Complete Novice Yield Questions

[Jackie Treehorn]

Hi folks, 

 

New grower here. On my third grow and been lucky so far with healthy plants and no real issues. I have a question about yield though.

 

I've been growing autos under 200W LED. I chose autos for ease (although from reading this forum perhaps that's the wrong thought process) and also because I have a height problem. I'm growing in a crawl space and so can't get more than 1m height from light to floor. I understood that autos are shorter and therefore would suit me best. I also just wanted one less thing to think about so after reading up on easy-to-grow strains went for Blue Dream Auto from MSNL. I have had more success with the free Lemon Haze Autos that have the Blue Dream with tasty bud but the yield on all plants so far has been very low. 1 - 1.5oz per plant. I've had four plants in a space 1.5mx1.5x each time and they've grown up to a few inches below the light so I think the space I've given them is fine. I've started with Biobizz light mix and gone easy on the feed, building it up each grow but have not noticed any difference in yield. Biobizz grow, bloom and CalMag. I've tried a bit of Top Max and Fish Mix in the latest grow but again can't see any difference TBH.

 

The one thing that reading this forum has shown me is that I think I am underwatering. I read so much before starting my first grow about overwatering so I went really easy with it but now I'm thinking too easy. I've never noticed any signs from the plants that they aren't getting enough but I think I should be giving them more. To give you an idea, I've been growing in 3gallon fabric pots (3/4 full with light mix) and once established am only giving them about 500ml each, even through flowering, once every other day. The plants seem happy and are ready for another water pretty consistently 48 hours later but I know the yield could be much better. Is this too little? Should I be saturating them and then leaving them longer between feeds?

 

Any help appreciated. 

JT

[KC]

I use 11ltr pots mostly (I think 3 gallon is 13ltrs) and I give mine 3 ltrs of water everytime I water them. I think for your space you'd be better using smaller pots and having more of them. Photos would be doable in your space, just keep them in small pots and train them. 

1.5m sq is a bit much for your light to be covering too btw.

 

As for yield, if you did pull 1.5oz off each plant and there are 4 that's not too bad considering the wattage of your light. I'm not saying it couldn't be improved on mind!

[Gaijin]

Hello mate  

First off, 200w won't flower out a space that big. You'd need maybe 750w, maybe a bit less in that space

3 gallons is about 12/13 litres, I think? Depending on the age of the plant and how well rooted out the pot is, 500ml every other day doesn't sound like anywhere near enough. I'm no expert (I'm 5 weeks into my first grow) but I spent about 18 months reading on here before I started  

I've got 5 week old girls in 10L pots under about 220/240w, vegging 18/6, and I gave each girl a little over 2 litres last night which I hope will keep them going for 48 hrs, although they are growing like crazy and I'm going to have to check them later just to see how much lighter the pots are.

Edited January 20, 2023 by Gaijin
removing random extra capital "I" in middle of sentence

[BilgePump]

6oz from a 200w light ain't that bad tbh, 7oz would be about 1gpw.

 

Is yer led a real one? Like it's actually 200w at the wall?

If it's a lesser chinese branded thing with an over inflated wattage you've absolutely smashed it.

 

[Jackie Treehorn]

Thanks for the replies folks. Much appreciated. 

 

I've got a Maxibright Daylight LED so think it's true to its advertised wattage. Perhaps my calculations were off but because of the sloping roof in the crawl space the overall size of the room is quite small 1.5mx1.5mx1.5m divided by 2. The light itself will only go up to 1m from the floor so a lot of the space is dead space. I've got to have the fan, filter and silencer to the side of the grow as I can't fit it above. Another reason for the decision to go with 200w was that the tips get very close to the light towards the end of the grow because of the 1m height restriction so I was thinking I didn't want them to get burnt. Is 200w still too little? If so, it it worth trading up or perhaps get a secondary light?

[Jackie Treehorn]

1 hour ago, Gaijin said:

Hello mate  

First off, 200w won't flower out a space that big. You'd need maybe 750w, maybe a bit less in that space

3 gallons is about 12/13 litres, I think? Depending on the age of the plant and how well rooted out the pot is, 500ml every other day doesn't sound like anywhere near enough. I'm no expert (I'm 5 weeks into my first grow) but I spent about 18 months reading on here before I started  

I've got 5 week old girls in 10L pots under about 220/240w, vegging 18/6, and I gave each girl a little over 2 litres last night which I hope will keep them going for 48 hrs, although they are growing like crazy and I'm going to have to check them later just to see how much lighter the pots are.

 

Thanks mate. Sounds like I definitely should be giving them a lot more water than I have been. Way off base there by the sounds of it. Good luck with your virgin grow - it sounds like you've got the hang of it already. 

[Herbal Kint]

1 hour ago, BilgePump said:

6oz from a 200w light ain't that bad tbh, 7oz would be about 1gpw.

 

Is yer led a real one? Like it's actually 200w at the wall?

If it's a lesser chinese branded thing with an over inflated wattage you've absolutely smashed it.

 

My thoughts exactly,I grow 20years,never had near close to g/w with autos

 

Get one more led panel

[MidgeSmith]

As has been said, you may need to get a bigger light, or get a smaller tent or even put them all in a corner with the light over them.

With regard to water, my last crop of small photos each used about 1.5 litres a day in the end.  You are right to be cautious with watering.  While the plants should be allowed to dry out between waterings, if you let them get bone dry, you may well suffer leaf damage before you see them wilt or anything.

Autos are fine and are a good bet for short plants, though many here seem to hate them.  ^ You can indeed get short photo plants or keep them short if they try not to be, but autos are a good addition to your repertoire and there is nothing wrong with growing them. Depending on the strain, anywhere in the 1-4Oz range could be right.  I've grown a few autos and the average was a bout 2.5 Oz per plant over the years.

I think that here the light levels are the problem.  Try getting the Photone app on your phone to measure how much light your plants are getting.  Use their Daylight Integral Chart to sort it out so your plants are getting a good level of light as per the chart and I think you will be on track personally.

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by MidgeSmith

[Jackie Treehorn]

10 minutes ago, Herbal Kint said:

My thoughts exactly,I grow 20years,never had near close to g/w with autos

 

Get one more led panel

Thanks for the input, HK.

 

When you say, get one more LED panel - do you mean an additional light or can you add panels to existing lights?

[Jackie Treehorn]

13 minutes ago, MidgeSmith said:

As has been said, get a bigger light, or get a smaller tent or even put them all in a corner with the light over them.  My last crop of small photos each used about 1.5 litres a day in the end.  You are right to be cautious with watering.  While the plants should be allowed to dry out between waterings, if you let them get bone dry, you may well suffer leaf damage before you see them wilt or anything.

Autos are fine and are a good bet for short plants, though many here seem to hate them.  ^ You can indeed get short photo plants or keep them short if they try not to be, but autos are a good addition to your repertoire and there is nothing wrong with growing them. Depending on the strain, anywhere in the 1-4Oz range could be right.  I've grown a few autos and the average was a bout 2.5 Oz per plant over the years.

I think that here the light levels are the problem.  Try getting the Photone app on your phone to measure how much light your plants are getting.  Use their Daylight Integral Chart to sort it out so your plants are getting a good level of light as per the chart and I think you will be on track personally.

 

 

Great advice, thanks MS. I'll get the app and check it out tonight. 

[MidgeSmith]

Don't forget to set the app to the appropriate number of hours of light per day - possibly 18/6 for your autos  

[Herbal Kint]

1 hour ago, Jackie Treehorn said:

Thanks for the input, HK.

 

When you say, get one more LED panel - do you mean an additional light or can you add panels to existing lights?

Duno tbh,some can be upgraded ask @Ledgrowlights-Adam 

 

[Personunknown]

Get another light to go with it

[mister phlegm]

One metre from light to floor can be plenty as long as you bend (at least) the main stem. I've got a 1m40 high tent and I've sacrificed 40 cm plus of it to get a stand and filter in, grow indicas and don't have a problem. Many manage in shorter spaces than that.

[Jackie Treehorn]

Thanks all. Glad I finally got round to posting. After one post I’ve already got lots to think about. Great forum. Awesome members. Time for a fat one