Tips for improved harvest yields

**Disclaimer**
Wall of Text Alert!

There is also a lot more that goes into growing than what is here.
This isn't a growing guide, most of this stuff is common sense and briefly discussed, and there is always more that can be added.
Please, contribute!
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This advice applies more towards DTW growers that work in quasi-organics or pure organics indoors.
It is for ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.
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Nutrient systems:
If the potential is present in the genetics then big harvests start with big root systems. Using supplements that support root health can make a huge difference over an entire grow. A nutrient system I can recommend for organic growing is General Organics BioThrive Grow and Bloom, with CaMg+, BioRoot, BioWeed, and BioBud. You can use more than directed on the Grow and Bloom but hold true to the directions on the other products. Botanicare's CNS17 system is building a large following of happy gardeners looking for a simple 1-part replacement for micro+Bloom and A+B systems. Both systems are inexpensive, intelligently designed and directed, and effective.

Introducing General Organics | GrowGH Blog
CNS17 Hydroponics Grow Formula 3-2-4

Seaweed to see weed:
Kelp extracts contain cytokinens and auxins; hormones that interact with root tips and cause explosive growth. There are other benefits to kelp extracts, like decreasing internode lengths which can keep a stretchy plant compact during the vegetative and transitional periods. I suggest General Organics BioWeed at 2.5ml per gallon but there are many good products on the market, sourced from kelp all over the world. Feel free to experiment and find a product that works best for your garden.

Supp-le-mental:
B-Vitamins, essential amino acids, ethanolic acids from wheat, or yucca, and many other sciency sounding names for natural extracts have been proven to improve root health and function, assisting in regulating their nutritional uptake and delivery systems. Supplements like Botanicare Liquid Karma, General Organics BioRoot, Canna Rhizotonic, and SuperThrive all contain some variety of these products. Any of these products, or a combination of many other rooting supplements, are welcome additions to any grower who is focused on the largest root systems in the shortest amount of time. Read the labels and try to understand these are working on a different level than simple npk.

The Rhizosphere:
For organic systems to function it is wise to supplement microbes and fungi which can help break down large organic molecules to a size the root cells can absorb. Mycorrhizal and Trichoderma fungi develop a symbiotic relationship with root systems assisting in uptake and immune function. Beneficial soil bacteria help break down food for uptake and help keep the media healthy. There are many products on the market but Root's Organics Oregonism is among the finest. General Hydroponics Subculture-M and B are good choices, as is General Organics Ancient Forest, as well as the offerings from Advanced Nutrients like Piranha, Tarantula, and Great White. Hydroponic stores and nurseries will often carry many options, the best idea is to select a myco that is designed for annuals. Read the packaging.

Like grains of sand through the hour glass:
Another important element which cannot be overlooked is Silicon. It is very similar to Carbon on the atomic scale having the same electrical valence and being used in the plant in a similar manner to Carbon. Silicon will help strengthen cell wall structures, improve immune function, energy distribution, and support proper nutritional uptake and distribution. Dyna-Gro makes the best stuff on the market called Pro-Tekt. When used as directed it will dramatically improve nearly every aspect of a grow over a similar grow done without it.

The quick and the dead:
Beyond nutrients one other important thing when it comes to roots and media is timing on when to switch to flowering. The roots should have reached the outside edges of the container they will finish in but not fill the entire container yet. Do not fear "root binding," it is commonly mis-diagnosed and I have personally seen 4oz+ plants in 2 gallons of media. Root growth does slow some after the complete transition to flowering. A mistake new growers can make indoors is choosing a container that is too large and flowering before the roots are mature enough to utilize the space due to space restrictions.

In the beginning...:
For healthy photosynthesis to occur a mature plant requires about 5,000 lumens at the leaf surface. Consider even a 145,000 lumen 1000w HID light drops below 5,000 lumens at about 42" from the bulb. So indoors, most growers should be growing plants not more than 4 feet tall at the finish. A plant of that height, due to simple light physics, doesn't need a 5 gallon container when a 3 gallon container would have a healthier root system with better uptake, less buildup, a lower cost, and an easier flush. Vertical lighting arrangements can circumvent the height issue though, so stay tuned...

From Veg to Bloom:
One very important factor for a heavy harvest is the health of the plant through the transition to flowering. My nutritional recommendation for the transition to flowering is to begin bloom nutrition immediately. This means a little less nitrogen, and little more phosphorus and potassium, a little less calcium and a little more magnesium. I also always recommend coming into flowering at a lower EC solution strength than used during vegetative growth. A 1.2ec solution with a minimum of 30% runoff for the first week prevent over feeding while allowing the media time to shift to accommodate the changing nutritional requirements of the plant for flower production.

Don't Rock the Boat!:
A tip I was given and have found to decrease plant stress, and thereby increase harvest yield, is to reduce the amount of shifting that occurs during the grow. Try to limit the number of times you have to move or jostle the plant to a bare minimum. In nature, plants don't move around or get lifted, and they don't seem to enjoy this too much when they are 3 weeks deep into flowering. So, developing a method of removing runoff without disturbing the plants, especially for an emergency mid-grow flush, can be extremely beneficial. In my 7 foot tall tent I use two picnic tables I got from kmart and cut the legs off on them to drop them to about 2 feet tall so that gravity can be used to siphon runoff from the drain pans without moving the plants.

Hot summer nights:
Temperature is important to plant stress as well. The ideal area to grow at indoors is between 75.6 and 76.5 degrees for nearly every phenotype. Some sativas will accommodate a warmer grow room but they do just fine in that range too. For the absolute best results at harvest the recommendation is to maintain 75.6 to 76.5 at the canopy all day, every day, the entire grow. The stability of the temperature provides a reliable growing environment for the plants so they never have to "break pace."

Spanish Fly for your plant:
Bloom boosters are mostly hype. They provide hormones that the plant can then easily break down into flowering/reproductive hormones, but the overall uptake of these hormones and their ultimate use are arguable. Some bloom supplements continue the amino-acid and vitamin trend found in the rooting supplements from before and I have found these to have a good impact on reducing plant stress and improving flower development. Botanicare Hydroplex and Advanced Nutrients Big Bud dry have given me good results when used as directed versus grows without them. I hear good things about Atami Bloombastic and if it wasn't outrageously expensive I might give it a shot. Most other bloom boosters are just PK or hype, but it is good to experiment and learn for yourself. There's new stuff, and off brand stuff, and tons of supplements on the market. Some are good, but not all. Buyer beware and try not to depend on these until all other factors are dialed.

The last edict:
Supplementation of the environment with CO2 is going to improve the size of the flowers. Consider that approximately 80% of the dried product is carbon, and that CO2 is crucial to the energy production process of photosynthesis and it is no surprise that gains of 200% to 300% can be seen when all other factors are controllable (like excess humidity). In an enriched grow room a daytime temperature of 82 to 85 degrees is ideal, but it would be wise to allow night time temperatures to drop to the 75.6 to 76.5 range. When the temperature drops it will cause a rise in humidity which is best managed by completely exhausting the grow room and bringing in fresh air from outside at a regular rate; reconditioning that air for the appropriate temperature and humidity through the dark period. Atmosphere enrichment with CO2 is among the last thing a grower should be working on in their room to increase yields, but when done properly is a definite improvement.

Okay, okay, the actual last edict:
More lighting indoors will almost always improve the production of plants. Better lighting, or, more Photosynthetically Active Radiation from one bulb over another will definitely increase yields. Mixed spectrums of 6000K+ MH and 2100K HPS bulbs will provide the plant with a lot of energy from across the spectrum. Vertically mounted bulbs (mentioned above) will drastically improve the efficiency of a grow space as the bulb can now light an spherical area 6 feet tall and wide (minus a small area around the bulb for heat and above and below the bulb because of the shape). This takes a 46cuft grow on a 1000w bulb to more like a 100cuft grow on 1000w. Same wattage, but double the possible growing area, and a considerable harvest.

No, seriously, for real, this is the last time:
Keep your eye on Plasma lighting in the future as a superior alternative to HID. Other technology driven yield enhancers to research would be Electrical Stimulation of Plants and Harmonic Stimulation like from the BioWave product. High Carbon soil amendments, like BioChar aka Terra Preta, have been shown to increase production as well versus unamended soil. But, if the media is choice, the roots are big and healthy, the planter is the right size, the feedings are dialed, the plant's genetics are accommodating, the environment is controlled, the lighting is mounted vertically and perhaps in a dual spectrum... the yields will improve.

 

I completely forgot ever doing this.
I was all "what fucking thread is this?" And then I realized it's mine.



I must have been fucking toasted! Where's my bong at?

 

Well, if we are going to get all nit-picky...

Terra Preta is BioChar... Just very, very, old BioChar. Native Americans in the pre-columbian era used a combination of charcoal, burned animal bones and manure to enrich the otherwise infertile soil. This was done some 1,500 years ago and the soil enrichment they did still exists today.

Compost is not burned. So Terra Preta is much more than simply "old compost piles." It contains BioChar, it depends on BioChar for it's fertility, but technically they are two different things. Like how Coffee Beans are not technically "Coffee." I understand your point Hope2Toke, but it's a little too hard line for me to agree with completely.

Since Terra Preta is not a renewable resource it is better to make your own BioChar at home and make some of your own Terra Preta with homemade compost and some good old fashioned earth worms.

The concept I was sharing is that high carbon soil is known for being especially fertile. Humic Acid is used to exploit this phenomena by conditioning soil with complex organic carbon chains. I could have been more specific about how to make Terra Preta from BioChar... But I did include a disclaimer for a reason... And I was so fucking high when I made this thread I don't even remember making it.

Give a stoner some slack

 

Great points Rhapsodyrcks!

I am still holding out on that plasma man. I have been following an induction grow also and they seem fantastic. Either way, I think it's time for us to find something better and more efficient to help increase yields versus wattage used.