Hey, I got 8 seedlings under a 1000 watt MH. Should I be growing way more, its all ready too far along and I cant find anymore seeds. I'll use my buddies 4oo hps for flower though. Will they just be really burly plants?
the right answer to this depends on your situation. you can grow many plants close together and only veg them for a week or two (look up SOG method), or you can grow much less, give them more space, and let them go for a month plus. the yield should be similar in either case, although it depends on the breed which method will work best. strains that are main-stem dominant (form the majority of their flowering mass around the terminal end of the main stem) tend to do better in SOG, while more even-flowering breeds tend to respond better to longer periods of vegetative growth. i too use a 1000 w HID. the factors i consider when deciding weather to run an SOG or traditional grow are as follows, in order of importance: 1) what are my local laws? if you aren't a legal grower, many places penalize and sentence based on TOTAL NUMBER OF PLANTS in your garden. if this is the case in your area, it's in your best interest to keep your numbers low, and grow big. 2) is my strain main-dominant or branchy? 3) how much time do i have to veg? 4) am i growing from seeds or from clones? seeds cost money, clones from your own mother plant do not. the practicality of SOG is enhanced if you aren't paying an additional $5-$20 per every plant you choose to harbor. note also: you fill find that alot of growers will look at the number of watts you're running and quickly advise you to run more plants than you currently are. however, i implore you to consider how many hoods those watts are spread between before following this advice. you simply can't fit as many plants under one 1000 watt source as you can 2 400-600s. the light footprint of a 1000 is just flat out smaller considering the size/dispersion of most 1000 w hoods and the singularity of the source. i find that the limited foot print of the 1000 w HIDs is compensated for by their superior penetration, i.e. the ability of these systems to stimulate significant bud growth much farther below the upper canopy than lower wattage bulbs. this characteristic makes growing taller plants more practical than it normally would be under lower wattage systems. in the end, all thing considered, i usually end up growing 6-10 plants and growing big with an approximate 6 week veg cycle (i'm an organic soil grower, this stage will be faster with good hydro). the actual number of plants in each grow varies depending on the growth characteristics of whatever strain i'm running at the time. in most cases i find it ends up being the most cost effective. i also employ lst or scrog methods to keep my canopy at what i consider to be the perfect height for bud production throughout the total vegetative mass of my grow under 1 1000 watt source, and practice regular, practical pruning to aid penetration. congratulations. you now know everything i know, and all you had to do was read for like 6 HOURS. what can i say, i like to write books. -IQ