other all but two if them plants in my opinion. Most new growers don't want to hear or believe that you can't just grow tons of plants under a light in a closet. You might just have to see it with your own eyes. After that you will start to ask question on how to do it right. I hate to see you waste three months on this setup, just to start over. I grow in the same sized space. I can yield a pound under my 400 watt bulb every 70 to 80 days if pressed (I like to take a few weeks off now and then, or grow fewer plants), with that said, I am by no means the best 400 watt yielding grow I have seen. Others here can show you insane results using a 400 watt lamp. Take a look at my pictures in my sig if you want some ideas on how to organize your closet.