Help With Indoor Medical Med.’s Op. – No Space or Funding Restrictions

[Vespatian]

I am considering an offer from a funding source to start and operate a legal indoor medical med.’s operation and I am looking for advice on what type of operation to construct. The incentive is to maximize yearly yield and quality. The number of plants will initially be restricted to 49 vegetative and 49 flowering at any given time, to potentially be increased to 98 and 98. I have experience with operating a indoor op. in the 20/20 size range with soil medium, MH / HPS lighting, etc. (but am by no means expert) so the learning curve to expand on this experience would be minimal.

The money partner will provide all required space, start-up, and operating expenses and I will be solely responsible for the design, construction and operations. I have recently spent hours reading this and a few other forums and have a generally high regard for the level of discourse engaged in here.

What system and strain(s) would you recommend?

 

[Calimed]

If you are in the bay, grow purple. Purple extasy, plat purple, or silverback gorilla are all great. If you have no space issue. Build some trees with dwc buckets and maximize what you can get out of each plant u are allowed to grow

 

[Vespatian]

Calimed thanks for the reply. I appreciate the advice on strains. I had to do some searching to understand what DWC buckets are and I believe I found a fairly good description of them here:

http://tinyurl.com/cqptqc

I still don't know what you mean by "build some trees" although I would guess you mean grow some big-ass plants using the DWC method, is that correct?

It sounds like you are saying that, if restricted to a fixed number of plants and no space restrictions, a higher yearly yield is achieved through growing those plants as large as possible for a longer grow cycle and less yearly turnover rather than a shorter cycle and more turnover?

So if we assume that is the case, the question is; given a static skill level, can you achieve a higher over-all yearly yield by growing large plants in soil or hydro?

It sounds like you are saying larger indoor plants are best suited to be grown in DWC bubble buckets.

Do I have that right?

 

[Mrs. Swamp]

Another member steppin up. Kudos, we wish you the best.

 

[chranotik]

strains? well that depends on many factors. are you looking for quality? are you looking for yield? are you looking for both? do you want an indica? sativa? hybrid? is height an issue? can you get clones locally or can you only order seeds? many factors you need to address before you randomly ask a forum about helping you decide which strains will suit you best

Are you looking to grow hydroponically or in soil? As for right now im researching soma beds as i heard they yield damn well..

 

[strydr]

I've grown in soil, DWC, and currently coco. DWC is a awesome method. It produces big trees quickly. I've switched to coco temporarily because of my location (buckets full of water + upstairs + carpet = sad roommates), but as soon as I can have a water-safe location, I will re-assemble my bucket system.

I am by no means a expert, but given a limited # of plants, with unlimited location size, I would go DWC. It's more work (and equipment) than soil, but will give you kick ass results quickly!

 

[rafe]

I would like to apply for the harvest helper. I love trimming buds and that delightful finger goo when you are done!! That is a severe high! Good luck man I envy you. With the people on this sight you will do just fine. These people could teach you to grow anything anywhere. I just finished a GrowDoc plant called Angeldust. It was made for Cancer and Lupis patients and it works great for my severe headaches. I take morphine 150 mgs and AngelDust put me and my headache to bed for the night. He also prices it cheaply for the sick. There are some good groups to join. Again good luck!

 

[Vespatian]

@ Mrs.Swamp - I agree and thanks!

@Charnotik - Yes I can see your point. Yield and quality are equaly important. The MM Dispenaries in my area carry more indica than sativa. Square footage is not an issue but height is restricted to 10 ft (thanks for bringing that up!). Local clones are readily avaiable.

As to the issue of soil vs. hydro you bring up - that appears to be the central question: Which will provide the highest yield?

@ Strydr - Thanks for that, I will definitely need to look into DWC further as I know NOTHING about it now!

@ Rafe - You got the job big daddy as I hate trimming! I agree the people here are generally extremely plugged in and I will look into Angledust. Many of the MMD's in my area price cheaply for the very sick. All the best to you brother!

To summerize I am looking to maximize yield on 49 flowering plants - no square footage restriction, 10' ht. restriction, no money restrictions: What system would you use?

Thanks to all.

 

[strydr]

Vespatian,
here's where I got my inspiration from. I made my own mods, but Blaze has the great setup(s)

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=26343&highlight=blazeoneup

 

[Vespatian]

@ Strydr - Thanks I had not seen that. I have some reading to do! Not just your linked thread but Blazeoneup's grow thread as well. It will be interesting to see his cycle duration and yield. Thanks much.

 

[BudGood]

Hello Vespatian,

I'm curious, what level of grow experience do you have? I ask because that is a fairly large op if you're somewhat new. It seems to me you have some semblance of experience, so...

I've been using Bio-Buckets. Initially, they are a lot of work to build. Once built, though, the system literally runs itself! I add nutrients every few days, as needed, and water is added automatically through a float valve to the main res ran from water supply.

I would recommend Bio-Buckets to beginners up to advanced growers. I've never had anything but good experiences with them myself, and those who I've set up (beginners) have had good results as well.

There are a couple of different threads in the Hydro section, BigTokes is stickied. Hope that helps!

 

[Vespatian]

Thanks BudGood, I see the sticky you mention and I will look into that system. My only experience with indoor growing is mentioned in my original post, a small op which I have maintained for about 8 or 10 years and not taken too seriously. My expertise is in large outdoor grows.

The bottom line question still remains: What setup offers the best way to maximize the yearly yield of a 49/49 indoor grow op?

Thanks to all.

 

[Calimed]

Hi again. By big trees, yes, I did mean large plants since you have the room and large plants can yield around 350-500 grams if grown correctly and deppending on the strain. With your plant limits and fact you want to supply clubs, I would suggest setting up a perpetual grow where said number of plants will be ready each month. If you do that right you should have a steady flow of a few pounds. You can also sell clones to the club for extra income.

Back to the strains, most clubs stock indica and the best indicas usually fetch the best price. Sativas are there, but for Med use, isn't as common. That is why I suggested some of the purple strains above. Good purps are in high demand and grab a great price.

 

[Philosophelon]

I agree that a recirulating DWC or Bio-Buckets will probably provide the fastest growth, and they are both ideal hydro systems for large plants. If I was in your position, I would grow large plants with a long veg time using a recirc. DWC system of some sort. I'd also use vertically oriented 1Kw bulbs for flowering, mixed 3:1 HPS to MH.

I grow large plants myself, and I realized an increase in yield when I added light movers (as well as a more even growing habit), so I would recommed Commercial Light Rails or some other linear light mover. Adding movers does add some labor (and another thing to go wrong) because you have to ensure that the bulbs don't bump into any branches.

Finally, if labor or experience are an issue, a drain-to-waste coco drip system will also offer rapid growth, but with less labor required for set-up and tear down. It is also easier to use, and there are fewer opportunities for equipment failure.

Regarding what strains I recommend, I think that the best course of action is to ask around and see what is trendy in your locale and at your local dispensaries -- although it's probably going to be super-potent indicas and purple strains -- it's nice to know which Kush is the local favorite.

 

[Vespatian]

@ Calimed and Philo, what your saying interests me very much and I wonder if you can expand on how long of a veg time would be required to flower 350+ gram plants?

Thanks also to the both of you for your input regarding strains, lighting, etc.

 

[Philosophelon]

It depends on the strain. A heavy-yielding strain will yield more bud with a shorter veg time. Also, some strains grow more quickly in veg than others. At least 6 or 7 weeks, as much as 12 or 13. Average would be in the middle somewhere.