6 plants, max yield, 4x4

Hi All,

My first crop was in 1978, but it was also my last, getting arrested was no fun...

My back is jacked up and a friend has cancer so I now have a card and can grow 6 plants.

Of course, I want to maximize the yield, here is my basic setup and operational plan:

4x4 grow room http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=GRGL145&eq=&Tp=

6 of these systems (6 gal self contained hyrdopots) http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=HGSBSCGC&eq=&Tp=


I would basically try and Harvest 1 big plant every 2 weeks, here is how I think I can do it.

4 weeks veg, 8 weeks bud.


Every 2 weeks, get a few clones off of a mother plant. The best of the clones would be transplanted into one of the 6 large pots and allowed to veg for 4 weeks

After a plant has vegged for 4 weeks, I would then move it into the 4x4 grow room for budding.

There would always be a total of 4 plants in the bud room, each in their own containers, all aged 2 weeks apart. For Example, one would have been budding for 2 weeks, one for 4, one for 6 and one for 8.

The advantage of using the pots that are each a self contained hydro unit are that I can set the nutrients for each plant according to it's specific age, cycle, and health. Plus, when i screw it up, I will only kill one plant

Questions:

Should I go with 1-1000 watt bulb horizontally at the top, or maybe 2-600's hanging vertically down the center?

By only having 4 plants total in the bud room, each with it's own large pot, should I be able to get as much as 8 oz a plant at harvest?

This concept keeps me under the 6 mature plant limit is there a better setup i should consider to stay withing the letter of the law?

Of course i will do all the other stuff, temp control, odor control, PH, etc. etc. just trying to get a good high-yield rotation going.

Thanks in advance...
OldeSkule

sounds like a plane bro, i do a similar set up, harvest 6 plants every month.

i'd go with 2 600w but do them horizontally with a good reflector, and air cool the lights if possible so you can lower them to within a foot of you plants

good luck
-cc

How tall is the grow room? if you have a considerable amount of room then yeah i'd just go with the 1 LU1000 lamp... i really don't know about how much you would yield, but if you grow them big they will produce big.... so i've heard... good luck bro and from what i've also heard on those 6 plants you can grow with a card.. that includes mother plants, clones, veg, flowering, etc.....

Thanks for the quick replies!

The room is actually 4'9" x 4'9" x 6'7" according to the ad -> http://www.bghydro.com/BGH/itemdesc.asp?ic=GRGL145&eq=&Tp=

The reason I am thinking of 2 vertical lights is that I am a bit concerned that the 'bigger' plants that have been budding for 6-8 weeks will cast to much shade on the 'smaller' plants that have only been in the room for 2-4 weeks and impede their growth. That is why i am considering 2 600w lights hung vertically, one at ~ 2.5 feet and one ~5.5 feet high from the floor. Thoughts?

PS: love these forums, I am learning so much, so fast.

I really appreciate your help.

OldeSkule

yeah i hear you and would have to agree on the 2 x 600hps and those should penetrate through the growth to the lower plants And that room sounds plenty big to get a nice harvest off of each plant... just put them into flowering between 12" - 18" and you shouldn't ever have to worry about height... Good Luck man!!!! Sounds like you got everything under control.

Thanks lightguy and commie!

Commie, why do you think putting the 600's horizontal would be better than hanging them vertically in my small space with my various height plants?

Lightguy, how long does it take to get a plant vegged up to 12-18 inches, in general?

Thanks fer helping out this old n00b.

OldeSkule

from clones i'd say 4 - 6 weeks and they should be somewhere around that height if you're taking 6" - 8" clones. From seeds it would take you a while longer... And i think he is saying horizontally because if you use air cooled fixtures you can get the lights down real close to the plants and the light omitted from a HID lamp will penetrate through the foilage to the lower parts of the plants; and of course 2 600W would be better but with that you have another ballast and another lamp creating heat, but more light is always better... just use your judgment and use whatever will allow you to keep your room around 75 - 83 degrees. good luck.

Just to make sure. You're talking about the orientation of the actual bulb. Not actually setting the light on the wall or something... The light would be hanging in both cases, just with the bulb tip pointed down (vertical) or toward the wall (horizontal). In any case, i would go with the horizontal that I described (best light dispersion).

Thanks again guys.

Yeah for the 2 600's i was thinking of a cool tube like setup hanging right down the middle of the 4x4 room, each plant would be in it's own 2x2 corner of the 4x4 room each in a 5 gallon bubbling deep water bucket. Lots of grow room for the roots, foliage, and buds, lots of light, each plant getting it's own mix of nutrients, each plant at a different height due to the staggered age.

I am probably overthinking this, just trying to get the most out of my room and plant # combinations.

Think it would work?

OldeSkule

Hi, Olde ...

I have the same plant limit as you ... six.

The grow area I use is smaller than your's at 2.5 x 3.5 with a 3.5 foot headroom. I'm using one 600 HPS and get between 8oz and a pound every cycle from the six plants. By the time the grow is near finished, the cabinet looks like a jungle ... so I know if I had more light penetration like you're going to get, the yield would be quite a bit more ... especially if I threw in another 600 HPS, or even a 1000. Of course, yield is somewhat strain related too.

At any rate ... good luck.

Vi