Medical grow question...

Hi guys,

I'm considering a grow to cover my personal medicinal needs and wanted to get some advice before setting out. I would've posted this in the "grow" section but I've noticed that the responses in that forum aren't always that great for these types of "yield" questions.

Anyway, I'm caregiver for my girlfriend as well, and a friend of hers may possibly be giving me caregiver status as well. So, I'll have 6-9 plants flowering at once and I can build a space anywhere from 9 sq ft - 16 sq ft. I'm considering a 400w - 600w HPS and will probably get a 600 HPS to increase yield. I will be getting an air-cooled hood so heat shouldn't be an issue. I'll be growing in a soil mix and feeding with undetermined nutrients as of yet (hopefully organic). I won't be supplementing with CO2 or anything. This will be my first grow, although I've dabbled and vegged plants a few times and my girl has a greenthumb.

So, my question is, assuming that everything goes pretty well and I get decent results, how much yield of dried/cured buds could one expect using a 600w HPS on 6-9 plants in a 12 sq ft space? I KNOW that this is highly variable, but I'm just looking for an average assuming that everything goes OK and there's no problems.

Also, what would the ideal spacing be? I can build my area as large as I need it, so if I have 6 plants would I want 6 sq ft? 9 sq ft? What is ideal assuming your area is cool and well-ventilated.

Any feedback on this would be appreciated. Also, anyone in CO who has had a successful small-scale medical grow with clones from dispensaries I'd be interested in hearing about your grow experience/results and where the clones came from. Please feel free to share and post any CO small-scale medical grow-related stuff in this forum.

not knowing your strain and a ton of other variables makes any answer wrong. If you can fit a 1000 in there or even better 2 600's and ventilate+circulate the air allot, depending on how tall you veg and how you train... anywhere from .5 oz to 2 oz per plant. maybe more or less. LOL

If you are really concerned about higher yield you can move to hydro later...

check out the krusty bucket style with light setup.

2 oz per plant seems really low? is that for real?

Anybody know of a reputable place to get clones? I'm looking for a place that uses known genetics like Greenhouse Seeds or Subcools or something like that. These places with 200+ clones kinda turn me off because there's a lot of crap and I don't want crap. I'm looking for some primo, well-known, proven genetics. Delta-9 looks like a good place, but I think they're way backed up on clones.

If you keep your temp down, and veg. plants to a decent size since you wont be doing many plants. Either way you should get AT LEAST about .4 G/W of dried bud. So a 600w with 7-9 plants should yield 8 oz. Unless it is like regular genetics or somethn. Any kind of chrons should get you at least 3/4 to 2 oz per plant. i did a 600w 3x3 tray and 25 and got about 15 o's. that was hydroton medium, ebb & flow setup.

^Thanks, that's the feedback that I'm looking for.

So, I've been told by a caregiver to strive for 1g/W and it's not impossible to get close to those levels (I assume like 0.7-0.8g/W). But, he's obviously had a lot of practice.

Anyway, what could I do to increase that yield? Obviously, more plants, but that's probably not an option. What if I veg'd them for like 1-2 months? Could I get up closer to that 1g/W goal??

And I'd be growing a strain that's good for beginners like C-99 (I hope) or Northen Lights or something.

Also, anyone recommend any good grow stores in town? I went to Cultivate at 38th and Wadsworth and they sucked!! They watched me just walk around clueless for 3-4 minutes and I stood there...they offered no help whatsoever after I made it blatantly obvious and it started to get awkward so I just walked out!! Looks like their light selection sucked anyway.

The Big Tomato @ 6th and Sable.

The Big Tomato is great. Also, temp. is the biggest issue you'll have to overcome. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation sucking fresh air in and hot/stale air out (get a good can fan or duct fan). You'll need one to cool your light and one to vent the room. If you veg. for longer, the bigger your plants will be and the more yield you'll have but watch your height - they will double in height (at least) before you will harvest. There is a big learning curve and your yields & quality will increase the more experience you have. Don't expect much your first go. Also, check out The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles! - International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums for help when you run into trouble. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by senorx12562

The Big Tomato @ 6th and Sable.

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Originally Posted by Steelwool

The Big Tomato is great. Also, temp. is the biggest issue you'll have to overcome. Make sure you have plenty of ventilation sucking fresh air in and hot/stale air out (get a good can fan or duct fan). You'll need one to cool your light and one to vent the room. If you veg. for longer, the bigger your plants will be and the more yield you'll have but watch your height - they will double in height (at least) before you will harvest. There is a big learning curve and your yields & quality will increase the more experience you have. Don't expect much your first go. Also, check out The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles! - International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums for help when you run into trouble. Good luck!

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Big tomato is where i go. they have a discount card too :P

Sometimes my yield goes down the first time i try a new strain also. Each strains has its own personality. Some like as many nutes as you can give them and with some less is more. You might only get one ounce a piece off the first plants you grow but you will fine tune your grow for each strain and maximize yeild. 2.5oz under a 400w per plant is about what I can expect off the average strain now. My first few plants yielded an ounce or less a plant.

Lampost:
You have a great question and like many people are saying to get an answer to the equation you have to eliminate variables. Lumens per square foot is what your looking for and you answered many of your own questions i.e. strain variations and plant numbers. I think you hit the nail on the head by suggesting to veg your plants for a longer period. Colorado has a plant limit not a space limit and bigger plants equal more dry weight. I wouldn't necessarily increase your watts (unless you can subsequently control your temperature.) Regardless of where you want to be it all starts with where you are, and good genetics are the best place to start. SUBCOOL seeds offer some of the best genes around and they are available here in Colorado. PM me and we can talk some more. I hope this helps.

I grew for 2 years before quitting, and I felt I had things decently dialed in on my grows, and I never got anywhere close to 1g/W. The closest I got was .21 g/W (7.5 oz) off one HUGE monster plant. I ran a 1KW in about 12 square feet in DWC setups, and my plants were always pretty healthy, but for some reason they never filled out like they should have to get those huge yields. I would recommend one or two huge plants to fill your space rather than a bunch of little ones, as its easier to maintain, but that's just me. :jointsmile:

Jorge Cervantes suggests you should harvest .5 g/W on average or you are wasting electricity and time. That means I should have been harvesting well over 1 LB per harvest but I never got anywhere close to that. I would not go into it expecting 1g/W or even .5g/W or you will be sorely disappointed. Not saying its not possible, but you gotta work at it for a while to get that kind of yield. My first two or three yields were barely over 2 ounces off 10 plants. Its much harder than it seems. Maybe its for the best that I quit so I can leave growing the pros and their .5g/W yields. :thumbsup:

Wow, that's a lot of light too. Was it in an enclosed space? Did you have good ventilation?

Well, I hope I can eventually do better than that, but I'm not expecting much the first go round (I'm still hoping though)...

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Originally Posted by dejayou30

I grew for 2 years before quitting, and I felt I had things decently dialed in on my grows, and I never got anywhere close to 1g/W. The closest I got was .21 g/W (7.5 oz) off one HUGE monster plant. I ran a 1KW in about 12 square feet in DWC setups, and my plants were always pretty healthy, but for some reason they never filled out like they should have to get those huge yields. I would recommend one or two huge plants to fill your space rather than a bunch of little ones, as its easier to maintain, but that's just me. :jointsmile:

Jorge Cervantes suggests you should harvest .5 g/W on average or you are wasting electricity and time. That means I should have been harvesting well over 1 LB per harvest but I never got anywhere close to that. I would not go into it expecting 1g/W or even .5g/W or you will be sorely disappointed. Not saying its not possible, but you gotta work at it for a while to get that kind of yield. My first two or three yields were barely over 2 ounces off 10 plants. Its much harder than it seems. Maybe its for the best that I quit so I can leave growing the pros and their .5g/W yields. :thumbsup:

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Man, seriously. That sounds like a serious HEAT or AIR problem. If their is no Fresh air coming in, or the heat is above 90, yield's will suffer severely, i dont care what strain you have. I got all of my knowledge from Cervantez book and experience in the field, but i have read it Front to back a couple of times.


When i move to colorado, Preyn for 2010. Ill be renting a 2br apt. Legal # plants with 3kw's in a 4x8, and a sep. A/C unit. Hopn to get about 9oz off each of 6 plants. That's about .45 G/W which is BAD.

edit: W/D conn.-240v to 4-120v light controller for safety.

Always remember Volts x Amps= Watts, And you should'nt push it pass 50% load. so a 240 with 30amp breaker=7200W/ 50%= 3600 running watts. Ok i think i got off topic here.

Hey Illumination.. I don't think we can PM on here which sucks.

I'd heard C-99 is a good beginner strain, but I've heard it's also sativa-dominant. So, after talking with some more trusted sources I think I'd go with something like AK-47. Is Serious Seeds the genetics I'd be looking for in an AK?

go with the 9sf and if not too late go with a 1000w you will get much more light penetration. also look into scrog"s. you lay a screen over your garden when branches come through the screen you start manipulaing them along the screen by tying them down. everything below the screen is cut away. when you get half to three fourths full start flowering allowing for some stretch. the premise here is to create a screen full of top buds thereby increasing overall yield. fox farms is a very good product whether its soil or nutients. sunleaves guano is very very cost effective and can be added to your water just like liquid fertilizer. alaska is another low priced quality product. check out otooles nursery for best prices. if you get half gram per watt your doing really good. that really denpends on strain and getting your grow dialed in. each one will get better. use the above nutrients and you'll run little risk of burning you plants. good luck

meded so you can mededicate to mededitate

oh yeah and serious seeds for the original ak47 definately go with that

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Originally Posted by lampost

2 oz per plant seems really low? is that for real?

Anybody know of a reputable place to get clones? I'm looking for a place that uses known genetics like Greenhouse Seeds or Subcools or something like that. These places with 200+ clones kinda turn me off because there's a lot of crap and I don't want crap. I'm looking for some primo, well-known, proven genetics. Delta-9 looks like a good place, but I think they're way backed up on clones.

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Your weight will depend on your genetics, vegging time, soil/nutrient mix, environment/temperature/relative humnidity, altitude (to some degree) and light levels.

All of the plants in this room were vegged for at least 6 weeks under 1000W Hortilux Blue MH's. They are flowering in a 12' W x 22' long greenhouse which is supplemented by 12 x 1000W HPS lamps. They started hairing up within 10 days of moving them to a 12/12 light cycle. The big sativas will likely yield well over a pound by harvest time. I doubt I'll get less than 3/4 lb out of any of them. Altitude of this grow is around 7000'. I could probably get a bit more size out of them if I was lower, but WTF? The product grown here is extremely potent and they're almost too big to manage as it is.

Best of luck with your grow. Be sure to pay attention to everything, all of the time. The devil is in the details. Keep a close eye on them and do whatever it takes to keep from stressing them.
;)

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Originally Posted by lampost

Hi guys,

I'm considering a grow to cover my personal medicinal needs and wanted to get some advice before setting out. I would've posted this in the "grow" section but I've noticed that the responses in that forum aren't always that great for these types of "yield" questions.

Anyway, I'm caregiver for my girlfriend as well, and a friend of hers may possibly be giving me caregiver status as well. So, I'll have 6-9 plants flowering at once and I can build a space anywhere from 9 sq ft - 16 sq ft. I'm considering a 400w - 600w HPS and will probably get a 600 HPS to increase yield. I will be getting an air-cooled hood so heat shouldn't be an issue. I'll be growing in a soil mix and feeding with undetermined nutrients as of yet (hopefully organic). I won't be supplementing with CO2 or anything. This will be my first grow, although I've dabbled and vegged plants a few times and my girl has a greenthumb.

So, my question is, assuming that everything goes pretty well and I get decent results, how much yield of dried/cured buds could one expect using a 600w HPS on 6-9 plants in a 12 sq ft space? I KNOW that this is highly variable, but I'm just looking for an average assuming that everything goes OK and there's no problems.

Also, what would the ideal spacing be? I can build my area as large as I need it, so if I have 6 plants would I want 6 sq ft? 9 sq ft? What is ideal assuming your area is cool and well-ventilated.

Any feedback on this would be appreciated. Also, anyone in CO who has had a successful small-scale medical grow with clones from dispensaries I'd be interested in hearing about your grow experience/results and where the clones came from. Please feel free to share and post any CO small-scale medical grow-related stuff in this forum.

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yes I've had a successful small-scale medical grow!!
Well I will start by saying this it is good to hear a rational person asking a question plus you are from Colorado same as me ha ha, I will tell you my experience and give you my opinion, I am also in Colorado, I am also MMJ recommended along with my wife, our first grow was with straight MH, it did okay but by my standards and lifelong experience not the product I wanted you know what I mean? So because this is a lifelong thing for us we invested in a very good system, the extra sun Hydrofarm HPS and MH combo switchable ballast, as far as I'm concerned after researching we got the best lamp available for veg to flower a eye hortilux mh blue 400 watt, you might disagree with that and I respect you if you do everybody has their own tastes? I can tell you with what I've got right now and in my opinion this is the best all-around spectral lamp for veg through flower and the spectral graph on the box proves it, anyway if I were to flower with six to nine plants I would say with our system and our type of lamp with 17 to 24% more of both mh and HPS in combination in one lamp I would roughly guess one to 2 pounds, but that's with my lamp? I'm not saying yours is any less or would yield less with what you're using even though in the back of my mind I have to think this lamp will yield more than usual standard stuff! So to answer your question about yield I would say that's probably what I would get right now at the present time even though I have not flowered with this lamp only vegged with it so far, from what I have read all over the Internet people are getting buds with the type of lamp I have during flower that pretty much is no different than outside, hopefully I wasn't too vague? Just thought I would give an opinion for you to the best of my guesstimate, oh and by the way three of mine are clones, and all the rest were germinated, this lamp brought up seedlings perfectly, so assuming temperature is no problem, size is no problem, and your buds come out pretty darned dense, I would say one to 2 pounds with six to nine plants, sincerely cherokee