What separates an average grower from a great grower?

Hi,

Just curious what separates an averages grower from a great grower (in terms of yields on the same strains)

Is it mostly

A good setup? IE using HID lighting instead of fluorescent, good aero/hydro setups, C02, light movers, etc?

Or better micromanaging? Pruning, topping, thinning, horizontal/screen training, plant manipulation techniques in general?

Patience. More often than not.

JustDave said:

Patience. More often than not.

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Yeah, the patience to let the plants do as they will, and the sensitivity to understand.

experiance..... from me it has been trying diffrent things and figure what works best for certain strain and what doesnt..... now i know if somethings wrong most often then not why that is......

Also, being on consitant with feeding, i feed everyday when the lights go on... i keep the food regiment simple micro, grow and bloom with a lil b peaking at 1400 ppm..... nice air movement good temps (82F day 69 Night) & humidity ( 50% until last 2 weeks drop to 30%)

a set up is man made(bought), tallent experience and the drive isnt... dont get me wrong they both go hand in hand ,but a great grower will pull off more in the same set up

give them love and listen to them for thier needs
the experience of how to respond to their needs
less is more cant hurt - more is less and can hurt

3 key things
good luck

RichED said:

give them love and listen to them for thier needs
the experience of how to respond to their needs
less is more cant hurt - more is less and can hurt

3 key things
good luck

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I couldn't agree more. I think way too many growers worry too much. They are always checking pH and trying to get it down another .2 and they're like "OMG, there's a spot on that leaf!" And the plants pick up on this, you see. And they're thinking, "Ohhh nooo... there's something wrong with me. I'm a bad bad plant and I'm gonna die." So when you look at your plants (10 times a day) you have to think positive and tell them they are the best damn plants in the whole wide world.

Translation for the non-stoned: Great growers have faith in the wisdom of nature and in the strength and character of this plant in particular. They realize they are mere catalysts with a relatively small role to play, albeit one the plant deserves to have played well.

Experience and understanding. If you don't learn from your mistakes, you will make them again and again.

Knowledge Is Power

good environment and good nutrients are your winning combo. experienced growers are lazy, we let the plants do all the work

passion.
don't grow just to get high.
grow to make an attempt at getting in touch with the earth in an urban environment.
grow to supply others with quality medicine.
grow to give life.

you need an understanding of what the plants need and how they interact with the environment.
having top quality equipment doesn't hurt either.

persistance. the one who doesn't give up is the one who will continue to learn more.

This is my first grow but...

Leaving them the fuck alone is probably the best advice. Nutes, water, light, love, not over doing anything.

I've noticed that they grow like a fucking weed. I've had outdoor gardens in the past and have never seen growth like this. My GF is a fairly avid plant growing person for both indoors and out cause she likes things pretty and she comments fairly regularly about the insane growth that marijuana has. It really just wants to grow and be left alone.

Knowledge goes a long way for spotting problems and fixxing stuff, but leaving them alone is some of the best advice you can get. I think the biggest difference between new and old growers is new growers want to micro-manage everything and old growers are like fuck it.

In order of importance:

1. Experience (Learning how to read the plants needs and respond correctly, aka. developing a green thumb, and learning techniques that work)
2. Knowledge (Not only in aquiring information, but being intelligent enough to thoroughly understand it and apply it as well)
3. Patience (Plants grow at their own pace and trying to push them by pumping 3000ppm worth of nutes into them isn't going to help)
4. Money/capital (Having a private residence to grow in with a well built, well wired grow room, and being able to purchase all the things needed to grow properly with no compromises)

I also subscribe to the K.I.S.S. philosophy, "Keep it simple stupid". Of course that comes with experience also. But it cannot be underestimated. Find a good three part nutrient, a bottle of nitric/phosphoric acid (PH down), and a bottle of potassium hydroxide (PH up) and that's all you need.

Dr. Indica said:

Experience and understanding. If you don't learn from your mistakes, you will make them again and again.

Knowledge Is Power

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What he said

love. love for growing. not just for the end result. oh and a lil help from some good buddies on RIU

RichED said:

give them love and listen to them for thier needs
the experience of how to respond to their needs
less is more cant hurt - more is less and can hurt

3 key things
good luck

Click to expand...

i agree, on my first grow when i was tryin to learn everything i could about growing...ph, topping,stress,burn,etc.......and it seemed the more i tried to make the perfect environment, the more problems i had. So, i just left it alone and things went back to normal.and all has been well since.

http://adams.extension.psu.edu/Horticulture/images/greenthumb.gif

All the little details. The ability to simulate the exact environment or which the strain happens to originate and prosper. Knowing the plant very well, growing generations and generations of that strain to gain the experience you need to read every little aspect of your particular strains. Having the equipment needed to simulate nature. Proper ventilation, heat, water, nutrients, light, Co2, sanitation. It's very expenisive to properly simulate nature in a basement. Ya, you could always go the cheap route, but the cheaper you go, harder it is to replicate an environment. Not to say it can't be done. Just not as easily.

There is a fine line between the idea of knowing how to grow good products, and knowing your product.
So far, I agree with everything everyone here said; it's a matter of understanding your plants, what they are telling you, and how to provide it.

Growing great weed does involve an certain understanding of the science, but more than that, its foundation is the experience you bring to it. A lot of people can give you advice, and tell you to do this or that. You have to take the time to listen to your plants, try a few things here and there, and time will help you develop your instincts.

The biggest thing to remember is that most people will tell you the things that worked for them, and you have to take that information and figure out how it will work for you, or if it even will work for you.

I know that sounded like a lot of circle talk, but I think it made sense.

Happy growing . . .

Patience and experience. Amazing how hard it is to wait!

a great grower has nailed a system that usually produces, and doesnt chop and change like an eratic av grower.