OK we all got the fence posts and every three weeks it's chop time. The question is what can be done to increase the harvests and get that extra ounce that wasn't there three weeks ago. I read High Times, Skunk magazine and of course I am a avid reader of this forum. Feel free to chime in and tell me if you think any of this stuff could get extra yield with the fence post system.
1) a little bit of foliar feeding with a water soluable fertilizer (such as miracle grow) right before lights on.
2) going 12.5 hours on for the flowering cycle (maybe even 13 hours on,strain dependant).
3) adding side lighting, CFL, LED, and metal halide during flowering
4) Using 4 six hundred watt lights instead of two 1000 watters during flowering, or using two 250 watt HPS's on the first flowering post in the cycle.
5)Changing the res every three weeks in the flowering cycle to ensure fresh nutes.
6)using a aquarium pump to aerate the water in the res.
7) Verticle lighting.
Anything out there that you do differently that increases your yields?
The question everbody wants to answer... How do I yield more? Here's my opinions on your 7 thoughts to that end.
1. - foliar feeding can help if your plants are not getting something through the roots... but a well balanced nute tank in the Stink system will likely give the plants all they want and need. If you still want to foliar feed - try using the Groigen and Florigen from AO BLoom (yellow bottle). These are choice - made for foliar feeding. I have had incredible results using this stuff with coco.
2. Increasing the day light by 30 minutes or an hour will have little effect... saving the 30 kwh's per month is probably more efficient... but if you are having trouble getting into your room to do work when lights on, the extra hour can often help. Have you looked at running 18 hour days (rather than 24 hour days), people have reported finishing 2 weeks earlier using this method... I have yet to try this one... would be kind of weird to have your off/on times constantly changing.
3. Increasing the light spectrum always helps. If you have any way to mix MH and HPS light during flowering, you will increase yields and quality. The increased UV in MH vs HPS lighting, greatly increases THC levels (plants create THC to defend against UV)
4. 600's are the most efficient in terms of operating efficiency.... so running more watts with 600 watt lights (2400w vs 2000w) will always be better. The question is, "are 600 watt lights worth the cost?". When you consider the costs to replace bulbs (600's are just about the same price as 1000's), and the cost of ballasts and reflectors, 1000's become more efficient than 600's. Also - there is still not a native 600w MH bulb, while you can get a true 1000w MH. With a modern, digital ballast, this may be something to consider if you are going to run both lamp types during a cycle.
5. Changing every 3 weeks is the outside of res changes... you can get better results changing every 7 - 10 days. Of course, this will cost about twice as much to nute over the course of the grow.
6. Using an air pump in the res with the Stink system is not necessary as the water fall effect does quite a bit to oxygenate the water. With the roots actually hanging in air, oxygen is rarely an issue with aeroponics. An air pump won't hurt anything though...
7. Vertical lighting is great - super efficient and easy.... but you must set your zone up to accomodate it. The standard stink system would benefit little from vertical lighting. With a redesign, you could place the fenceposts in an opposing 'v' formation (using 5 posts) and hang lights in the center. Growing trees (1 plant per 4sq ft), lends itself to vertical lighting. This is the current trend in big commercial setups in BC. I have yet to try this method - but many claim this as a super efficient way to go.
Let us know your results of anything you try!