If you pay close attention to breeder listings for INDOOR grows will list yield by ft² or m² of canopy, not by plant count. This is because the amount of plants is relative to size of plants in regards to yield potential. So if you had something like a 4x4 tent has roughly the same yield potential whether you have 1 plant, 4 plants, 9 plants, or whatever. Obviously getting to a full canopy with 1 plant is different than doing it with something like 9 plants, and managing both would be a little different. But everything else being equal a full canopy is a a full canopy.
Plants from seed going to take +/- 4-5 weeks to sexually mature and this point could be sent to flower and will have a normal transition. It may make sense for you to veg a little longer, but this something you kinda have to get a feel for how the strains you’re working with behave in your environment. As you begin to rotate plants from starting to veg to flower pay attention to this and you should start to get a good feel for what you need to do.
Back in the early 90’s it seemed the goal was to try and get a harvest done in 70 days. I had a 6’6"x7’ room, and I could run 32 plants in there under a 1000w HPS bulb. It was tight, but doable. Could pull just over a pound every 75 days out of there.
That’s one thing I was wondering, if there was significant difference in yield with various plant counts+sizes that equal the same canopy. If there’s not then definitely higher count is the direction I want to go, to an extent. Timing is a factor for me too since they’ll still take the same flowering time and I’ve only got one flower room one veg tent, so the hope was having it lined up to where veg group is at the perfect canopy size when the flower room is empty for them.
I did a bunch of math with the previous group that was an epic mess, taking next clones too early etc,. But that was a different strain that flowered way longer so the mess carried on haha… and now seasonal climate became a factor, clones are going much slower since it’s cold. so I have to adjust for the seasons too haha. At least until I have the room on the breaker to keep garage warmer.
I did look at the info for the strains, but I was naive when I got seeds and trusted a very sketchy seedbank. Got lucky that they’re still at least frosty.
So hopefully I can figure that stuff out with a couple of the ILGM strains I have and the ones Graysin bred.
Currently starting a group of clones of his White Wedding, but it’s chilly in the garage and some are seemingly not making it… my first clone deaths haha…
So maybe I should get out one of my old cheapy Amazon lights and go back to using my closet as a clone room, take more of them, maybe 20ish, as long as I can plan out how to water the tent with 20 1g pots,(def going to look for that water pump/wand idea of yours)
Timeline wise if I can do the closet clone room decent, I think they’d get about 4-5 weeks of veg after a week or two of rooting. Which would (I think/hope)work nicely with a typical flower period and give me a week to clean room and such.
I’m mostly estimating on how big I think they’d be at that point, but that’s like you said learning the strain.
Gonna be taking lots of notes on each strain to try to avoid the same issues again.
Something i feel a lot of people overlook is that young/immature plants or plants in veg don’t really need any darkness. So if you’re having a problem getting plants going due to temp, move them someplace warmer. You can literally run them on your kitchen counter under 24 hours of light if you want. Starting seeds does not need to happen in a grow space on 18/6 schedule.
For sure. The tent is currently on 20/4, but that’s only because it’s been that way since summer when I was nearing too warm instead of too cold, so gave a 4hr break in the heat of the day.
I could go 24 but the greenbeams don’t make much heat at all, it only raises a couple degrees with them on. It’s fine for the established veg plants, they’re perfectly happy with the low being in the 60s high in low 70s.
But new clones… Not so much.
Someday I’ll be able to heat the garage more, but for now seems like the easiest and cheapest option is cloning indoors.
I’ve got a kid and a kitchen that’s constantly used haha so my closet is the most feasible I think. Will stay in the 70s, especially with an Amazon light thats more of a heater than anything.
I’ll set up the closet today and search Amazon for a wand type pump long enough to reach the back of tent.
Just thought of another challenge though, actually one I face now even with less plants… the runoff. I’m not sure how to make that work with accessing 20 tightly packed trays. I’ve currently got them each up on individual racks so at least the plants don’t need to be picked up, but reaching the trays is a challenge.
I’m guessing I need them all on big shared trays that drain forward or something…, any ideas?
They’re not exactly super cheap but they’ve been so worth the expense. I was just lamenting that I ruined my hardwood pretty bad by not catching a leak in my reservoir. If I had not cheaped out, I’d have had the opportunity to save my hardwood by having everything in a tray.
I agree with graysin. They aren’t cheap, but depending on your ability and what you may have around easy enough to replicate. I have seen people screw some plywood together and cover with epoxy resin, like fiberglass without the fiber, or use a product like flex seal roll on. Things like washing machine leak tray or pond liner can work too.
I recently looked at that exact one after seeing someone else in here with a 4x8 one, perfect for the tent… but yeah the 279$ or whatever it was offput me ,. Especially since I’d need 3 of them, two for flower room one for tent
I think I do have a roll of marine vinyl that I used to build my greenhouse, it’s definitely watertight and fairly strong, so building some out of plywood might be an option. Gotta take inventory and see how much I’ve got wood-wise and vinyl-wise.
If not, yes I think I’ll walk around Lowe’s for ideas… I’m imagining if I can find square or rectangle kiddie pools or yeah pond liners the right shape for my spaces, I could elevate them with wood and rig up drip system hardware to drain into a few buckets.
This is probably stuff I should have done from the start, but I had overspent so I’ve been just dealing with it being much harder on me than it needed to be.
Right, but you can’t really plan for things you don’t know about. This was more or less what i meant in earlier comment about taking a step and comparing where you’re at and where you want to be. You’re going to learn a lot and unvover all kinds of things as you continue to grow. We all have to throw a little money at things here and there. But you don’t want to spend multiple times to solve the same problems.
Definitely some major differences in where I’m at and where I want to be ha.
I think for now, planning the more permanent drainage solution and doing it in a way that I can fit 16-20 1-2g pots under my existing light footprints in both room and tent would be a solid step in the right direction, especially if I can manage it on the cheaper side.
Removing and emptying individual trays wasnt too bad with the 8 or 9 pots on racks over the trays,
Luckily the things bought were cheap and will always be useful; metal racks plastic trays etc. No such thing as too many of those ha.
Was mostly a lesson in time management, that it causes me to veg for a lot longer than i could efficiently do with better drainage and younger plants.
This time I won’t jump any guns though, want a solid plan on how I’m setting this up materials dimensions etc before I jump into anything.
Definitely, seeing them very readily available all over now, and fairly cheap to get about 6 of them, two for tent 4 for flower room, they’re all similar in size.
Was hoping to find squares or rectangles for better use of space, but all the reasonably priced ones are smaller and would be much more to set up drain lines and support to elevate them.
So So far, 4 pools is an idea. Even with the gaps in between them, I’m guessing plants could still fill in and make a nice canopy. Will have to draw some of the pool size circles on cardboard and check out how my 1g and 1.5g pots would fit, might give me some perspective.
@Graysin so I gave up on the pool idea, that might have worked with the 1.5 or whatever gallon they’re in but this last flower the few plants in them weren’t even half the size of the ones in 5g and with not a large number this run(9) I can’t risk it.
The ones in smaller pots did get a few less weeks of veg so it wasn’t a 100% comparison, so this group I’m going to uppot 7 into 5gs and leave 2 in small pots, then I’ll know for sure if it effects their yield(at least with this strain/pheno), and with the veg time they’ve had. In the future will go with small pots and short enough veg to not matter anyway.
But yeah with 5g pots I wouldn’t be able to space them apart enough in pools, so I’m building a flood table lol.
Getting a 4x8 OSB board Wednesday, putting a border on it with wood I already have, lining it with marine vinyl I already have, setting it up on cinderblocks I already have so that a bucket can sit under the drain at the end.
Spending under 40$ on it and avoiding the 200$+ flood table lol
Also have better airflow on the way, adding an 8" intake fan and 8" exhaust.
Warm season is on the way so for the next 9 months don’t have to worry about it bringing temp down to shops temp. Also putting in my extra 20" fan even if it’s overkill, cannot risk the mold issue again.
They’re def ready to be flowered and have more space between them. Luckily less overgrown than last group.
Also setting up clone area in my closet today since it’s too cold in the tent for them to sucessfully root. The Graychild white weddings are the first group of clones that wasn’t 100% success for me, now I know warm is NECESSITY haha. Luckily have plenty of time to get more going since next group will be less veg time more plants.
And the wedding cake re-veg from summer is surprising me, it don’t give a damn if I underwater it, underfeed it, have a fan slip down the pole and blow straight into it for 8hrs(oops),
So I think it’s gonna be mommy to a greenhouse group this spring.
Should I take clones from it now and get them started to be put out when it’s warm enough? I don’t recall what month last spring I planted out there, but I’d like to get them maybe 1 to 2ft tall indoors since it’s a short stocky and not very big pheno, aiming to fill half the greenhouse with 5 or 6 somewhat large girls.
Since you have a greenhouse you might be safe to start the process now. If it was going to go right outside I would wait til end of Feb. We will have periodic freezes up through April, but in a greenhouse you can at least throw a small oil radiator or something to keep the sub 32 temps at bay if necessary
Edit: so White Wedding didn’t auto on you for sure for sure? I’m so pumped. Can you take a cut of her for me?
Oh definitely, wouldn’t start a seedling or anything out there yet, or even put a clone out yet, it might start flowering and then reveg when the sun cycle hits that point(I think it’s either March 17 or 27 that we get 12:01 of sunlight this year)
But feels like I could def get clones rooting now and give them a month of veg time, that’s about what last year’s junk genes mystery plant got and it turned into a 7ft beast that gave 2 lbs of junky bud that’s sitting in my closet until a manufacturer wants it
If they grew too fast in the tent I can just leave in solo cups and underfeed to keep them a little slower. I actually have two wedding cake re-veg, ones in a solo and it’s healthy but staying small, tiny compared to the 1g girl.
For sure, looking back at old pics it was early April last yr I put it in the greenhouse at 1ft tall, 30° outside was somewhere in the 40-50s in greenhouse. It retains warmth amazingly when I seal it up(I built windows also covered in marine vinyl), so it can be very airtight and keep the days warmth, not gonna hassle with heating it, a greenhouse crop will be a nice seasonal boost but there’s more risk of pests etc so my main effort needs to stay on the flower room.
Nope she’s DEF a photo now bahaha, she’s almost the size of the veg group and I don’t recall how old but probably double the age that it was last call for an auto🤣
I’m excited too, she’s got 12 clones currently but with the cool tent temps I’m not sure if any are going to root at all, they’re already 3 weeks old,
So today after I set up my closet clone room I’m gonna take 15-20 more cuttings for the next flower cycle, they’ll have probably 6-7 weeks to veg in 1g pots.
Yusss I can definitely take a few for you!
I’ve topped her like 3x so far, so more than enough good branches for babies
I’ll have to get some of those clone shipper thingies, Its one of the many things I’ve procrastinated lol
I would assume stick on leds would work great, I mean they likely last a month or something.
I’m sure the probably 2-3 day shipping of a couple hundred miles Even in the dark clones would survive, just might be trying to transition by arrival🤣
Oooh those sound yummy, I’ve heard hype about cotton candy.
Would likely just be a specialty off the books plant for me and my sister
I found a “sort of loophole” in the states Biotrack system… Any plant I label a Mother I can technically produce seeds from that are legitimately in the system.
I debated using that to be able to put in any strain I want from any seedbank or person haha,
Except the names. Would be hard to name something it’s actual strain name and claim it’s a cross of two strains I have
True enough. are you allowed to “buy seeds” to enter plants into inventory? My local hydro shop has started selling seeds (tbd if that’s actually legal, but I support it).
