Question about amount of pots/m2 with autoflowering strain

[Kyriakos]

Hi!
I am trying to find the right autoflowering strain for me. I have been reading the last weeks about different strains but I cant find which one that will result in big yield. Do you have any suggestion on which strain that would suit me?

I am thinking of growing in a space that is 1,25m x 1,25m with one HPS 600w lamp. I would like to know if it would be possible to have 16 pots a 18 litre on this area and fulfil a good grow.
What would you recommend for that space? To put fewer pots and let them grow big with space or to have more plants that are tighter one to another? The goal is to get as much yield as possible. Thank you in advance.

 

[aridbud]

Being a newbie, concentrate on how your plants respond to your grow environment. Too much emphasis is put on 'yield' when you need to understand or experience a grow or 2. Once you learn the rudiments, THEN concentrate on yield.

A lot depends on container size, medium, light.....and strain selection. You can have a heavy yielder (strain wise), but if all the other components are inferior, you won't reap much. Seen that time and time again.

Better to have fewer larger containers than boo koos of small sized containers. That's a small space, roughly 1+ yrd x 1+ yrd. (1.25 x 1.25). Adequately you can do 4-5 containers, 11-15 liter.

Light: 600 HPS quite adequate...will you have ventillation? 600w builds up heat!
Containers: 11-15 liters, 1 plant per.
Medium: Organic soil, bagged soil with admendments? Hydro? Get a good mix, or good system. Don't go cheap.

 

[Kyriakos]

I want to be well prepared with information and advices before I start but the goal is to have a big yield.
I would like to have a more profound answer about why it is better to have less containers than what I thought of.
The strains I have been watching are Heavyweight Fast & Vast, Sweet Cream Caramel, AutoMazar or Think Different.

 

[vostok]

Arid nailed it, from me yield is more to do with the growers ability than the strain you are growing, a photoperiodic northern lights in a 200 gallon kiddy pool will "yield" more than a
3 gallon coco grow with the same strain, yeah you want yield go photo, but if you want discreet go auto, but really the autos are there just yet

as for your sizes above 1 square meter does a 600/400w hps/mh very well, is great but you will need an extract fan and 6 inch venting, depends very much on the local air temp

 

[noreason]

I suggest you to have more smaller pots than less and bigger.

Plant's metabolism will increase for the faster dry/wet cycles as more oxygen will reach the root-zone.

Having more plants mean having less risks to lose a big part of the harvest if any plant grows freak or have something stressing it and slow the growth (especially if you're a new grower). You can trash it without having a big loss.

I would put like 30/36 plants in there with not so big pots. I guess at max 3 liters.

There are several other reasons on why increase plants number, and all of these lead to a better yield compared with few plants with bigger pots. The downside is the cost of the seeds if you have to buy them.

However....hey....it's just my opinion

 

[aridbud]

I suggest you to have more smaller pots than less and bigger.

Plant's metabolism will increase for the faster dry/wet cycles as more oxygen will reach the root-zone.

Having more plants mean having less risks to lose a big part of the harvest if any plant grows freak or have something stressing it and slow the growth (especially if you're a new grower). You can trash it without having a big loss.

I would put like 30/36 plants in there with not so big pots. I guess at max 3 liters.

There are several other reasons on why increase plants number, and all of these lead to a better yield compared with few plants with bigger pots. The downside is the cost of the seeds if you have to buy them.

However....hey....it's just my opinion

Depending on what strain determines how large a container. Several factors play into it, using small containers or not. dickcorn used 3 gallon grow bags for a few of our strains, and had to cut the bottom of grow bag to plant in another 3 gallon grow bag under/around it being root bound. Reaped, if I recall, 4-6 oz. per plant. 3 liters is equiv to almost 1 gallon container....a tad too small, but some like micro grows.

We generally use 3 gallon (11 liter) or 5 for larger or longer growing autos...those taking 72-80 days. Getting root bound in small containers, one of the problems for soil containers that are small, thus less yield. Too, nutrient lock out occurs more with cramped quarters.

I concur with you, noreason, if using hydro(ebb/flow) & DWC...."Plant's metabolism will increase for the faster dry/wet cycles as more oxygen will reach the root-zone. "

Every grower has their own method....what works beautifully for some are variable or dismal results to others.

In the end, it's whatever works....keep doing it.

 

[noreason]

Depending on what strain determines how large a container. Several factors play into it, using small containers or not. dickcorn used 3 gallon grow bags for a few of our strains, and had to cut the bottom of grow bag to plant in another 3 gallon grow bag under/around it being root bound. Reaped, if I recall, 4-6 oz. per plant. 3 liters is equiv to almost 1 gallon container....a tad too small, but some like micro grows.

You're right bro but don't forget maybe the most basic factor of indoor growing: light.
Pot size is related (not only) to how much light a plant receives.

600W in 1,56 m2 as in the OP situation means 384W/m2. It's not much light, you will agree.

11 liters pots can easily be too big if growing more than 9 AF plants with only a 600W. Water uptake will slow down, meaning ''dry/wet cycles'' will be less, and oxygen will be less too.


I'm not saying that is wrong to use big pots. I'm saying that I like smaller pots and for myself I get better yield.

We generally use 3 gallon (11 liter) or 5 for larger or longer growing autos...those taking 72-80 days.

How much light x m2? How many times do you water in a week?

Try to follow me for a minute: let's suppose you water 4 times a week. Well, this means the plant receive a good quantity of oxygen. It comes from the air going trough the drying medium and it comes with the water too (DO).

Now let's assume you water 7 days a week, once a day. The oxygen is obviously more, both for the fast drying medium and for the new fresh water every day.

In my experience this is a really good tech. to improve plant's growth, in veg. as in flow.

Now it's easy to understand that water once a day is maybe a bit more work to do...but it works!

On this side, I like a lot to use those pots with a grid on the bottom. Lifting them up few centimeter from the floor with something, helps a lot to increase airflow in the medium.

Getting root bound in small containers, one of the problems for soil containers that are small, thus less yield. Too, nutrient lock out occurs more with cramped quarters.

Well, I quit soil years ago but I often use a mix of used coco, soil and perlite and/or pumice. I never seen a root-bound on my plants.
I water them once a day with proper EC value, let the solution flow a little from the bottom and that's all.

I'm talking about regular females flowered in 1,4 liters pots, 60 days flowering, 555W/m2. No root-bound at all.

Here you can see some pictures:

Well, they're not so big but if I remember good I pull out half kilo with 17 plant. In only 60 days I had great result for my standards.

I concur with you, noreason, if using hydro(ebb/flow) & DWC...."Plant's metabolism will increase for the faster dry/wet cycles as more oxygen will reach the root-zone. "

Plant's biology is the same in every medium you know. More oxygen will enhance metabolism in any substrate, being hydro, soil, coco, outdoor, indoor etc...

Every grower has their own method....what works beautifully for some are variable or dismal results to others.

In the end, it's whatever works....keep doing it.

This is a fact and I totally agree. Because of this I'm not telling my method is better. For me it works (on AF in the same setup I used 2,5lt pots because of the increased photoperiod), so maybe, give it a try, make a comparison for yourself. It will be fun!

Green vibs bro

 

[vostok]

The root structure between photos and autos is very different, depending on the percentage of ruderalis in that strain you have, for me Short Stuff auto, (my auto staple) at about 23% ruderalis, was and has been tiny in comparison to my white widows or kerala skunk that I've been growing on and off for the last 2-3 years, then again my autos have been harvested come day 92 at the most
as with my photos that I let them grow often for a whole 9 months before harvest, ....and always work on the old adage of
1 liter of medium, per week
or 1 gallon per month the plant is with you

 

[aridbud]

As mentioned, whatever works.
This is a fact and I totally agree. Because of this I'm not telling my method is better. For me it works (on AF in the same setup I used 2,5lt pots because of the increased photoperiod), so maybe, give it a try, make a comparison for yourself. It will be fun!

Having grown AF's for 8 yrs, and photos for almost 40 yrs, we've done side-by-side comparisons.

Great that small containers work for you.

 

[noreason]

The root structure between photos and autos is very different, depending on the percentage of ruderalis in that strain you have,

Very different? May you expain this please?
I never noticed any appreciable difference between AF and photos roots, so I'm curios.

for me Short Stuff auto, (my auto staple) at about 23% ruderalis, was and has been tiny in comparison to my white widows or kerala skunk that I've been growing on and off for the last 2-3 years, then again my autos have been harvested come day 92 at the most
as with my photos that I let them grow often for a whole 9 months before harvest, ....and always work on the old adage of
1 liter of medium, per week
or 1 gallon per month the plant is with you

1 liter of medium per week for a 3 months cycle means al least 12 liters pot.
IMHO 12 liters are often too much if growing many plants in small space. It depends not only on time, but also on space and on how much light they receive.

I would use 12 liters only on big plants. This is in 11lt pot and it's like 4 months old. I can fill a 1,56m2 growbox with only 4 or 5 of those plants. If I put more in the same space, transipration will slow down a lot, and medium will be wet for more time, slowering the dry/wet cycles.


Said this, in my point of view growing with a little smaller pots can be more productive than with larger pots...and I see few growers using this tech. Most of the growers use big pots, often too big.



Beside this, one other reason to grow a lot of plants is the ''effective rate of photosynthesis'' in the early stages of growth.
Having a lot of seedlings means they will fill the growbox faster to form a canopy. In few words you will have more efficiency in carbon conversion (from CO2 to organic matter) from the start till the canopy formation.


However, as aridbud said before: In the end, it's whatever works....keep doing it. These posts are just me and my style of growing