so im just trying to get an idea of what everyone else does .... i do 4 weeks of veg after the 3 week germ/seedling... but im wondering how much my yield would change if i did less veg....
It depends on the strain and how much bigger they will get after flipping. It takes a lot of trial and error to dial into the perfect amount of canopy filledness.
Take my cuts 2 weeks before flower. 9 weeks of veg, flower in 15 -20 gallon pots. I'm limited on my numbers but like churchhaze said, whatever it takes to fill up your canopy. Usually longer veg equals bigger plants and more bud, but too many variables to make that a rule. If you are starting with seed then you'll notice a big difference shortening your veg time, maybe not so much with a mature cutting.
im not trying to "copy" everyone more so just learning different ways from everyone i guess.... and im more so working on quality then yield but again just seeing what others have learned ....
i veg until i see one of two things, if not both.. this is from seed of course.. one, alternating nodes, two, preflowers, because i once read plants that are grown to sexual maturity before being flowered have a better chance of reaching their full genetic potential than plants that were flowered early..
Most of the time I veg 'em until they start hitting the T5's above them. This go around I have 7-8 weeks to kill before I have room for the bunch of clones that have been in veg for about a month.....so I've been topping on a daily basis to keep the height down.
It's been my experience that the longer veg (6+ weeks) that yield increases by a bunch....bigger buds specifically.
If you want at least an ounce on your plant, veg until the base of the plant grows past 1/4'' in diameter. Height is irrelevant, the best indicator for root mass is the size of the plant's trunk. That's what I do and I get 2 to 4 ounces per plant.