Basic Question

Hello, a newb' here. Forgive me if the following question has been asked a million times already.

What is the earliest one can reasonably put clones into flower? I ask because I've looked at plans for a SOG garden, and have wondered just how far one could push this before the plants would simply be either too young to produce quality buds or be able to support them (stalk is too weak, etc.)? Or is the latter the only problem - and if so, could it be remedied through using some kind of support for the flimsy little plants?

I'm asking the experienced folks here about this, because I'm interested in the notion of a uniform (clone) garden that is as low and tiny as possible, while still utilizing the basic SOG approach (a whole whack of plants close together.)

So, what conceivably would be the earliest one could put rooted cuttings into flowering?

As soon as they are rooted.
But 2 weeks of veg after is a good idea.

hey, check out my garden. I veg for about 2 weeks just like stinky said, mine are turning out great.

as soon as they are rooted they can be flowered whether you want to flower this soon really depends on how many plants you are using per sq ft if you are using alot of plants you may not have the room to even veg for 2 weeks.

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Originally Posted by stinkyattic

As soon as they are rooted.
But 2 weeks of veg after is a good idea.

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This may be a stupid question, but why exactly would it be a good idea to veg for at least 2 weeks? Specifically, how would this be a good thing if one's goal is a very low lying, tightly packed SOG garden?

The notion I'm playing with is basically trying to come as close as possible to creating a virtual carpet of little colas, and doing such on as small a scale (plant wise) as possible. I think this approach could work very well for small gardens (esp. stealth/cab ones) by keeping the growing space small, the yield nice for the tiny square footage, and the turn over rapid - I'd think this would be a really efficient way of working with limited space situations. I'm inclined to think that this would also allow for more efficient lighting, by allowing the use of a smaller light closer to the plants and a resultant lessening of concerns over heat build up.

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Originally Posted by bejay

as soon as they are rooted they can be flowered whether you want to flower this soon really depends on how many plants you are using per sq ft if you are using alot of plants you may not have the room to even veg for 2 weeks.

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Yes, this is exactly my concern, because the plans I'm looking into would call for cramming as many viable little plants into a small space as possible. The goal is decent yield ASAP, thus allowing for more crops.

btw. is the information I've heard correct, that a grower can expect his plants to grow roughly 2x to 3x bigger from the end of vegging? Of course if that's the case, exactly how big they grow would depend on many variables (lighting, nutrition, genetics, etc.)

The battle plan would seem to be, to be patient and first experiment with a crop that is intentionally much smaller than what you know will be able to fit in the grow space, and see how much bigger the plants grow through flowering. From that, a reasonable prediction can be made for more plants, and the grower would then be able to fill his cabinet for his first "real" grow to maximum (viable) capacity, while growing under the same basic conditions.

So, if the plants were little (I dunno the relative sizes of these things) 5 inch runt, by harvest time he could be anywhere from 10 to 15 inches tall - would that be roughly correct? Btw. I'm essentially talking about indicas and indica-sativa crosses here...I'd imagine pure sativas can grow much more in flowering.

btw. as an aside - what are anyone's thoughts on G-13? I've heard basic good things about this strain's potency, but what kind of stone is it? Is the flavour nice? And how is it to grow - of easy or moderate difficulty, or is it something that no new grower should pick for his first garden?

I have a further question related to the above. If one can get decent, tightly packed tiny plants, would it be reasonable to opt instead for some kind of compact floro. lighting? The way I figure, the plants will be fairly uniform clones, and relatively low to the bottom of the cab. This will also allow for an adjustable lighting set up to be kept fairly close to the top of the canopy without fear of burning the plants, which would maximalize the use of those lights.

Could this work out well? Or would the grower still be better off using HID's, especially an HPS for flowering, even with it's relatively more intense heat and the need to keep the light further away from the top of the canopy? Because while it's true HID's are "better" in terms of lumen out put, couldn't there be situations where that is offset by having to keep it some distance from the plants, and further by the expenditure on extra ventalization, air conditioning, etc.?

Further, if floros are a possibility (ideally I'm talking about an actual growing space no larger than 3' x 3', possibly smaller), is there a specific type of bulb that should be used? If a bulb with more red spectrum for flowering is obtained (I've read that such compact floro. bulbs do exist), could it still be used for rooting/vegging as well, or would it be really worth getting a different "blue" bulb (if one can reasonably afford it)?

Indeed, I'd be kind of interested in info on how lumen output is measured for the various bulbs on the market (HID or otherwise), what distance from the bulb it is measured from, etc. This info, combined with facts on just what cannabis plants need in terms of light for good growth (with the first priority being the potency and the tightness of the buds themselves, yield being still significant but secondary consideration), would give someone the ability to make an informed decision on just what type of bulb to use in this type of set up.

**Another Question, but Related**

I've read that root development translates into above soil plant development - so robus roots mean good things for a plant, correct? Well that is obviously something which requires space. Yet the goal of the garden-plan I'm looking into is to use a minimal amount of floor space - no more than a 3' x 3' area. This combined with the goal of having a packed SOG garden, makes me wonder - could the lack of diameter in the pots (the plan is to use soil) be compensated for by simply making them deeper? Will the roots go downward as this is the only are for them to go, or will it be much more of a struggle than being allowed to grow outward as well?

Second, that kind of nutrients and soil medium encourage the best root development? I'm open to hearing about organic or chemical possibilities at this point.

Your help with these and the other questions I've posed is most appreciated.

a just rooted clone only a few inches tall thrown into flowering could very well get 10-20 inches tall while its flowering so your estimates on height is probably close for most strains.
and if your are running 4 plants per sq ft you may have to do some pruning of some of the side branches so the plant will only focus on growing a single cola and also to allow more light to the other plants.
flouros do have a purpose for veg state or rooting clones or even keeping a small mother plant but when it comes to flowering you should only use a hid there really is no subsitute for a hid light for the lumens they put out while they do produce heat, and ventilation to cool them only adds to the cost there isnt really any other option and still have a good yield.
when using pots they should be deeper when used for a sog as it does increase the amount of soil available for the plant to develop roots, another option would be to use a soil bed and not use pots at all.

a bed is a great idea for sea of green.i wish i had a better place so i could build some beds.flower clones as soon as they root well and start growing again(if they quit growing while they were rooting)

if your main goal is height you should do scrog.or if you have two rooms lst is good.i have a plant now 4 weeks into flower and only about 13 inches with the pot and it has about 20 budding spots:thumbsup: i gave it two weeks vag,topped it,gave it two more weeks,took about 10 cuttings,waited 5 days and put her in flower.