First Grow - Yield Question.

Dear Experienced Growers,

Me & my mate our considering starting up our first ever grow.
My question like all other newbies is what sort of yield should we expect?

Some info on what our setup might be;

Northern Lights #5 x Haze Feminized Seeds from Sensi Seeds

Planning to veg for 4 weeks and flower for 8 weeks

12-Pod Hydroponic System - http://imageshack.us/f/254/turboaeroponicmultipod.jpg/
600w Dual Spectrum HPS Lamp + Air Cooled Reflector + 600w Digital Ballast - http://imageshack.us/f/819/lumatek250l.jpg/
Jupiter Light Mover http://imageshack.us/f/835/jupiterlightmover.jpg/
Dutch Master Gold Nutrients Range + Liquid Light - http://imageshack.us/f/13/dutchmastergoldrangegro.jpg/
Secret Jardin MK2 Grow Tent 150 x 150 x 200cm - http://imageshack.us/f/38/dr150small.jpg/
Standard Timers, Thermometers + Nutradip Reader for Reservoir - http://imageshack.us/f/72/nutradiptrimeter.jpg/
Inline Fan + Rhino Pro Carbon Filter - http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/233/rhinofilter150mmbig.jpg/
Floor Fans, Ducting and other small accessories.

It’s a quite a big budget for an amateur small grow, but oz prices in London (UK) are crazy. The one off cost + bills/maintenance seems like a small price to pay if the grow is successful.

Hope that gives a rough idea of what our setup might be, now back to the question; Me and my mate are hoping for 1 ounce dry bud per plant (12 ounces DRY bud from 12 plants?). Is this achievable with the equipment we have in mind, and also that we do not have any experience growing?

Peace,
BH.

Seems like average would be around 2 oz a plant with your veg time.

Sounds like you guys did your homework Congrats on making the decision to grow your own! An ounce/plant with your setup should definitely be within reach. Also, from what I hear, the strain you picked is top-notch cannabis. After you run it a few times, and get to know it and the equipment, you should be getting even higher yields.

600 watts is 600 watts.

1/2 - 3/4 lb would be impressive (for a first attmept).

Start out with a couple few, and save a few coins in learning how to and what not. Going straingth into hydro can be a great challange. Personally I hope you get it all working the first time. But from my own and other peoples expirience. First, second and third time can be a bitch! Plants tell signs in alot of diffrent ways, when you think its a defeciency, it could be ph etc.
Also, turn down expected yeild by 50% the first times. When your getting more feel for how and why, you can probably add 50% to the yeild. Looks good tho
I wish you the very best in the days to come

Thank you everyone for commenting. Much appreciated.

As for now we have only bought the seeds and still researching on equipment.

As for grow time, is 4 weeks too short for veg? Our research on the seeds has suggested that with this strain a little vegetation period is required? Time isn't really an issue, although if we are some what successful we would like to start a 2nd grow within the same year.

Our thinking was 4 weeks veg, 8 weeks flower, 3-4 weeks drying/curing process and hopefully at the end of it close to 12 ounces dry quality bud.

I've never personally grown NL... but it's indica..(I double checked before I posted JTBS) so it's going to be a tall plant. Just something to think about.. a 2 foot plant in veg is going to be a 6 foot plant when it's done..
Just food for thought.

4 weeks veg is not enough from seed. You need to plan on vegging for 6-8 weeks. Plant will not show sex until at least 6 weeks old no matter what the light cycle is. you will only lose growth by going into bloom early.

YOu only have 600 watts of light...... The coverage is no where near enough for 12 plants.... I have 12 plants under 8 One Thousands and its still cramped.... If you veg for 4 weeks or so (from seed), your plant will be fairly small... I guess you could squeeze 8 under a 600 Watt light.... but why would you?? If you want a good yeild from your setup, you need to realize more plants arent better... YOu will actually get more if you just put 2 decent sized plants under a 600... If you put 12 plants under it, you wont get a zip dried each.... You wont even get close to that.... Like stated above... 600 Watts is 600 Watts no matter what you do... YOu either need to add more lights, or do WAAAY less than your thinking about doing... If you use your setup, nutes, and do it well... You can pull like 6-8 total from the 2 plants under that one light.... If you were REALLY good, you could get 10 off the 2 plants... Your not gonna get 12 oz from ONE 600 Watt light... It just doesnt work like that... You will see how big even a small vegged plant will be, and then you will understand what I mean. Theres only so much light to go around, you cant have 12 plants fighting for it... Less is More in the end... JMHO

You can grow 12 plants under 600W fine...it all depends on how big you grow them out during veg...hell, if you are SCROGing, you can cram in say 30 plants in a space of 16 square feet, all lit by the hps (in a cooltube, preferably, to bring it closer to the plants). Then you have 30 small plants that invest all their energy in the production of single fat cola, rather than small cola + branch buds. If grown from clones, this would give a consistent yield, and huge, high quality buds. Also, NL is indica, like Cowell said, but indicas are known to stay short...sativas stretch...

They do have a light mover, 12 plants ok. They are fem seeds so no need to extend veg to preflower. And the strain they are growing will yield an ounce plus 12/12 from seed. And I run a 600 on a mover covering 40sqft. 5ftx8ft and my plants get plenty of light.

Mountain Farmer said:

4 weeks veg is not enough from seed. You need to plan on vegging for 6-8 weeks. Plant will not show sex until at least 6 weeks old no matter what the light cycle is. you will only lose growth by going into bloom early.

Click to expand...

depends on how much room he has. personally I'm fairly limited on space and would rather do 4 big ones as opposed to 10-12 small ones.

i'd still start off smaller for a first time grower, just start off with 2-3 plants until you get a feel for it. you can always build from there, so why spend all the money and have all the plants to maintain when youre still learning. just my opinions, but if i were you id do a test run first and see what youre working with then the second round youll know what you can handle and expect

A pound...

Lol ^ some funny shit

Thank you all again for your comments.

1) Yes the seeds are feminized.

2) Why isn't a 600w enough? Will 1000w really benefit? Let's not forget economy. Which is better value?

3) We do have a light-rail to even out the light, Yes 12 plants under a single light can be demanding, that's why we added a light rail.

Here is a rough idea of what the set-up will look like. Note that it is not too scale! The tent we have in mind should have the equipment a bit more spread out.

Reservoir and thermometer/ph readers will be stored outside the tent.



5) We wouldn't mind growing 2-4 big plants if it will yeild 12 ounces dry, but to grow big, doesn't that require more time?

We was planning.... 4 Weeks Veg >> 8 Weeks Flower >> 4 Weeks Dry/Curing. Around 4 Months, till we see the finish product. Wouldn't growing bigger plants take longer?

For (artificial) light, there is a law that always applies known as the Inverse Square Law. It states that light diminishes exponentially in energy as the distance is increased from the source.

A good example is that you might be getting 1000 PAR Watts at 4" from your light source, but that would change to 250 PAR Watts at double the distance (8"). This law makes it EXTREMELY important for indoor plant growers to get their light source as close as possible to their plants. The amount of light your plant receives is directly related to it's yield/flower density.

The problem: Indoor lamps used for plant cultivation (HID - High Intensity Discharge) give off large amounts of heat, to such a degree that they could cause damage to the plant if put too close.

Indoors, there is an optimum distance/height between the plants and the light source. This distance fully illuminates the whole canopy with direct light from the source, but is as close as possible to the plants for maximum lumen intensity. This will be called the OLH, for Optimum Lamp Height.

Ultimately, to get the best light efficiency from your lamp, you want it at the OLH at all costs. But how can you get it there without causing harm to your plants with the abundant heat?

First, try moving your light to the OLH and see what it does to your plants. If they have no problem, then you're fine. If you have a high output HID, this probably won't be enough.

Next, try actively exhausting your light hood by hooking up a direct exhaust system to the hood, and then move your lamp to the OLH and see if the plants are O.K. If the plants still seemed affected by the heat, then you must add glass to your actively exhausted lamp hood. Glass will absorb/reflect/filter some of the light energy being emitted by the lamp.

The number would seem relatively low, around 2-3% of PAR wattage, but it will effectively filter out almost all of what little UV-B is emmitted by the lamp. UV-B is believed, and has been shown, to have a positive influence on the potency of Cannabis.

Overall, it would be beneficial for one to add glass if needed to keep their lamp at the OLH, due to the all-powerful Inverse Square Law; moving light farther away will greatly reduce the amount of energy being emitted and is reaching your plants (Light intensity is directly related to yield and flower density).

Almost all glass offered today for insertion in air-cooled lamp hoods is tempered glass, which is regular glass with low amounts of impurities. If one was looking for the most efficient glass for their hood, quartz glass will allow the transmission of UV-B, but is not made specifically for light hoods.

And also remember, that if you have a rectangular garden, it is important to position the longest side of the reflector parallel to the shortest side of your garden. (from FAQ by Head Rush)

Additional note: you should periodically inspect and clean your light hood and bulbs, especially after foliar feeding or underleaf spraying for insects. The dust and dirt that collects will definitely decrease reflectivity. Isopropanol alcohol, glass cleaner or water (and a soft cloth) can all be used to remove streaks, dust and spots.

Contributed by: MedMan

There are a number of factors which play a part in the temperature radiated from your bulb, watts, hood design and air circulation for example.

A simple method of testing for temperature is to use the back of your hand; if its too hot for your hand, its too hot for your plants. Good ventilation is the key to getting your light closer to the garden.

Editor's note:

Recommended typical OLH distances:

Flourescentsroximimty
400w HPS: 1 foot
600w HPS: 1.5 foot
1000w HPS: 2 foot

Author: BobbyDigital

I went to look for a light distance chart for you to show you the difference of usable light of the different bulbs... then I found this.. and it explained everything I was going to try and explain.. so I'll just copy it here.

I would veg for 4 weeks and flower for 9 to 10.

I would veg until I think it's ready to flower then flower for as long as the plant needs. That being said, a pound off 1 plant isn't impossible. I believe Dayzt hit 1 lb including the little popcorn bud on his Tangerine Dream grow.