First off, I've been growing for just about three years now and nothing remotely large scale, four plants at the most. Just personal use and a few extra bucks from close friends...hey we all got bills right? Anyway, as far as lighting spectrum goes, I started with the highest lumen daylight CFL bulbs, making a ficture of 8 of those bulbs combined...then eventually went with 400w open hood...now to the present, i've recently upgraded to 1000w hydrofarm, closed hood, dual ducting and 6" inline fan, which i've been using for almost a month now. Now i typically just get feminized seeds online, don't really get into all the cloning and whatnot and because i grow so few plants i'd rather grow from seed knowing it's female regardless. Now really my question and opinions welcomed as i said in the subject, brings me to my current situation...i've got one grape gum, at approximately 17" and two weeks into flower, where i also switched from my MH bulb to HPS bulb to help discourage stretching, i'm looking to get her to just under three feet, i've super cropped as needed and at this point have just about a nice even canopy level of branches all around as a result...my setup is basically in what i would describe as a big 1/2 bedroom, that even has a window (that's obviously blacked out lol, but beside the point), and i have two four foot, three part presentation board that i cover in reflective mylar that juuust about surrounds the grow medium (i leave a little opening on each side for air flow)...i also have a small fan that comes on a the timer the same time the light does which points directly towards the 5 gallon grow bucket itself (i started in 1 gal bucket and transplanted about three weeks into the 5...probably could have went with a 3 but whatever). Also i run a bigger, oscillating fan constantly in this room...there is a heating duct in the room too...the ducts on each end of the light discharge into a big walk-in closet next to the grow room. I typically would do 4 plants per my prior grows (one in particular 400w 4 plants special kush, just under 2ft tall yielded 7ounces) and what not but figured with proper growing techniques (supercropping, topping, nutrients and proper flushing obviously), and 1000w HPS, i expect to yield between 3/4-1lb with this single plant...does this sound reasonable given what i've described? For the record I use fox farm ocean forest soil primarily as grow medium with a little light warrior mixed in. Nutrient wise, again, it's fox farm- big bloom grow big (very little) tiger bloom and sledgehammer. Any other opinions are more than welcomed, concerning my grow setup and everything, as i am somewhat new despite just a few years doing it...i've recently even looked into CO2 discharge, as i've read it can increase production, is this a worthwhile investment? Thanks for any response in advance and take care!
Also, i realize every strand is different and this of course affects yield, but just a ballpark estimate is what i want an opinion on.
You very probably won't get 3/4 lb to 1 lb in 5 gallon pots. You can get this much from a single plant indoors but you'll want to go with larger pots and double your veg time - at least. J
Thanks for the response, jerry. This thursday will mark 3 weeks into flower. Right now she is showing nice beginning blooms up and down each branch. I may do one more super crop on my two biggest colas to let the others catch up a little more, and it's still early enough in flower. But as i said before i've managed to get every branch at an even level and she should top out at just under three feet when its all said and done...and so i guess, out of sheer curiosity, what would you expect to yield given all i've described?
it's way to early to tell. the only way to tell a yield is when its dry and on a scale man. you could get nute lock 4 weeks into flower and have it produce nothing you know or it could swell ridiculously big its last week and you could end up with way more then you expected. i love the anticipation when all my herb is drying.
I hear you, curtopolis. And i am in no way ignorant to what all can go wrong in a grow. I've gone through i would say 5 or 6 harvests now and i continue to educate myself with it as i go, as it is basically my secret little passion/hobby. I agree too, about the anticipation when drying, not to mention when you've had em in mason jars for a few weeks after, too!
Basically i'd love to achieve atleast 3/4lb atleast or so every 90 days from seed and i'm just gonna have to experiment, maybe go back to four plants under this new 1000w light, we'll see. I yielded 7.5 ounces dry trimmed of special kush about a year ago and that was under 400watts and four plants at just two ft tall
I'd also love to hear what mediums other soil growers use on here and have success with. I like the ocean forest but it can be a bit 'hot' in earlier stages and wondering what would be a good thing to mix and at what ratio to combat this.