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Balancing plant count vs. per plant yield

M

mrclark

Active Member
For a number of reasons I would like to lower my total plant count in a finite space but try to retain, or even improve yield.

Background info:
I have experience in E&F and Fence post Aero. I average about .75 GPW per cycle across 3 strains with no CO2 @ .75 plants/SQFT.

I am planning to swap to DWC, but without experiance I am wondering how many plants pre SQFT would allow max yield with the least # of plants.

I was planning one per 2SQFT, but I'd love input on giving them more or less space down to 1/SQFT.

Also, I do not have constraints on veg time so longer/bigger is acceptable.

Thanks.
 
RickWhite

RickWhite

Well-Known Member
That is the question we would all like to know. I think veg time should be as short as possible as should the plants. Remeber, nothing below the canopy will bud. Anyway, I would say fill up whatever space you have with as many plants as you can have - but never let them crowd. Also, keeping a rotating SOG with plants harvested every 2 weeks is more efficient than one where all plants are harvested at once.
 
B

Bob Smith

Well-Known Member
mrclark said:
For a number of reasons I would like to lower my total plant count in a finite space but try to retain, or even improve yield.

Background info:
I have experience in E&F and Fence post Aero. I average about .75 GPW per cycle across 3 strains with no CO2 @ .75 plants/SQFT.

I am planning to swap to DWC, but without experiance I am wondering how many plants pre SQFT would allow max yield with the least # of plants.

I was planning one per 2SQFT, but I'd love input on giving them more or less space down to 1/SQFT.

Also, I do not have constraints on veg time so longer/bigger is acceptable.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
You need to give some more info for us to help you out (what were/are your plant numbers, what would you like to get to, etc.), but I can tell you from a guy who's recently switched from DWC to E&F, I'd never go back, especially if doing more then three or four plants.

Just do 8 (or 16) plants per 4x4 E&F tray under a 1000HPS.

Top them twice for four colas (or eight, if you want), veg for a month, and then (if doing eight colas per plant), you've got 64 colas in a 4x4 tray.

Same (just about) as doing 64 smaller clones in the 4x4, but reduces plant counts substantially.

The downside is the increased veg time.
 
W

winstoner

Active Member
mrclark said:
For a number of reasons I would like to lower my total plant count in a finite space but try to retain, or even improve yield.

Background info:
I have experience in E&F and Fence post Aero. I average about .75 GPW per cycle across 3 strains with no CO2 @ .75 plants/SQFT.

I am planning to swap to DWC, but without experiance I am wondering how many plants pre SQFT would allow max yield with the least # of plants.

I was planning one per 2SQFT, but I'd love input on giving them more or less space down to 1/SQFT.

Also, I do not have constraints on veg time so longer/bigger is acceptable.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
bob's gotta great idea but what is the most amount of plants that you want, and how much space doe you have to take up? also if you have the luxury of choosing how big of a space to use... what light do you have? from there you can figure out how big a room you can have to maximize light intensity. from there you can figure out how big to veg them till flower. soooo what it gunna be?
 
B

Bob Smith

Well-Known Member
Rick, I'm just gonna give you a brief checklist, and for more in-depth info, just check out my journal - it's lengthy, but will cover anything I've missed right here (I recommend setting your posts per page at 40 in your settings before attempting the journal). E&F: large reservoir less pH swing only checking pH and EC for one rez, as opposed to ten buckets no worries regarding temp of reservoir (because I use hydroton and H2O2, so the dissolved oxygen doesn't come from the reservoir, it comes from the water evaporating when it hits the hydroton - this is not the case when using rockwool or coco, IMO, which is why I believe hydroton is the superior medium) less cords - my veg tent (which still has some DWC setups in it) has three surge protectors to power the air pump per bucket of DWC; in E&F, the only thing to plug in is your pump Well, that's what I can come up with off of the top of my head - my DWC setup currently a three bucket system and a four bucket system, each with its own reservoir.
 
B

Bob Smith

Well-Known Member
I have no idea why that's formatted like so (was a checklist when I typed it), but if anything's unclear, just lemme know.
 
RickWhite

RickWhite

Well-Known Member
Bob Smith said:
Rick, I'm just gonna give you a brief checklist, and for more in-depth info, just check out my journal - it's lengthy, but will cover anything I've missed right here (I recommend setting your posts per page at 40 in your settings before attempting the journal). E&F: large reservoir less pH swing only checking pH and EC for one rez, as opposed to ten buckets no worries regarding temp of reservoir (because I use hydroton and H2O2, so the dissolved oxygen doesn't come from the reservoir, it comes from the water evaporating when it hits the hydroton - this is not the case when using rockwool or coco, IMO, which is why I believe hydroton is the superior medium) less cords - my veg tent (which still has some DWC setups in it) has three surge protectors to power the air pump per bucket of DWC; in E&F, the only thing to plug in is your pump Well, that's what I can come up with off of the top of my head - my DWC setup currently a three bucket system and a four bucket system, each with its own reservoir.
Click to expand...
I see. So the main difference concerns labor? Do you notice any difference with respect to growth, yield, etc? I have seen some great, low maintinance DWC setups that use large 3' X 2' X 8" deep growing trays and a single commercial air pump that powers up to 8 trays. It is still a chore to check your water in 8 trays but in areas where the power is prone to failure the DWC is pretty fail safe.I like E&F as well but one power outage or pump failure while out of town for the weekend and you are looking at a total loss.
 
B

Bob Smith

Well-Known Member
RickWhite said:
I see. So the main difference concerns labor? Do you notice any difference with respect to growth, yield, etc? I have seen some great, low maintinance DWC setups that use large 3' X 2' X 8" deep growing trays and a single commercial air pump that powers up to 8 trays. It is still a chore to check your water in 8 trays but in areas where the power is prone to failure the DWC is pretty fail safe.I like E&F as well but one power outage or pump failure while out of town for the weekend and you are looking at a total loss.
Click to expand...
Depends what medium you use - should that happen in hydroton, then yes, you've got some issues, whereas with rockwool or coco, the fact that they hold more water for longer periods make their safety net more in line with DWC. And no, it's not just labor (although that's a large factor) - keeping your reservoir cool in the summertime is imperative in DWC, and often necessitates the purchase of a $1K water chiller, whereas in E&F with hydroton, I could care less if my reservoir is 90F.
 
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