helping a noob, me!

[MrWhat]

Hi there guys,
I'm a new grower from Europe, atm it's my 3rd cycle and I have a few questions about my growing methods.
Something is wrong for sure, but what?

That's my situation:

grow room: 40x40x140cm (1,3x1,3x4,5 ft) grow room;
light: 1x150W HPS agro;
growing medium: generic soil;
pot size: 2x15l (3,9 US gal) pots;
number of plants: 2 feminized plants;
nutrients: full HESI soil program;
techniques: a few supercropping;

I know the space is not enough to harvest big yields, and I also read that is possible to harvest 1gr per Watt of Light.
I've never reached that goal, 0,5gr per Watt is my best result. And that's not what I expected.
MJ has a good taste and smell, but biggest flowers are as small as a thumb, not the bananas seen in internet. Unfortunatelly I don't have a guru to speak with, who can show me my mistakes and give advices, so I ask the community to help me.

what should I do to increase the size of my flowers and the Gr/W rate?

thank you all for patience, but I'm still a noob

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

1 gram a watt is normally associated with ideal growing conditions how ever no one really tells you how they done it !

But 0.5 gram per watt is pretty good & on average that is what most of us get...



Some weight of bud may be down to genetics some plants produce less than others... when gross weight is referred to M2 that is more inline with SOG methods !

Kind of gives an idea on how good the plant is on yield otherwise.

 

[MrWhat]

Ty for the answer Fuzzy, I see, so maybe the size of my flowers and my harvest are associated just to my Wattage and not to an unknown mistake.

I usually veg 1 month and flower 2. About 90 days from seed to harvest, is the vegetative too short for 2 non-auto plants trained with a single 150w hps lamp?

I still have to learn a huge amount of things about weed cultivation, but maybe LST methods like SoG or ScroG could be my way for a better distribution of light.

PS: what is M2?

 

[Graytail]

I think I see what's holding you back.

I run about 30 watts of hps per square foot. That's a 600 watt in a 4x4 space. You have 150 watts in a 1.2x1.2 space for almost 90 watts/sqft. (Sorry about the English measurements, but the principle is the same). 100w/sqft is a general rule for the strength of the sun, so you're almost there. At that intensity, it's unrealistic to think you can get a yield to equal it.

I get about 1 ounce per square foot, which would be 1.7 ounces, 48 grams for your setup. You're limited by size/area, not light intensity. You need more square footage to get more yield, I think. Your canopy is maxed out at 1.7 sqft, so you have to use depth to get more yield. Maybe taller plants? But then your nugs will be small like you're getting now. SOG style would probably get you the best yield. Train for single colas, maybe four primary colas.

Interesting situation. You have all that light and not enough room to use it.

 

[Graytail]

And you can help me out with something.

I've been thinking about using one or two 150 hps in a veg cabinet, and I don't know what kind of heat they produce. Your area is a similar volume to what I'm considering, only sideways. So ... how much heat does that puppy make? How much air do you have to vent? Is it an issue?

 

[MrWhat]

Graytail, ty for info about w/sqft, it's interesting to know that my light is not the problem, but the space is.
Training 1 plant instead of 2 may change the situation in your opinion? I'm 1 week far from the harvest and I don't think I'll reach 100g, it is gonna 80g to be realistic.

Have you ever heard about Main-Lining method, developed by Nugbucket(I don't link the guide because I don't know if it is against any rule to post from other sites)? It looks really interesting, I'd like to know if it is anything that could size to me.

sorry for all my questions but I'm really curious about others' opinions.


my 150w, when 20cm far from tops, is about 27°C = 80,6°F and I use a little fan waving all day long. I've never had issues with heat and my plants look always healthy, also in veg.. btw I'll post some pics these days..so you will see with your eyes.

 

[Graytail]

I agree that one plant might help. But I've also seen big fat single colas from SOGs that look great, too. My advice is to think about soil volume. You could use one big pot, like 40-50 liters, or more smaller ones.

420Mag tries to prevent innocent web searches from ending up here by accident, so we don't use the term you used. We call it Flux or Fluxing here. Many people use it for training, and I think it would work well for you, either with one or two plants.

Have you had your plants closer than 20cm from your light? How close can you put them?

Here's a photo from a current grow by b.real here on 420Mag. You could easily do that.

Head Seeds Casey Jones & More

 

[MrWhat]

Ty for advices!! I'll probably go for the method said before to develop just 8 main colas per plant.

About HPS I usually don't let the light to be closer then 20cm from tops because it's too risky in veg, imo, but you can easily control the height of your plants keeping the lamp at that distance; plants get all the light they need and don't stretch looking for it.
So, I'm really happy about veg stage in with my hps, my plants develop quickly with many healthy branches, maybe too many (I should cut off the tiniest) to have big colas in flowering.

What huge girls!!!!! did he grow them up with my same light? what technique did he use? GZ to the grower..really beautiful

 

[Graytail]

This is the link to b.real's journal. He grew those under CFLs!!

Head Seeds Casey Jones & More

I'm trying to find a light that will work well in a space 70cm high. I was hoping the 150 watt could be closer.

 

[MrWhat]

i have to read the journal of B.real, at all!!!

I have to understand how to upload and post pic here (i think i posted the picture somewhere in the site), so I can show you my set up and the evolving situation. (1 week or so to the harvest and I'm watering with water and sugar - 1 spoon per liter - and many new pistils are born, should i w8 to cut the plants??)

if you transplant them, maybe 70cm are ok.. about 25cm high is the the bulb and support + 20cm is the distance between plants and bulb. you can let them grow 20 - 25 cm. all depends on plants' pot height, I think. or LST with a scrog net.

tomorrow I'll tell you all the measures you need and I let you know!

 

[MrWhat]

I measured the lamp. It is 12cm from reflector top to the lowest part of the bulb. 12 + 20 (distance between bulb and plants), so you have 38 cm to let them grow.
If you wanna see my set up, look at my album. I apologize for the quality of the pics.

cotton candy + blue berry - 420 Magazine Photo Gallery

 

[Graytail]

Thanks for the info. I think I'll probably go with T8's - I can put those just 5 cm away and they're only a few cm themselves.

And after seeing your pics, I believe you have room to increase your yield. You can fit more soil in those pots and that will get you larger buds. And it looks, to me, like you have some available canopy area - your plants could be wider. They could be both wider and deeper. I think. That might double your yield.

I think you can do it.

 

[MrWhat]

I really hope so. Today it's harvest time. After curing, I'll post the result.
Should I go for 2 plants or just 1 for next cycle? It's peppermint kush by barney's farm. I'm going to top it/them 3 or 4 times to have 8-16 main branches in each plant. I've never done that, but I like experiments!!!!

Are you a staff member, isn't it? I may send you in PM the guide I found in another site, if you are interested in.

 

[Fuzzy Duck]

Mmm a quick chart to explain hanging height of bulb depending on wattage for HPS only...

That is in inches i believe you can get closer with an air cooled hood but may not fit into a tent/area of 40cm by 40cm due to size of hood plus ducting etc btw !