First Time Grower: Questions and Expectations

[Tigerbud]

I'm a first time grower and I have some questions in regards to my plants and expectations.

My plants (13 of them) are currently in week 4 (just started yesterday) under one 1000 watt MH light in a grow tent (8ft wide, 10ft lenght, 7ft height). I will be switching them to a 1000 watt HPS light in week 5.

My plants grew very rapidly the first two and a half weeks after i switched them to 12/12 light cycle but after that, they seem to have stopped growing (height). I have the plants 2-2 1/2 feet away from the light so that they can get as much light as possible without getting any burns. My friend who's been growing for about 5 years now says that I should put the plants father from the light and that I should expect a bad harvest. The plants currently sit at around 2 feet tall (give or take 2 inches). Although they did stop growing in height, they seem to have tons and tons of spots where bud will grow (about 20-30 per plant). I'm not sure as to what to do or who to believe because even though my friend tells me that I should expect a crappy harvest, everyone else that has written something about this online seems to contradict what he's telling me.

My theory is that since the plants are close to the plants, they've spent more energy creating more bud colas instead of having to waste energy on getting taller (which would be a good thing).

I would like to hear everyone's opinion on this.

Also, i'd like to know how much to expect per plant once its time to cut them down. I know there's a lot of factors that go into this but I just want to have a number so that I can have somewhat of an estimate as to how much to expect.

Here's some information to help you give me a better estimate of my plants:

The strain is Bubba Kush.
I grow in Grodan Hugo Block cubes.
My main nutrients come from the Flora series (FloraGro, FloraMicro, FloraBloom) along with a few other brands/nutrients (Great WhiteShark, Bud Candy, Bud Ignitor, Bud Blood).
I have Co2 running in the tent and the temperatures are between 73-78F during "day time" and 63-68F during "night time".

If there's anything else you think I should know (maybe put more plants to maximize space, use more/different nutrients, etc.), feel free to put it in the comments and I appreciate all your help!

Thank you!

 

[GhettoGro]

Everything sounds like it is right on schedule for you. Plants will "stretch" the first 2-3 weeks of flower (12/12). That is normal. when they stop growing tall they start growing fat. Flower them on out and at the end if you ave extra space under the light, add more next round.

You are the most exciting part of the grow to me.

Keep'em Green

~GG

 

[Tigerbud]

Everything sounds like it is right on schedule for you. Plants will "stretch" the first 2-3 weeks of flower (12/12). That is normal. when they stop growing tall they start growing fat. Flower them on out and at the end if you ave extra space under the light, add more next round.

You are the most exciting part of the grow to me.

Keep'em Green

~GG

Thanks for the response. This is actually my second harvest, and I was worried because the first one only gave me 1/4 of a pound from 11 plants and the plants were also about 2 feet, so I was worried these 2nd ones might also not give me a good harvest :/

What do you mean flower them on out and at the end by the way?
Also, how many more do you think I could add?

 

[GhettoGro]

I meant to let them get finished and see how much (if any) room you have to fit more plants under the light.

It's hard to guess yield without knowing many factors of your grow. I yielded about 1-1/4 lb from 9 plants under a 1000w HPS on my second grow. I don't know what style of grow you are doing or what genetics you have, but you should get a much better yield than what you had.

I flower 4-6 plants under my 1000w in a 4'x4' space. I veg them for about 6-8 weeks and grow them petty large using low stress training (LST). I generally get anywhere from 1-1/2 oz to 4 oz per plant depending on the strain.

Best thing is to start a grow journal with pics and description of your set up and growing method. There are many knowledgeble people here more than willing to help you get your grow dialed in and producing. That is how I learned what I know years ago. I am new to this forum and have just started back growing after shutting down the grow for years. I am in the re-learning process myself.

 

[Tigerbud]

I meant to let them get finished and see how much (if any) room you have to fit more plants under the light.

It's hard to guess yield without knowing many factors of your grow. I yielded about 1-1/4 lb from 9 plants under a 1000w HPS on my second grow. I don't know what style of grow you are doing or what genetics you have, but you should get a much better yield than what you had.

I flower 4-6 plants under my 1000w in a 4'x4' space. I veg them for about 6-8 weeks and grow them petty large using low stress training (LST). I generally get anywhere from 1-1/2 oz to 4 oz per plant depending on the strain.

Best thing is to start a grow journal with pics and description of your set up and growing method. There are many knowledgeble people here more than willing to help you get your grow dialed in and producing. That is how I learned what I know years ago. I am new to this forum and have just started back growing after shutting down the grow for years. I am in the re-learning process myself.

Thanks a lot for the information. I will definitively start taking pictures and posting them as soon as I can remember to take my camera >.< with me.

I'm hoping to get at least 1lb from the 13 plants that I have there at the moment.

Is there any strain out there that you'd recommend that tends to grow a lot of weed?

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Mmm well er... current lighting is rather sub standard to grow area !

1000w at best covers 5' by 5' (foot area)

So what ya really need to look at is increasing the lights i myself would more likely choose 4 x 600w with extra large hoods for better light foot print, ideally air cooled hoods.


Once you factor in the inverse square law of light effect a single 1000w is hardly going to cover an area of 8' by 10' & the outer edges are going to be a lot lower in light measurement full stop.

It is about optimal conditions


What you do at present, i do with a 400w with less than the quarter of the space with 4 plants most of the time yield wise, but i do use a slightly longer veg time myself.

 

[Tigerbud]

Mmm well er... current lighting is rather sub standard to grow area !

1000w at best covers 5' by 5' (foot area)

So what ya really need to look at is increasing the lights i myself would more likely choose 4 x 600w with extra large hoods for better light foot print, ideally air cooled hoods.


Once you factor in the inverse square law of light effect a single 1000w is hardly going to cover an area of 8' by 10' & the outer edges are going to be a lot lower in light measurement full stop.

It is about optimal conditions


What you do at present, i do with a 400w with less than the quarter of the space with 4 plants most of the time yield wise, but i do use a slightly longer veg time myself.

The plants are right under the light (2 feet under them) in a 3x3 area honestly (the rest is just empty space for now lol ). Would you say that's pretty efficient?

Also, how can I make more light go into the middle/bottom nugs? I had the problem of having more than a few popcorn nugs at the bottom of my plants on last harvest and I'd like to fix that problem if possible.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Oops sorry read between the lines to get the above answer !

May wish to look into LST low stress training it is a little gentle branch bending.

Like this...

Helps improve light to lower canopy.

Could considor defol method around the 3rd week of flowering also... going to need to look into that i'm pretty sure they is a later defol towards end of flowering.


Other wise it may just be a low yielding strain or environmental conditions leading to poor harvest.

Environmental -temperature lights on & off, poor air flow etc