Say you had only a small time period in which to grow your weed inside, what's the quickest way to get your yeild? I've read quite a bit about reduced lighting times, but making that light as perfect as possible during lighting periods, is this the way to go?
I'm sure BOG will weigh in with some science for us all, but the way to get max yield is not easy. But a few simple points will help you get the most from your garden... LIGHT - make sure the lights are adequate for the job, and keep the lamps the proper distance from the plants so they don't get burnt, or not enough light. AIR - make sure your garden is properly vented with lots of fresh air circulating around the plants... the plants use the CO2 in the air to grow, and if the air is stale there is little or no growth. WATER -clean and the proper pH. NUTRIENTS - organic, use the best for the best buds and the best yield. Miracle Gro doesn't cut it. SOIL - Foxfarm. Worm Castings. Nutrient Teas. ANd most important of all, get yourself a good grow book. BOG's Bonanzo of Green for Beginners is GREAT! Jorge Cervantes' Marijuana Horticulture Bible is the best, with the most information in FULL COLOR. No other Grow book is in FULL COLOR. With best wishes for happy growing, Chris NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO The difference between a common mortal and a Buddha, is that a common mortal is deluded, and a Buddha is not. Eliminating delusion equals enlightenment.
Sibannac, I would say that obtaining clones and just flowering them right away would be the fastest. This would only take as long as the strain needs to flower. Many flower in as little as 7 weeks so that would be my answer. If you grow from seed it will be necessary to veg at least 3-4 weeks from seed until inducing flowering. 12/12 is normally the flowering period I recommend but long nights do speed flowering to a degree. When inducing flowering a period of 36 hours of darkness on the first night period might speed the change to flowering. BOG
Thanks Chris and Bushy, your help is much appreciated. I've got quite a bit of lit on this subject, but thought it would be advisable to ask an experienced hand their opinion. OK, so the right gear for getting a good yeild would possibly be this? 2 x D3 high spectrum uv/uva bulbs 2 x 50w sun lamps adjustable hight light rig timer switch totally organic nutral ph compost sharp sand Fish/bone meal nitrogen phosphate and pentoxide lime (incase of acidic water or compost) fan and vent PH testing kit foil light tight growing area So after seedlings are translpanted, a three to four week veg state of up to 24 hours light per day is the best for rapid growth? Or can the plant be induced to flower as soon as it is at the hight and strength required? Then to induce flowering is it best done by reducing lighting hours immediately or to do it slowly?
You should go by the size and strength of the plant when you flower. Realiziing that somestrains if flowered young will grow on a great deal before stopping their vertical growth. Normally the average is a doubling in size so you be the judge based on the power and size of your grow and how many plants you have as females to flower. I don't think that would be good lighting unless I am wrong about your lights. Sunlamps? Do you mean the brand Sun? They do make good lights of MH or HPS which are fine. A sunlamp however is also more powerful and too hot. I recommend 18-20 hours of light in veg because the plants do like a rest. They will veg fine under 24 hours though. When flowering I generally just switch them to the 12 hour days at one time. Some do a dark period but I don't. BOG
I was wrong, 2 incandescents of 850 lumens each, not sunlamps (dunno where I got that idea from) and two D3s of 1200 lumens each. That works out at 4100 lumens over a two sq foot area. Is that enough? Where are MH and HPS lamps usually sold, and what other lighting would be suitable?
Those lights should do for a small area and do fine in veg. To do well however you need to add at least one light of the hps variety. www.discountgarden.com is a place that sells lights but there are many online places to order from. You could drive to a place that has a grow store and many cities have one. Home Depot sells small security lights that are hps for cheaps and more than one could flower a small space nicely. A 400 hps light isn't cheap but it will be the best investment you can make. I really like 600 watt hps lights even better. Got a couple hundred? BOG
I've just been looking into other lighting, and after seeing how many lumens I can get from slightly different bulbs I'd think of going with 2 X 30w fluorescents of 1500Ls and two 100w incandescent of 1700Ls which takes me to 6400Ls. The flourescents are suspended 10" lower than incandescents due to the heat problem (it is variable too), although the grow area is nice and cool. Price is a big issue unfortunately. Are there any other lights you could advise, or should I get hold of another flourescent converter and get one more in? The size available is 3.5ft wide by 2.5ft deep by 8ft tall, for 4-6 plants.
On the cheaps regular shop lights with twin 40 watt tubes do pretty well in veg and produce a lot more lumens than smaller ones. You could salvage some compact floro fixtures meant for in home lighting as they are more powerful than regular floros. A 4 ft shop light with tubes can be purchased for as little as 6 bucks and 2 of them right next to each other and 2 inches from the tops will do a nice row of plants. Then the security lights , maybe 3 of them costs like 50 bucks or so not sure exactly. BOG
Got new white lights today, got 10,200 lumens worth. My bearded dragon would have a field day under the new lights! For flowering I know I would need stuff in the red range, so I've discovered MG Envirolites, only 125w but produces 10,000 lumens and 100% PAR with full spectrum, long life and low heat, and they are self ballasted. They sound like an indoor gardener's wet dream! And they are really cheap, only £20 for 125w! They are apparently new technology so they haven't been tested extensively, but they sound as if they have great potential, what do you think? Concerning the medicinal properties of the plant, I was wondering of you could give me a bit of advice on which strains are the most efficient for painkilling (ignoring ruderalis) sativa, indica, or a cross? I want a weed that isn't going to knock me out though, as i'm studying for my BSc and kinda need the brainpower, and it's a bit of a fine balance controlling pain while maintaining my studies, so I just want a nice mellow smoke. Good seeds aren't cheap, I'm not a rich man so if I do buy some seeds I want to make sure they do the job. Thankyou again for your help BOG, I really appreciate it.
Sounds better dude! Give them a try for sure. As for seeds I think fast flowering strains are best indoors and that more indica sided plants tend to work better for most but do your research. I am trying to stay out of advising specific genetics. BOG
