Question from a fellow grower:
About to start my first grow and I’m real excited. I hear people ecstatic that they got 1 1/2 - 2 oz on their first plant in soil, but personally I would rather avoid all that labor for such little return. I haven’t heard any specs on the plants and setups from these testimonies, but I generally see online posts where people seem pleased with this first result. What do you suggest to help get more into the 4-8 oz/plant range? If that’s a little tricky for beginners then i’d love to get 3-5. From my research I am well aware there is no one trick and it is a multitude of techniques(also dependent on genetics of the strain) to help plant growth and bud development. I suppose I should tell you what I intend to start with:
I intend to grow 2 Northern Lights XL Auto by Zambeza seeds and 2 Black Cream Auto from Sweet Seeds
4x4x6.3 grow tent
600w led full spectrum
fabric pots w/ soil medium (intend to start 5gal, but will await your advice.)
floragro and florabloom from general hydroponics
I also intend to LST and top.
You need 800 watts at least for 50watt a square foot and what is the true watts that your light pulls from the wall
6 plants is doable and 8 with a sog and expect to work 30 minutes to a hour tucking and tying when you get ready to go to flower
Do you have a ph meter and solution to calibrate it i use 2 600w hps/mh lights in my 4x4x6 tent and i getting close to 2 1/4 to almost 3 lbs dry weight
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You’ll need more light. Much more light.
Also some fans
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The only way to get a big yield is with a big plant. You won’t be able to pull 8 zips from a plant vegged for 4 weeks. Parameters need to be optimal to get high yields as well, which includes proper lighting.
IMO a 4 X 4 tent is good for 2 plants. But you should get a pound off of those two. This is assuming photo period and not autos as you have less control over them than photos. A larger pot size (7 gallon) may help maximize the size of your auto flowers.
I agree you have about 1/3 of the light needed to produce dense buds. 800 plug watts (and not what the packaging states) is ideal.
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Thanks for the replies. I am not sure of the true wattage the light will pull from the wall. How would one gauge that without buying it? Would 1000w (on the box) be a safer option?
Fans, ph meter, ph up & down, carbon filter, etc are all on my list as they are crucial to indoor grows so I only listed what I believed was surrounding yield. Fair point though, all those things affect plant health and yield and probably should have listed them.
My question for autos and pot size is how does one insure the plant fills 7gal pot and not get a 3gal pot-sized plant if it will only veg for the same limited time?(i assume this is one of those cons with autos lol) Is this directly related to nutrient intake or watering or maybe just making sure the conditions are optimal all the way through its short veg stage?
Also, would like to know with such a light that you refer, how low should it be in the tent for seedling/early veg? or maybe the reflective walls help provide more than enough light for seedling that it doesn’t need to be so close at all? Thanks in advance.
As for the lights if you look in the description on the light (let’s use Amazon as an example) it will often say it’s a 600 or whatever watt light then further down it will say compares to a 600 watt but only pulls or consumes 150 watts. So it’s a bit of misleading sales tactic. There are plenty of good lights but much like other things in life you can have good or you can have cheap but it’s rare to find anything good that’s cheap. There are several lighting discussions here that you can read showing both the best and some of the decent ones. You can use a killawatt meter or one like it to test anything you already own. Or try looking it up.
I’m still building my setup so I can’t help on the growing part. But I plan to run a few autos at first as well. So I’m trying to get all the info I can before i start.
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If you post a link, or pic of your light I’m sure we can tell you what your light pulls.
Many of us have purchased these led panels from amazon, and while you CAN grow weed with them, most of them are under powered and inefficient.
I’m currently using bridgelux eb strips with some diy lights and can’t believe how much better my results are from my old Roleadro/meheizi/Growstar panels.
mmm thanks a million. saved me money and time.
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this light: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075QGZKD2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_H-LGBbHKV4PJA
This light averages 300w pull, seems reliable from recent reviews and is about my max price range atm. The way I understand it, the ideal harvest is 1gram/watt so does that mean I will be able to produce roughly 250-300grams under that light in that space or is that per plant? how does that work?
Try the link again it didn’t show up
The link didn’t work.
If you’ve got an amazon led panel that pulls 300w at the wall, you’re not likely to get 300g.
My guess, and its very loose, is that light will grow one plant in a small tent and if you grow in a scrog to maximize light exposure, you’ll end up with less than 4oz of bud… if you’re lucky.
I think that you’re linking us all to your shopping cart… which brings us to our carts. The link isn’t taking us to the actual light. 
Get your environment in check. Run everything overnight a few days, and make sure you won’t have any surprises. Spend the most you can, as effectively as you can, on your lighting…talk to the pros on this forum. Then keep an eagle eye on watering (specifically, not overwatering), the pH/EC of what’s going in and coming out, and BE PATIENT! I’ve probably wasted 3 ounces or more in total, just by harvesting maybe only a week early. In that tent, I would run 2 massive plants in a scrog, but that’s just me. If you’re growing autos, I would be very selective as to when and how you top and train.
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Alright I’m hearing you guys. Looking into HPS now. Did not think they would be relatively the same price. What is recommended as far as the reflector? Is the reflector with vent space not necessary for such a small space or is it better because the space is small? With just one light, how noticeable is the energy consumption?
@AbsentFaith
I can tag you in my harvest so you can check out my tent with 2 600w hps/mh lights
Or you can check out
The reaper has come
In the harvest section
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Hey guys, these seedlings have been growing for 3 weeks are they too small?
I put the seedling in the black pot because the roots were starting to poke out the bottom of the tan pot. I feel like I’m messing these things up… HELP lol
Looks like you transplanted just fine, if maybe a little soon. But that’s okay. They’ll stall for maybe a week, then pick back up. Although, a small seedling in a big pot will grow very slowly at first while the roots grow. Also, be very careful not to overwater. It’s very easy to do in this situation. You want to water only a few ounces at a time, in a circle around the little gal, a few inches away from her at least, so the roots will reach out for the water. Let it dry out pretty good before you water again. And that looks like soil, but I’m not sure which kind. Depending, you might not need to feed at all for a very long time. Regardless of the soil, you won’t need to feed anything but water until the small round leaves turn yellow and start to die. Looks good
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Thanks, I thought I messed them up somehow. The soil is organic I forgot the kind right now. I have a 60w cfl on both the big pots and the smaller ones. On the smaller pots I have a 60w lamp as well as the cfl. My question is I have a 600w led light that I want to put in on veg mode. Is it too soon?
Thanks
That’s a difficult question to answer. Which 600 watt LED? Is that the actual wattage drawn from the wall? If so, I’d wait another couple nodes maybe. If it’s one of these, like most, that say 600, and are actually more like 250, then go for it. I’d start with it high enough that you’re confident it won’t burn them, and then gradually lower it.
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