have been trying to improve my yield for 3 cycles and while slowly improving still far from the norm I see everyone talking about …1g/w…50g/sf…etc. Would really appreciate some feedback from experienced growers here.
Here’s my setup:
Veg
separate veg room with LEDS. Getting about 200PPFD at the canopy
when they are about 20 inches i transplant into 7gals and veg them in flower room for another month
no problems in veg
I now veg until they are 36-40 inches tall (not counting the container) before I flip
have tried flipping at 20 inches, 24 inches, 30 inches, 36 and 42 inches
start flower at 600w ramp up to 1000w by day 10, run 1100w until week 6
during the first 6 weeks they are getting about 700PPFD at the canopy
last two weeks I dial down to 750w and they are at 450PPFD
leaf temp is never above 78F
i have tried 9, 6, 5, 4 and 3 plans per light
light space is 4x5
pretty much veg until all space is filled then flip
i lollipop, use SOG net and fill the squares
my last run i had about 12-18 tops per plant
use pro mix, veg in 1 gals, transplant into 7 gals, veg some more then flip
no CO2
water every other day for the first 3 weeks, then once per day for 4-6, then back to every other day, last week about once every 3 days
nutes are 800-1100 during first half of the flower, then 700 till the end
i go heavy on potash after week 3 all the way until week 6-7
generally do not have any nutes, ash, quality issues. smoke is great, taste is awesome no complaints
full air circulation
My problem:
Ive run 3 cycles
1st cycle .6/lb per light had lost of heat problems
2nd cycle .75 per light still some heat problems
3rd cycle 1.25 per light solved heat problems
last cycle was the best one to date, had 4 plants under a bulb and flipped at 38inches on average. each plant filled a 2x2+ was getting just a bit crowded but manageable. got just over 4 oz per plant.
I need to hit at least 1.5lb per light in order to make this sustainable otherwise I have to shut down. End goal would be 2lb per light so I get to that 1g/w without CO2.
Some Ideas im considering trying to increase yield:
i will be adding lights to VEG room so I can grow to desired size all the way there but this will not solve the flower room yield problem
upgading to LEDs is not an option at this time
I dont want to run CO2 until i have fully maximized everything else
one option is to water less but more frequently, maybe downsize pots to 5 gal so they dryback faster and water daily
or do drip feed twice per day
introduce foliar spray Ive researched some stuff that can boost yield by 20% or so they claim
run lights closer to the canopy, cut to 800w and run like 2 feet away, ive measured can boost PPFD to about 800 so 15% more from current levels
add MH bulb last 10 days
add oxygen pump and oxygen meter to aim for 45% dyssolved oxygen
I’m sure I missed a few things. I should also add that while this is my 3rd run in this setup I have been growing a while back but took a break for a few years. I have never gotten more than 1lb per 1000w but back than was doing 20-25 2 gals in 4x4 with 2 week veg.
Welcome to the forum! I had low yields when I 1st started. I switched to different nutrients, reduced the number of plants per light and added Exhale CO2 bags and Bud Buster Pro foliar spray. I went from 1.5 to 2 oz per plant to 18 to 21 oz per plant. The nutrients I switched to were Dakine 420 nutrients. Good luck in your grows and don’t get frustrated, just hang out and absorb the great information from some of the best growers around on this forum. A lot of great people here that will try to help you get what you need to know to take your grows to the level you want.
Thank you. Yes, thats what Ive been seeing…ive moved from 12 under a light to 4-5. How big are your before your flip? Are you suggesting I go even bigger/less plants per light? like only one or two?
Personally I would try to increase the light levels if possible, I’m sitting closer to 600 ppfd in veg and 1000 ppfd in flower without added co2. I’m not sure if you track VPD or leaf temps but they can also be very helpful.
I top my plants at 14 inches and veg them for at least 45 days sometimes 60 days.My tents are about 80 inches tall and give me about 5 foot of growing height. I usually grow by vegging time. If I have a lot of flower on hand I usually veg longer then flip to flower. I should also point out that having genetically good strains and seeds have a lot to do with yields also.
I was thinking of lowering wattage to 800 or so and getting my lights closer to the canopy. 800w at 2.5 feet away is not too hot and gets me about 750-800 ppfd. Can an extra 150 ppfd give me a 20% yield boost?
Yes I track VPD. My room stayed 74-76F all the way through. RH was rangebound 55-65%. Leaf temps were around 76-78F.
Do you only top them once? I was afraid I wont have enough branches to hit my numbers so currently top 3 times. Once when clone (so I have 4 branches), then those 4 to give me 8 when they are about a foot. Last top to get me 16 branches. Ive been getting just over half oz per branch more or less.
They finish at around 5 ft too. How many plants do you have in a 4x4 space?
Topping more than once, for me, depends on the strain I’m growing and if I top more than once before flip I use the tops for cloning myself. When I started growing I would have 4 plants in a 4x4, as I learned more on this forum, I went to 2 plants in a 4x4, when I switched to Dakine 420 nutrients I went to 1 plant per 4x4. You will find out that using the advice on this forum you can get more yield by maximizing your space and fine tuning your environment. Find out what works in your environment and keep duplicating your successes and if it doesn’t work try something else that may work. Things that I have tried have worked pretty good for me. Environment is a key issue, along with media used, nutrients, type water, good lights and good genetics. Sometimes it’s a good thing to remind yourself that somethings that work for others may not work in your environment. Each growers environment is different.
F*ck fimming No time for that. Just rip or cut the tops out. I compared both on same plant clones multiple times, never ended up with a significant bigger yield. But you do spend a little more time fimming or I am at least and I’m adhd haha.
Thanks everyone for your input. So far here are my takeaways:
get more PPFD: i will accomplish this by dropping wattage and lowering lights to 2-2.5 away from the canopy. This will boost PPFD from 650 or so to 750-800.
veg a bit more to get a few more branches and expand coverage from 4x5 to 5x5
find a high quality but also good producer genetic
After this is done I will see where I end up and go from there.
No time for that. Just rip or cut the tops out. I compared both on same plant clones multiple times, never ended up with a significant bigger yield. But you do spend a little more time fimming or I am at least and I’m adhd haha.