Couple questions...err..I mean FREE SEX!!!

Mannheim

Active Member
AHA! Now that I've got you...a couple questions about growing weed. :)

1. I'm running a flower area of about 100sf with a 8' ceiling. I have 2 1000w HPS could have 3. I've been reading alot on LST and SCROG. 1st question is this: With 100sf it seems my operation is a little bit larger than most of the LST/SCROG setup's I've read. It seems they are extensively used in situations where space is at a premium, i.e. closets, and tents. I'm feeling like 24 plants might be the optimum number for my area but I haven't dialed that in yet (this would be another question :) Is there a 'cut-off' where SCROGGING/LST gets to be too labor intensive because of the number of plants? I do understand that it will ALWAYS increase your yield. Opinions?
2. With my 100sf floor x 8' ceiling, what would be a general number of flowering plants? I understand that veg times and strains will vary this.
3. I'm on my 4th grow, all soil grows too, and I find that when I water my plants, I pick them up and set them on the counter, inspect them, do any trimming that needs done, water them until they overflow into the trays for a bit, let em sit..then put them back on the floor. I do not have a drain in my floor. My question is this: This would be impossible with a SCROG right?? Also...it helps alot when sexing to be able to rotate the plant at eye level and get in close for examination. If the plant is intertwined with a trellis type system that's kind of impossible again right? So is SCROG only viable when cloning or with fem seeds?
4. This question is alot like question number 3. I'm thinking of switching to hydro from soil. Once they are in they're net pots or whatever and growing...are they stationary until harvest? There isn't any picking them up in hydro is there? Once again...best from fem clones or seeds? Or just make sure you can get to each of the plants well enough to maintain them?

Thanks for the time and answers. Sorry I had to offer you free sex to get your attention but you know what they say.....
 

GanjaGod420000

Well-Known Member
With 20W per sq ft, it seems as though u r a bit low on the recommended lumen output for the amount u r trying to grow. It sounds like u need to use the ScrOG method or whatever LST methods u r wanting to explore, and reduce your total number of flowering plants down to more like ten per 1K lamp... I'd just use 5-10-gallon containers, and get some nice sized plants, and top them to make them get nice and bushy. I believe u r over planted and underlit, my friend... I prefer the hybrid vigor and often hidden phenotypes of growing from seed, and they seem to grow way mor vigorously than do clones... I personally prefer 20-gallon pots on a rolling platform to grow monster indoor plants, with no SOG, so that I can easily move them, and inspect them not only for sex, but also when picking yellowing undergrowth, and checking for the dreaded 'naners... So I would go with free moving containers with easy individual access and make them big and bushy if I were u... If I were going to go with the 24 plants, I'd look into adding a 1K MH alongside my 2 1K HPS's to help further penetration, internodal spacing, and trichome formation...
 

Mannheim

Active Member
Thanks for the advice. My total grow room is 100sf...I've got 2x1k HPS for a area this is roughly 7'x10'. The additional area is under another 1k hps, but it's not filled with plants at the moment. It's closer to 30w/sf actually. Plus I've got some 2' T8 growbulbs vertically along the walls 2' on center for side lighting. But only on half of the room. Here are 4 pics of my room as of yesterday. Day 50 from seed.

Do you have any pics of that rolling platform?? I'd love to see it. I'm a contractor by trade so building stuff is right down my alley. Do you buy new soil every grow?

Hmm, pics aren't loading. Check this thread, they're posted at the top. Let me know what you think.
https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/517957-advice-comments-appreciated.html
 

SpliffAndMyLady

Well-Known Member
Did you pull your males yet? You got too many plants, my spider senses are tingling..more plants doesn't mean more yield, just more problems
 

Mannheim

Active Member
No, 2nd day of 12/12 as of this evening. Pull em as I see em. Think I'll kick the 3rd 1000k HPS on in the meantime, they're getting a bit bunched up. Spread the canopy back out some.
 

GanjaGod420000

Well-Known Member
Ok, I'm an electrician by trade, and I can see that u arent over doing it... Although u have probably decided to do this, I would suggest putting up some more flourecents around the right side for supp light, but it looks like you will do allright, as long as you can quickly identify and remove any males... I would still suggest finding a MH to throw into the mix, for shorter internodal spacing, and deeper penetration, and also it has been purported that crops grown under MH tend to produce more females than non-MH ones because of the extra white and blue spectrums they emit, but Idk... I usually have way better than 50/50 odds with my regular seed stock... Good-looking setup though, I must say...
 

GanjaGod420000

Well-Known Member
I usually keep my soil for about two grows, and then remix some new stuff... Just remember, as long as you can control your temps, the more lumens, the better, and MH will help to increase trich production because of the UV rad they put out, which triggers the plants natural "defense" mechanism to make more resin top protect it's foliage and flowers...
 

Mannheim

Active Member
@Ganjagod420000 - Thanks for the insight. How do you figure your light's penetration factor? My older style ballasts are switchable between MH and HPS, but from all my research it seems that anymore running straight HPS through the entire grow cycle is the most efficient way to grow. Thoughts on this? I have 2' grow tubes on 40% of my walls for side lighting but that was all the 2' fixtures I could get my hands on, still looking for more.

@Delvite - My grow space is "L" shaped, 10' x 7' then a 5' x 7' leg. I just cant see how a light mover would get much 'run'? I could roll the 2 lights side by side and give them a 10' (minus the 2' of reflector) so 6' run...is that enough to make it worth it? Plus it seems that's more electricity..plus, how much noise does a light mover make? I've got a radio in the shop, then another radio in the grow room tuned to the same station so it covers all the fan's noises and people can't tell the music is coming from a different room. Only thing I'm paranoid about is the sound, I live in the middle of nowhere :)
 

GanjaGod420000

Well-Known Member
If u have a HPS ballast, u also have a MH ballast... U can run the same wattage MH lamps in the same wattage HPS kits...safe and sound... Thatz a given in the electric world I live in... But, it DOES NOT work vise versa, as HPS's need an igniter, or starter to strike an arc and burn...which MH kits do not possess... I have some light and temperature meters that I "shoot"(they r laser powered) at different levels of my canopy, above and below also, and get very accurate lumen, and temperature readings... Fluke meters are the shizznit! Simple thermometers work fine also... But, if I didnt have them, and before I did, and even now, having them, I still depend on how my plants react to the distances I try out for given periods of time in relation to their height of canopy. And MH WILL penetrate more deeply into the lower recesses of your new budding sites and help them to grow on up a little faster... Yes, HPS lights ARE the most efficient lights, electrically, meaning that the power that they consume is less than that of a same size MH kit, but as far as growing efficiency, I would have to fully disagree. I believe with all my heart that a balanced mixed spectrum of MH AND HPS is the very best for the entire grow... During veg, I give more MH than HPS, and during flowering, I give more HPS than MH... And I try to mimic nature with my HPS's always coming on first and staying on thru the on period, with the MH only on during the middle of the on period... As in nature... However, during the last two weeks of flowering, I give them HPS AND MH for the entire duration of their on cycle, to increase trichome production, even more...
 

GanjaGod420000

Well-Known Member
U do plan on hookin' a fellow bud-grower up with a lil' rep for all that tasty insight, don't ye? lol... J/K, but seriously... ;-)
 

GanjaGod420000

Well-Known Member
See the little Jewish Star-shaped symbol in the bottom of the post window... U would go to whichever post by whomever u think deserves rep and click on it... The same will be done for u as u post helpful suggestions/opinions/answers on RIU, which is how u build "rank" for yourself...and others... ;-)
 
Top