1000 HPS SOG plants barely yeild an eighth.

[anhedonia]

So I got a pretty cool set up: 400 watt convertable MH vegging moms and rooted clones 2' X 4' 120 cf/m exhaust, underneath that space a 4 lamp t5 fixture for seedlings and rooting clones 2' x 4' and in the bloom room a 4' x 4' x 7' high sunhut, 1000 HPS, thermal heat shield cover over hood to contain and extract radiant heat, 640 cf/m exhaust fan. Im using pura vida grow 6-4-3 and pura vida bloom 2-6-6 and molasses for blooming plants. My temps are in the low-mid 70's, I keep the window open so cool air is being sucked over the bulb. I flower plants around 18-24 inches and Im growing little pathetic twigs with sparse amounts of bud. What am I doing wrong? I even got high times dvd on how to do this shit and I feel Im doing it by the book. According to "hans" on that tape I should be harvesting about an ounce per plant. Am I mistaken. I assumed more light more bud but my last harvest was so weak I felt like I could have grown better weed with my 400 watt.
This kid I know observed me one day pushing dirt firmly into the container, full enough that the dirt doesnt all float away to the top and leave a big sink hole when water flows through. I use fox farm ocean forrest by the way. So he says to me that because Im packing the dirt in Im acctually suffocating the plants. And when you transplant that its necessary to "break up the root ball" to get aeration again something I ve never heard of. And he added that he knows of at least 5 growers who "laugh thier ass off at other growers that pack the dirt in around thier plants because Your not supposed to do that???? Is this true???

 

[cannabiscrusader]

yeah bro, the roots need air too. Mix some perilite in there helps too

 

[ugzkmk]

So I got a pretty cool set up: 400 watt convertable MH vegging moms and rooted clones 2' X 4' 120 cf/m exhaust, underneath that space a 4 lamp t5 fixture for seedlings and rooting clones 2' x 4' and in the bloom room a 4' x 4' x 7' high sunhut, 1000 HPS, thermal heat shield cover over hood to contain and extract radiant heat, 640 cf/m exhaust fan.



Im using pura vida grow 6-4-3 and pura vida bloom 2-6-6 and molasses for blooming plants. My temps are in the low-mid 70's, I keep the window open so cool air is being sucked over the bulb.



I flower plants around 18-24 inches and Im growing little pathetic twigs with sparse amounts of bud. What am I doing wrong? I even got high times dvd on how to do this shit and I feel Im doing it by the book.


According to "hans" on that tape I should be harvesting about an ounce per plant. Am I mistaken. I assumed more light more bud but my last harvest was so weak I felt like I could have grown better weed with my 400 watt.



This kid I know observed me one day pushing dirt firmly into the container, full enough that the dirt doesnt all float away to the top and leave a big sink hole when water flows through. I use fox farm ocean forrest by the way.


So he says to me that because Im packing the dirt in Im acctually suffocating the plants. And when you transplant that its necessary to "break up the root ball" to get aeration again something I ve never heard of.


And he added that he knows of at least 5 growers who "laugh thier ass off at other growers that pack the dirt in around thier plants because Your not supposed to do that???? Is this true???

i just spaced it otu so its easier to read. iil comment shortly

pictures would be nice, but from teh sounds of it, you are packing the dirt way to tight. you shouldnt pack at all. pictures of the actual plants may help more.

 

[bluntking420]

ya he right they gotta breath ,

 

[OregonMeds]

Your soil should be LOOSE and fluffy as can be, never packed down, with good drainage to the soil.

Yes you should have gotten 1oz per plant easily. Aside from packing in the dirt which you'll never do again, what temperatures min and max are you running in that grow tent with 1000w bulb and how far away from the plants are you running the light? I bet the temperature has been too high in that space, or you've had the light too far away or both.

 

[anhedonia]

Look- If the dirt wasnt firm, when you water the plant all the dirt is loosened and would sink until it settles. Then you have to put more dirt in any way, get it? A big hole is left when the water drains away.

 

[ugzkmk]

dont just pour the water then. its the pressure from teh water that causes the divets. water slowly. you already dumped a ton of money in to it, why not take and extra 45 seconds to pour that water slowly.

 

[anhedonia]

Your soil should be LOOSE and fluffy as can be, never packed down, with good drainage to the soil.

Yes you should have gotten 1oz per plant easily. Aside from packing in the dirt which you'll never do again, what temperatures min and max are you running in that grow tent with 1000w bulb and how far away from the plants are you running the light? I bet the temperature has been too high in that space, or you've had the light too far away or both.

Like I said the temps in my tent never excede 75 this time of year. And my plants are about 2 ft away from the light. I could put it closer no problem but I have 2 big plants in there that take up vertical space.
My plants have always had good drainage. I water them every 2 days and they dry out.
How loose do you need the soil to be to grow an ounce? How could you pull the plant out of the container to check the roots if your plants dont have anything to hold on to? Its why I dont use FF light warrior to germinate seeds. Every time I take the seedligs out of thier little pot the entire root ball would fall apart in my hands.

 

[OregonMeds]

You should not be pulling a plant out that doesn't have a complete rootball. It doesn't matter what fluff you grow in if you wait for the proper time to transplant then it's not an issue.

You can think up any argument you like but packing the soil in is wrong wrong wrong.

And on the subject of the light being 2 feet away, that's your problem. If you have taller plants move them to the outside in a stadium fashion so you can get the light as close as possible to all the plants. 2 feet away makes a 1000w bulb less efficient in that space than a 400 would have been if the 400 were at the right distance.

 

[Yota]

2 feet away doesn't seem that bad to me. I grow in coco, and i keep it fluffy. I think you got your answer on that so no need to harp, keep your soil loose and fluffy.

How many plants are you packing in the 4X4 space? And what total yield did you get?

It seems like something more is going on other than soil if you are really doing bad. Maybe your not mixing the nutes correctly? Put up some pics of the room so we can see if there are any visual problems. Do you have osc fans going other than the exhaust?

 

[Landragon]

Are you by chance following technafloras instructions to not adjust the pH prior to watering?

 

[cannabiscrusader]

there could be more problems than that, but what do your root balls look like when you harvest? When you fill a pot with dirt, add water and let it settle naturally. Then more dirt if needed and water thoroughly. When the soil settles naturally it is not compacted because when the water in the soil is used an air pcoket is left. If you compact the crap out of it then add water, the water will not penetrate or drain well. There will also be no air pockets in the soil for the roots to breathe. Add some perilite and water settle the soil.

 

[anhedonia]

Any arguement? Theres a few off the top of my head I can think of- but that aside, Ive had a couple successful grows and my first grow with the 1000 HPS I yeilded over 3 OZ. off of a strain called the pure. That was veged to 24 inches. The other 4 turned herm so I had tokill those. But that one plant got me pretty thrilled to get a sog started. Im growing 2 strains whiteberry and spoetnik #1 from paradise seeds.
But really when you fill an entire pot with Ocean forest its only half full of dirt. Water it and it'll be even less. I guess Im not quite understanding the fluffy part. My cervantes book says sometimes its necessary to cultivate the top soil when it gets crusty with a fork. OK, when you guys say light and fluffy Im thinking you mean pile loose dirt in there and expect your clone to stand up streight. I need to know what you guys think Im doing to these plants. Im certainly not forcing soil in the pot i just press down around the edges of the pot so the soil will fill the center where the plants is and continue to fill in the edges untill I get to the top of the container and the stem is buried.

 

[anhedonia]

Do any of you use ocean forrest soil? Lets start there.

 

[anhedonia]

Just looked at roots of 4 plants that are 10 days from harvest and none of them had filled out the containers.

So for the record these plants dont have very big root systems. I'll take some pics if you want.

And could one of you tell me why its healthy to break up the root ball when you transplant. I have always been told to not disturb the roots because it can cause shock and cause the plant to stunt. So which is it? Somone dosent know what thier talking about.

 

[Landragon]

A lot of people don't know what they are talking about. You do not break up a healthy root ball to transplant it. If the soil you are coming out of is toxic or compacted this proccess can help. Otherwise it is detrimental. As far as your issues go, there's lots of thing I can say. But I'll say this, people have been growing pot in soil for thousands of years. You are making it more difficult than it needs to be. Ocean forest is fine soil and works ok alone. I like to cut it with so ething more airy like Light Warrior and perlite. Once it is thouroughly mixed, slowly wet it. Use a couple drops of Ivory soap in each gallon to act as a wetting agent. Use a watering can with a bunch of holes so the water trickles over the soil. Wait one hour, stir it and make a clump. Squeeze it. I should release any water easily, and be a bit springy. If it packs tight, you need more LW or perlite. If it isn't wet yet add water. Use a scoop to transfer the soil into the containers. Transfer your plants and GENTLY push the new soil around the root ball. Add water untill it drains with the can. If needed, sprinkle more soil over the top. Voilà.

 

[bleezyg420]

Do any of you use ocean forrest soil? Lets start there.
And could one of you tell me why its healthy to break up the root ball when you transplant. I have always been told to not disturb the roots because it can cause shock and cause the plant to stunt. So which is it? Somone dosent know what thier talking about.

I use oceanforest with out a problem. I Pack the soil, not tight but enough to support the plant. Come check out my grow, 1200w 3x3 tent.
Dont disturb the root ball.

 

[rezo]

heres my plant in ocean forest i add perlite and coco and never pack the soil. i got 2 oz off this one it was about 24 in" from the light i use foxfarm nutes for my grow maybe you could try this.

 

[anhedonia]

this ones 10 days from harvest date. Try not to laugh

 

[skunkdog]

How old is your bulb?

when do u frist feed them?

whats the ppm and ph of feed?

do u run co2?

do u use anything like regen-a-root?

whats the temp of your soil?