South Indian Sativa LED SOG Experiment

[Hasnain]

Hey, 2-3 plants is OK for me, I thought I'd be able to grow just one....

Here's some info of the autoflowers I've got. By the way I forgot to mention, I've got a G14 autoflower strain seed as well.

Ok so first this is the SweetSeeds FastBud #2 :-

Next, the White Widow Autoflower:-

And finally, the G14:-

I don't know how wide they'll grow, but the heights are given.

And I checked some info on the lights; it said that it has a coverage area of 7.5x7.5 feet... so my box currently is 2x2 feet, so maybe I could make it like a 3x3 sq.ft box and probably fit in about 3-4 plants??

 

[Hasnain]

Reading is good! Beware that there is a lot of misunderstanding, folklore, and pseudoscience out there.

Find out if your water is soft or hard. Your PPM meter can tell you. If it is hard it probably has enough Ca and Mg. If not you can supplement. If in doubt, I guess adding a Ca/Mg supplement can't hurt.

If I were to add a cal/mag supplement to an already existing nute solution, should I try the cal/mag supplement at say 1/5th the strength? Or maybe 1/4th?

 

[Scientific]

If I were to add a cal/mag supplement to an already existing nute solution, should I try the cal/mag supplement at say 1/5th the strength? Or maybe 1/4th?

The question is, what is full strength? Actually, the first question is, how hard is your water?

I use General Hydroponics CALiMAGic at full strength--i.e. the dose they recommend, 2.5 ml/gallon. When I used half that much, I had a deficit problem. But the water here has no mineral content in it all, which I think is rare. If your water already has lots of calcium, you won't need it.

As the engineer I used to work for used to say, "It looks like we need to take some measurements." How many PPM is your water? Knowing your water is not a trivial matter.

Also, just a thought--maybe not worry about it too much and just see how the plant does? It comes down to how much of an investment in time, money, effort, and thought do you want to make? I measure and record everything and get excellent results. Some people don't measure or record anything and get excellent results (but then many others have mysterious problems and no idea what to do about them).

 

[Hasnain]

I have a water softening plant installed in my home, so all the water in my home is almost "drinkable", anyways I'll definitely get a PPM reading once I'm back in India and I will post it on this thread. .

Yes I agree that different cal/mag supplements have different strengths, so I'll have to try my luck with it. But I guess to be safe, it's better I try maybe 1/2 or 1/3rd the strength??... it's just a guess anyways...since that 3 bottle nute solution does have cal and mag in it, it's better to assume that I don't use a full strength calmag supplement right.

Also, what do you think of the growbox? The LED light manufacturer says it's suitable for a 7.5x7.5 space, so Should I make a 3x3 box and try growing about 3-4 plants? I'll be content if I get mid-range sized buds, and if I do get nice big fat ones, then that's a win .

 

[Scientific]

I have a water softening plant installed in my home, so all the water in my home is almost “drinkable”, anyways I’ll definitely get a PPM reading once I’m back in India and I will post it on this thread. .

Yes I agree that different cal/mag supplements have different strengths, so I’ll have to try my luck with it. But I guess to be safe, it’s better I try maybe 1/2 or 1/3rd the strength??... it’s just a guess anyways...since that 3 bottle nute solution does have cal and mag in it, it’s better to assume that I don’t use a full strength calmag supplement right.

Also, what do you think of the growbox? The LED light manufacturer says it’s suitable for a 7.5x7.5 space, so Should I make a 3x3 box and try growing about 3-4 plants? I’ll be content if I get mid-range sized buds, and if I do get nice big fat ones, then that’s a win .

Ca/Mg supplementation:
Does your water softening plant use ion exchange? Do you have resin tanks and do you charge it with salt? If so, you're water has too much sodium. If your water treatment plant is reverse osmosis, then you have no minerals at all.

I use a three bottle fertilizer and still need to supplement Ca/Mg because as I've said, we have very soft water.

I'll quote my engineer boss again: "We can hypothesize endlessly in the absence of data." Until you know the pH and PPM of your water, there's not much point in further discussion.

You might want to separate your questions into separate posts to make it easier to reply on a particular aspect...

 

[Scientific]

I have a water softening plant installed in my home, so all the water in my home is almost “drinkable”, anyways I’ll definitely get a PPM reading once I’m back in India and I will post it on this thread. .

Yes I agree that different cal/mag supplements have different strengths, so I’ll have to try my luck with it. But I guess to be safe, it’s better I try maybe 1/2 or 1/3rd the strength??... it’s just a guess anyways...since that 3 bottle nute solution does have cal and mag in it, it’s better to assume that I don’t use a full strength calmag supplement right.

Also, what do you think of the growbox? The LED light manufacturer says it’s suitable for a 7.5x7.5 space, so Should I make a 3x3 box and try growing about 3-4 plants? I’ll be content if I get mid-range sized buds, and if I do get nice big fat ones, then that’s a win .

LED Grow Light Selection
A 450 watt light for 7.5 feet x 7.5 feet = 56 square feet?! I don't think so!
I think someone earlier was quoting some watts per square foot figures.
It's kind of an apples and oranges comparison, but my 1.5 square foot dwarf had about 200 actual watts of lights on it, which is about the same amount of power as a typical "450 watt" grow light. If you want "nice, big fat ones," you're going to need/want a lot of light.

 

[Hasnain]

I've got a Reverse Osmosis plant, so I guess it's got no minerals. Anyways, sorry to bug u regarding this lol.. I'll let u know the PPM reading soon.

And yeah, u know what, I'm just gonna try out a 2x2sqft box with 2-3 plants and see what happens... it's an experiment after all . wish me luck!!

Thanks for all the help so far man, I'm gonna build a shrine for you after this is all over! ..

 

[Scientific]

Ca/Mg supplementation:
OK so RO water. That answers the question. Yes, you are probably going to have to supplement Ca/Mg. Based on my experience with the GH product, I would recommend supplementing at full strength for Ca/Mg with whatever you end up using. I think it is worth it to buy a Ca/Mg supplement pre-made rather than trying to use dolomite lime or chalk and Epsom salts, but do what you must.

 

[Scientific]

Which light and which box
> And yeah, u know what, I’m just gonna try out a 2x2sqft box with 2-3 plants and see what happens... it’s an experiment after all South Indian Sativa LED SOG Experiment wish me luck!!

That sounds like a good plan, and of course I wish you luck. It sounds like you are really doing your homework. I urge you to continue to do so, but to beware of the kookie stuff that's out there.

And of course I enjoy discussing this stuff or I wouldn't be here.

OK, back to work...

 

[Skullman420]

I grow 16 plants in 11 liter pots in my 4x4. In a 2x2 i would probably go for 9 plants in ias big pots as you can fit in there. If you go for soil that is.

I have good experience with packing as many plants together as the tent can fit so you get to use all the available space.

Here's a couple photo's from my 4x4 with 16 plants

> My only question is ... if I go with Plan B, how many autoflowers can I grow in a 2x2=4sq.ft. Area?
You've seen the photos here and at the seed web site. How big do they get? 2x2 is not much space. 2 or 3 plants max I would think...

> My box is not yet ready, so I can make it a bit bigger if need be. What's the ideal grow space for 440 actual watts of LED light?
Usually people approach it the other way
Your manufacturer should have some advice. You can go to Google Images and search for "led grow light footprint" to get some ideas. When in doubt, more light!

 

[Skullman420]

Hmmm. I'm doing 7 autos right now in a space that is approx 2x2. I managed to get 7 airpots packed together there

 

[Hasnain]

I grow 16 plants in 11 liter pots in my 4x4. In a 2x2 i would probably go for 9 plants in ias big pots as you can fit in there. If you go for soil that is.

I have good experience with packing as many plants together as the tent can fit so you get to use all the available space.

Here's a couple photo's from my 4x4 with 16 plants

Wow that's amazing

 

[Hasnain]

Hmmm. I'm doing 7 autos right now in a space that is approx 2x2. I managed to get 7 airpots packed together there

Ok so this is something I should aim for... what lights/wattage did you use for this setup? Size of pots?

Also, did u do any sort of topping to ur plants or did u just let them grow? Is it ok if they start touching each other? Won't that block light from accessing the lower parts of the plant?

Thanks!

 

[Skullman420]

Try to keep the height of the plants as even as possible so they don't shadow for each other. Keep them short. In the tent with 16 plants i topped them all once and then flipped to 12/12 a week later.

The auto flowering plants I rarely top. But depending on the strain you can get good results from topping

Using a 250 watt COB over the 7 autos

I grow the autos mostly for fun. I don't take them half as serious as my photo grows

 

[Skullman420]

Oh. Using 6 liter airpots in that setup but could possibly fit bigger ones. Not sure. You should ideally try to get as big pots as possible for better yield. Measure them and calculate how many you can fit. Many small plants yield better than a few big ones

 

[Hasnain]

Oh. Using 6 liter airpots in that setup but could possibly fit bigger ones. Not sure. You should ideally try to get as big pots as possible for better yield. Measure them and calculate how many you can fit. Many small plants yield better than a few big ones

Here is some info:-

FastBud #2

White Widow

G14

These are the three strains I've got, all autos. If u check the heights, the overall average is about 2.5-3 feet. The genetics of the three strains are mentioned in the pics above, so what would ur best guess be? Shall I let em grow uninterrupted or should I top?

Thank you .

 

[KingKongBuds]

I grow 16 plants in 11 liter pots in my 4x4. In a 2x2 i would probably go for 9 plants in ias big pots as you can fit in there. If you go for soil that is.

I have good experience with packing as many plants together as the tent can fit so you get to use all the available space.

Here's a couple photo's from my 4x4 with 16 plants

Nice set up deville it looks bigger than a 4x4 lol.. what light are you using in that?

 

[Skullman420]

Nice set up deville it looks bigger than a 4x4 lol.. what light are you using in that?

Using 4 mars pro ii epistar 80. They're approx 180 watt each.

 

[Skullman420]

Here is some info:-

FastBud #2

White Widow

G14

These are the three strains I've got, all autos. If u check the heights, the overall average is about 2.5-3 feet. The genetics of the three strains are mentioned in the pics above, so what would ur best guess be? Shall I let em grow uninterrupted or should I top?

Thank you .

I'm really not experienced enough with autos to answer that. But as a general rule, when you grow many plants im a small space you want them to be as identical as possible. Most sea of green setups only grow one strain at the time or choose strains they know will work together.

If I were you i would perhaps do one first round without topping to get to know them better some of them start flowering so fast you just wanna let them do their own thing.

Also. There are some really good auto threads here on 420. Ask in one of them. Perhaps someone have experience with your strains

 

[Skullman420]

Here's 12 plants in a grow space approx 120x220 cm (about 4x8). 2 800 watt lamps and a COB.

Sadly think I'll yield almost the same from the 16 plants in the 4x4 tent since I'm using the space more efficient.

Gonna do 32 plants in this room next round.

To get best results from sea of green it's recommended to grow identical clones in the setup. That way every plant will be the exact same size and they won't cast shadows on each other. Will try that next round

Here i have 4 strains and as you all can see canopy is far from perfect. This could have been so much better