what is better, # of plants or gal of soil??

[thegrower]

Ok here is my dilemma: I have limited space but i want to maximize it for the best possible yeild. Given that, what would be more productive, assume plants have been vegged for 7weeks, ive got about 2.5'x2.5' of floor space:

a) 4 plants in 5 gal containers

b) 5 plants in 3gal containers

I know B would probably get crowded in the end but im wondering would it yeild more than A? I am already doing heavy LST and may to a scrog in the end depending on how bushy things get... so what do you guys think?

 

[StayHigh149]

Alot of that depends on ur vertical space, lighting & airflow. I can't answer ur question but these other details will help more experienced heads help ya out.

 

[Skunkenstein]

If you have the chance,you're garden will be far more productive using cuttings.Unfortunately seed plants gobble so much vertical space..esp depending on the Genetic make-up.It's a fine line..In order to make the big container pay-off you need to veg the plant longer..It's been my theory..Too many plants under one light=Too much popcorn bud.What wattage are you running? A good friend of mine has done all the experiments..He has finally settled on 4plants in 5gal containers under each 1000w light. Granted,he has a full size room,and knows the strain well..the plants really perform well in the bigger containers and extra space.

 

[Dan42nepa]

if you are planting from seed i would go with 5 because you may get 2 males and end up with 3 anyway.

 

[thegrower]

ah ok lemme clraify some more-

assume all 5 plants are females... the vertical space isnt an issue its more the horizontal space that an issue [they are all LST trained so they are short, VERY bushy plants, with many growth tips [about 7-15 per plant]

so with that new info what the better choice- 4 fems in 5gal containers or 5 fems in 3 gals?

oh and its a 250w hps light, it may seem small but i made it do big thing with my last grow (4plnts in 2.5gal containers made 8oz dry)

 

[cobalt]

my opinion would be 4 in 5 gall tubs, its a lot of fookin around its another plant you dont need to worry about , watering, feeding, turning etc. am going 3 in 5 gal tubs, would have been 4 but 1 never showed

 

[thegrower]

yeah it is more work but would it also be more yeild? or would the 5gal allow more root growth thus providing more yeild with less plants?

 

[Guest]

I'd go with more plants flowered in 3 gal pots,with proper transplanting I've yet to flower an indoor plant that required more than 3 gal to finish,and I veg for weeks also.I'm talking about indica dom strains but I flower my FS grapefruit in the same 3 gal as my indica's though they stretch more and they still finish fine

 

[jojajico]

in genral the larger the container the greater the yeild. but it takes longer for you to harvest. so though at harvest number one u may have more zips per plant in the 5 gallon but it took u longer to get that extra yeild time which would have been better spent using smaller pots.. getting a smaller yeild but getting more overall. its basic SOG but u as an individual grower have to determine the best pot and plant ratios for your area specific to your strain ect. for example if you were growing out a pure sativa or something that could take near half a year or more to finish then u are going to have to grow few plants because they will need huge pots.

 

[DJ_highst_]

like what ballastman said, if you dont veg long enough, the larger pots wont be worth it. I generally dont use 5 gallon pots unless they are going to be flowered outdoors. You would be surprised how big plants can get in just 1 gallon and 3 gallon pots. Sometimes you dont need a 5 gallon, even if you are vegging for a while indoors.

short veg time- 3gallon pots

Long veg time- 5 gallon with less plants

 

[brightside]

best yeild in the shortest time - sog 25 plants in 6inch pots - reduced veg time same flowering time as growing trees - however do you realy want 25 plants in your grow area ?

- yes the 5 plants in 3 gal containers will need less veg time (and so be quicker) than the 4 in 5 gal containers - good luck

 

[JJScorpio]

If you veg 5 plants for 50 days and then put them to flower in that small an area, they are going to choke each other out. A 50 day vegged plant is going to get large. I suppose you could trim all the side growth and leave 4 or 5 branches per plant. You may be better knocking it down to 3 plants or veg less period of time.....

 

[Guest]

another consideration is your state laws.
check www.norml.org if you're in the states.
my state screws ya for 5 or more plants. under 5 plants and it's not as harsh.
now if thats not an issue then 5 in 3 gal w/short veg time.

 

[thegrower]

why would amount of soil effect finish time? i though that was related to the strain not the amount of soil?

aka: 80day strain will finish in 80days be it in 1gal or in 5gal but the 5gal will get bigger just cause the roots have more room to grow = larger plant

I have vegged these guys like 7weeks and plan on flowering 8-10weeks, the strain is Dutch Passion blueberry (80% indica / 20% sativa)

 

[BonsaiGrower]

I'm in the process of experimenting with different ways just like you are asking.

check out my diary maybe it'll help.

I'm trying Scrog,Sog,2 plants, 4 plants, 6 plants...all in recycling bins.

here's a few shots








I'm curious too...not concerned with quantity but more with quality. I might help you in the process of my experimentation.

Peace Bro, good luck
BG

 

[JJScorpio]

The amount of soil will not affect finish time, the amount of veg time will though. A 25 day vegged plant is not going to show sex as fast as a 50 day vegged plant will.

 

[BonsaiGrower]

a quick scan over again...did I miss something? thought the questions was yield not flower time. ...sorry if I missed it

 

[thegrower]

If you veg 5 plants for 50 days and then put them to flower in that small an area, they are going to choke each other out. A 50 day vegged plant is going to get large. I suppose you could trim all the side growth and leave 4 or 5 branches per plant. You may be better knocking it down to 3 plants or veg less period of time.....

thats a big concern too, they are already in each others hair.... i was thinking of SCROG for this reason.... would that help to maximize / detangle the space?

heres where i am right now [still in the small containers]:

 

[thc43]

my last grow sog 9x plants in a 50 lt bed grow just over 5lt of coco per plant. plants finnished faster by a week than same strains vegged longer in 55lt pots scrogged 1x 600wt per plant.

Yield was about the same scrig yielding about 1/5th more but took longer, buds where smaller maby tighter but stretched more early in flow with the sog growing upwards not out like in scrog. Quallity of the smoke the scrog 1x plant per light 55lt pot wins hands down may even have more trics sure is stickier and nicer tasting although the week longer flush may have helped there.. Could just be this strain wasnt such a differance in other strain more indica but if what im told about bigbud being an outdoor bush plant strain she would be use to the long veg we get here out there in nature where maby she belongs

Sog bigbud

scrog bigbud


end of sog bigbud flower


a week to go scrog bugbud


at harvest the soil from the bed grow came out like as a slab rock hard roots, while coco was still fluffy in the big pots. In the pics you can see the scrog stretched more ending in fatter longer buds maby with more single blade leaves. i guess the sog simply ran out of root space and started to slowly stunt making buds look chunkier in the mid stage of flower but they didnt finnish as well during the last weeks of PK doses..

 

[Guest]

I'd go with more plants flowered in 3 gal pots,with proper transplanting I've yet to flower an indoor plant that required more than 3 gal to finish,and I veg for weeks also.I'm talking about indica dom strains but I flower my FS grapefruit in the same 3 gal as my indica's though they stretch more and they still finish fine

Ballastman nailed it, especially with indica bushes. I cycle 8 different strains in perpetual to give me a chop a week, in 4-gal buckets. Finish most in 70-80 days, average zip per chop at 4 foot tall.

I've used 5 gal pots, 6-8" pots, 6" pots 18" deep- went back to 4 gal buckets after a lot of wasted time and expense with the others. Indicas can finish well in 6" pots at 2 foot tall, I've seen some 3-4 foot tall and no signs of rootbound.

Anything over 3 gals is overkill and wasted space if you aren't growing trees IMHO. My flower cabs are 2x4 with 8 foot ceilings (2 feet taken up by lights and hoods, another foot taken by pots). The plants can go to 5 foot tall, but most finish well below that, around 3 feet. Sativas need all the room they can get.

General opinion seems to be 3 gal pots in most grows that I watch. If you do scrog, the canopy will smother, fewer plants will yeild better. Individual cola plants take a square foot of area with a girth of 2 feet on some, depending on FIM and topping. All my plants veg 6 weeks until they hit about 2 feet tall.

With a low wattage light and doing scrog in a 2x2 area I would say you will be lucky to yeild .33gpw on 3 plants vs .56gpw on 5 plants. A quarter gram yeild increase over 3 plants wouldn't justify bigger pots for me. Keep in mind that lower wattage lights will take longer to finish a strain, most breeder reports are based on minimum 1k lights and ideal grow conditions. Yours will probably take 4 times longer to finish than someone with a 1k grow.

My experience and observations won't buy a coffee tho, just my 2-cents' worth. Cheers, good luck....





See ya in chat.............