How to get maximum yield with 4 x 600w hps in a 2.4sq m grow tent?

[HighestHeight]

Hi guys!

My first post here, i hope you can lend me some much needed advice.

Basically the title says it all.. i have a 2.4sqm grow tent (2m high) and it is fitted with 4 x 600w hps lights. I am starting from scratch here and i am looking to utilize the space as much as possible. Which growing method would you personally use in order to gain maximum yield? Which size pots? How many plants to each light? etc..

I currently have 17 plants in vegetation, planted a few weeks ago from feminized seeds (separate tent). Obviously i will have to remove a few hermi's in due course but what do you think is the quickest and most effective way to fill up my flowering tent with the plants and set-up i currently have?

I have an aeroponic propagator which i can use to root my clones quickly. I was thinking to either take clones from my mothers, root them (becoming next batch of mothers) and flower my original mother plants OR to keep the mothers, take clones, veg the clones quickly and then move the clones to flowering (keeping the original mothers in veg, to use for the next batch of clones). Although im sure you guys may have some better ideas.

I am yet to buy the pots so they can be any size although i will be using a soiless mix (perilite, pete moss & bat guano).

Iv tried to keep it as short as possible, i know im new here and i need to earn my stripes but i really would appreciate some advice here..

One love

 

[Alkhemist]

howdy!!

i reckon if you want MAX yield per square foot you will want to ultimately go with high density planting= SOG in aeroponics, flood and drain or a system conducive to high density planting- where you can eventually(when your mothers are sorted and ready)plant upto 200-300cuttings per 6ft x 4ft area using 4 100+ litre reservoirs(aeroponics) OR plant upto 50 cuttings per reservoir(100+litre res) the goal being to yield upto 2ounces per cutting! which is definitely possible! or a minimum of 15grams per cutting and at 50 cuttings per res will yield you a minimum of 25 ounces(over 1.5pounds) per 100litre res! (approx 1.5foot wide x 4foot long)and if you can get more.. all the better!.

the dimensions of your tent could easily accommodate something like this, allowing you room to move in the tent and access back plants etc ... access to plants is just as important imho to check for issues such as mould, mites, deficiencies etc(see "seemorebuds 15pounds in 80 days" video, which can be found on youtube i think, or any good torrent site! OR his own website) SOG aero imo is the least energy intensive as opposed to rdwc BUT DWC is even less intensive and def the way to go if you want to grow high yielding bigger plants in single pots, ive seen DWC(seemorebuds dwc grow of "think different" auto strain) yield upto 1pound plants too, that grew to a 5foot size and covered just over 1mx1m space(strain is also a factor obviously).

well, my 2 cents worth! wishing you all the best with your grow

 

[Alkhemist]

just as a tangent, ive been working in pip fruit and stone fruit horticulture and viticulture for the last 20 years and know for a FACT that high density planting of any variety within these fields produces much greater yields per hectare than conventional grow methods, the same applies to cannabis where high density is translated to SOG grow methods and is merely adapted to smaller grow spaces... but the principles still remain the same regardless of grow space.

regards

 

[HighestHeight]

howdy!!

i reckon if you want MAX yield per square foot you will want to ultimately go with high density planting= SOG in aeroponics, flood and drain or a system conducive to high density planting- where you can eventually(when your mothers are sorted and ready)plant upto 200-300cuttings per 6ft x 4ft area using 4 100+ litre reservoirs(aeroponics) OR plant upto 50 cuttings per reservoir(100+litre res) the goal being to yield upto 2ounces per cutting! which is definitely possible! or a minimum of 15grams per cutting and at 50 cuttings per res will yield you a minimum of 25 ounces(over 1.5pounds) per 100litre res! (approx 1.5foot wide x 4foot long)and if you can get more.. all the better!.

the dimensions of your tent could easily accommodate something like this, allowing you room to move in the tent and access back plants etc ... access to plants is just as important imho to check for issues such as mould, mites, deficiencies etc(see "seemorebuds 15pounds in 80 days" video, which can be found on youtube i think, or any good torrent site! OR his own website) SOG aero imo is the least energy intensive as opposed to rdwc BUT DWC is even less intensive and def the way to go if you want to grow high yielding bigger plants in single pots, ive seen DWC(seemorebuds dwc grow of "think different" auto strain) yield upto 1pound plants too, that grew to a 5foot size and covered just over 1mx1m space(strain is also a factor obviously).

well, my 2 cents worth! wishing you all the best with your grow

Hey bro wassup! thanks for the reply man..

I was definitely thinking to go with the SOG method, i was just thinking it would take a while until i got anywhere near filling up my tent.. that's the only reason i considered flowering a few big'ens when my first available plants are ready.
To be honest iv never done hydro/aero ponics so i think i will have to continue with an organic soil grow on this occasion as well as at least i know what im doing and it's relatively low risk for me plus i dont really have the funds to buy all that new equipment.
Im going to check out those videos now.. so.. you obviously know your stuff.. what would be the quickest way i can multiply these 17 plants i have? I need to source the females so i wanted to flower asap.. then maybe i'll be left with 10 or so decent females.. and i'll need to multiply these to fill up the tent.. with the SOG method what size pots would you recommend? how many plants do you reckon i can fit under each light? I was thinking upto 100 but 25 plants to a light seems a bit much even if they are small..

Thanks a million bro.. this advice would be helping me out GREATLY

 

[Alkhemist]

Hey bro wassup! thanks for the reply man..

I was definitely thinking to go with the SOG method, i was just thinking it would take a while until i got anywhere near filling up my tent.. that's the only reason i considered flowering a few big'ens when my first available plants are ready.
To be honest iv never done hydro/aero ponics so i think i will have to continue with an organic soil grow on this occasion as well as at least i know what im doing and it's relatively low risk for me plus i dont really have the funds to buy all that new equipment.
Im going to check out those videos now.. so.. you obviously know your stuff.. what would be the quickest way i can multiply these 17 plants i have? I need to source the females so i wanted to flower asap.. then maybe i'll be left with 10 or so decent females.. and i'll need to multiply these to fill up the tent.. with the SOG method what size pots would you recommend? how many plants do you reckon i can fit under each light? I was thinking upto 100 but 25 plants to a light seems a bit much even if they are small..

Thanks a million bro.. this advice would be helping me out GREATLY

howdy bro!

yeah i definitely feel ya when it comes to getting the mothers to the point that you are able to take a heap of cuttings to accommodate your grow space! im at the same stage at present.. i am in the process of moving one grow space into aeroponic SOG aiming for 50 cuttings per reservoir with a yield of minimum 15 grams per cutting and for a eventual goal of 45-60 grams per cutting, which i know is quite possible. i want 4 reservoirs in two rooms so i can get a cycle of harvesting approx 4+ pound every 4-6 weeks max. each room will accommodate 3-4 600w HPS lights. sounds quite similar to your grow space. good SOG strains make this goal more realistic, for example- "northern lights" as used by seemore buds in his '15 pounds in 80 days' dvd, he was achieving up to 2.5ounces per cutting!(remembering that each cutting probably measured around 1 foot tall and growing between 200-300 cuttings in a 6ft x 4ft grow space!)..SeeMoreBuds 15lbs in 80 days - marijuana - YouTube or seaofseeds "60 day wonder" auto which begins to flower almost immediately regardless of light cycle(=auto) and is cooked and ready to eat after a meagre 8 weeks of growing! but yields well, being a ruderalis/pure indica cross.

i havent grown SOG aeroponics before although i HAVE used aero cloners.. the cost of setting up a fully functional aeroponic SOG reservoir is actually quite cheap to build yourself.. and the construction is also quit simple to put together! the main costs are a water pump and if you decide to go with making a pvc pipe manifold the pvc tubing... and the 100+litre plastic tote for your reservoir. you could make one for under 100$ if you can grab a water pump online on ebay or some such deals, plastic totes for a res are similarly cheap and easy to find.. and pvc tubing can be had from any good hardware store in the plumbing dept.. you would be suprised at how cheap it is to buy all necessary parts and put together! there are plenty of good instructionals onlne, youtube etc that show how to completely make a aero cloner, SOG grow setup and also DWC which imho are the most simple of hydro kits to make.. a bucket, a air pump with air stone and water(with some nutrients of course :] )! seriously DWC is so simple its mad ;]

well, if you have space to set up a mother room or area that would go a long way towards your future grows... picking the best looking females from your troop and using them to take your cuttings from, but in the meantime- assuming you can eventually get a mother space set up, all you can really do is plant in GOOD soil/potting mix and depending on how big you wanted to grow them would determine the size of the pot you would use. i have grown upto 8x 5ft (including bucket size) plants in 10 litre buckets under one 600W HPS light and have yielded just over a pound(a little over 600grams) so with 4 lights i think you could aim for up to 6 pounds in that grow space- realistically.. but that may take some grow time to perfect the grow method- which is also simply a matter of doing a shitload of research before you set it up... using good SOG plants will make things much easier from the get go. ive seen aero SOG's(aquamist systems) with up to 300 cuttings in a 2m x1m area, each reservoir(4 in the space) holding upto 75 cuttings! the total space had 4x 600W HPS lights hanging and the grow system yielded between 4.5 pounds up to 6+pounds! so i think the possibilities are huge, even using soil SOG.

ive grown soil SOG quite well in the past with bubblegum and cheese flavours.. i used 2 litre milk containers- cut the tops off and could fit 20 into one polystyrene (old meat containers from the butchers) container. i could fit 2 polystyrene containers under 1x 600W HPS light and was yielding an easy(minimum) 15 grams per cutting with a total harvest of 600+grams per light- well over 1 pound. i would veg for 2 weeks after cutting had taken root and then into a flowering cycle for 8 weeks, all up from time of planting i was looking at 10 week grow cycles per 2 polystyrene boxes and i could fit 3 sets in one 'area'- i had 3 areas(1 area = 1 old door sitting on trellis legs i had turned into a table- approx 6ft 5in long) and was getting a harvest every week of over 1 pound! BUT i had ALOT of space to experiment and grow in at that time! living rurally and having 4 double rooms with 12 foot stud ceilings, a double garage and a sleepout for mothers, clones and early vegged cuttings.. but that is just to give you an idea of what i was doing with soil based SOG grows.. there are so many different ways of setting up but SOG is essentially very easy in that you pack as many cuttings as you can into a small area and grow, with PLENTY of air flow, intake and outtake fans, and plenty of light.

the amount of cuttings you want to fit into a space/light is really up to you.. you can easily fit 25-75 per light.. probably 100.. its just a matter of turning them to flower sooner rather than allowing them time to veg. the size of the pots is entirely dependant on how many cuttings you think you can realistically pump out on a regular basis.. which also depends on how many mothers you can keep going... if you think you can pump out atleast 100 per week/fortnight then go for larger numbers.. if you think you want to start smaler then go with what you feel is realistic for you to manage.. dont inundate yourself with so many plants that you wont be able to keep up with them and lose control of their needs in terms of pruning/defoliating, feeding, checking for mould/mite pest issues.. and of course you want to keep it manageable in terms of accessibility for yourself.. being able to reach plants at the back.. or cycle them around etc.. i would probably start with a number lower than you WANT to go and test yourself- unless of course you have previous experience with this and knw your limits! ;] oh, and although i have grown a little over the years i am still learning and perfecting this wonderful artform! and trying new things in my honest opinion is part of the wonder and beauty of growing

if you are able though... i would SERIOUSLY look into aeroponics for SOG in larger reservoirs... something similar to this:Aeroponic/Hydroponic Growing Chamber - YouTube -this can be adapted to your needs very easily... you can make the holes smaller (upto 2inch holes!) and hence fit more plants in the res.. the manifold is extremely simple and requires only 1x water pump! so simple bro!

or something like these DWC for larger single plant potted plants:Deep Water Culture Explained - Hydroponic Supplies & Equipment for DWC - YouTube -these are just to give you an idea of ways to produce a greater yield from your grow space and can be played with and adapted to suit your needs...

well, my 20 cents worth there LOL j/k hope this hasnt complicated things... and i wish you all the best with finding what suites your needs best!

happy growing!

 

[Alkhemist]

oh! youtube links no longer work???! not sure if its my system lagging or my links arent showing in the thread??