Yield per Square Foot? Indoor Grow

[roshizzzz]

Sorry if this has been discussed infinitely but I couldn't find the figures on the forums.

What is the range for yield per the amount of floorspace (per sq.ft.)?

I recognize that skill, lighting, nutes, etc play a big role... but I'm looking for an expected range given proper lighting, proper nutes, and no mistakes.

Thanks!

 

[Giant]

1g-1lb

 

[EvilTwin]

Hi Rosh,
There are many ways to measure yield...but as a rough and dirty measure...yield/sf is useful to compare one run to the next. When doing White Widow (a medium yielder) on a 3x3 E&F table with basic nutrients I'd regularly get 1 ounce per square foot.

Once you get beyond that...it's useful to switch over to grams/watt.
ET

 

[roshizzzz]

Thanks Giant Evil Twin... this helps me refine and make clear what I'm wondering about. Simply, I can grow stealthy indoors easily if I use a 3x3 ft. space. If it seems to pay off, I'd expand that a bit (3x6) with much more set up and maintenance cost and attention.

I can add as many lights as I want but I can't add any more space.

So.. I guess I'm wondering about the balance between numbers of plants... and space for each plant... and yield. More space per plant creates a bigger plant... but would two plants in that same space create the same or greater Yield?

So... what is the optimum ratio of max yield to numbers of plants within any given space... I guess it can be per sq. ft. or more easy, how many per 3x3ft. space to produce max yield and what would that yield be in that 3 sq ft?

I gather Giant really didn't mean 1lb per square foot...?

Thanks again!

 

[EvilTwin]

I can add as many lights as I want but I can't add any more space.

Roshi...you'll learn that there's a fair amount of math to growing. People usually measure light intensity by watts/square foot. And shoot for 50-70w/sf though some people will go higher. Generally, for a 3x3 space that has a full canopy...people use a 600watt light.

So.. I guess I'm wondering about the balance between numbers of plants... and space for each plant... and yield. More space per plant creates a bigger plant... but would two plants in that same space create the same or greater Yield?

Much of this is based on your style of growing. I've done small plant sea of green with zero veg time. 23 plants in a 3x3 area (9-10 oz yield). But you could just as easily have one large plant scrog or 4 medium plant. You can't think about yield at this point...you need to think about dirt vs coco vs dwc vs E&F etc. etc.


I believe Giant was making a point with his post.
That there are too many variables to predict yield.
Cheers,
ET

 

[Lazyman]

Yeah my best runs have been around an ounce per square foot too (150 ounces out of 141 square feet) but I've had them as low as 1/3 ounce per square foot (reallllly bad crop.)

 

[OPT]

I believe I read somewhere that if your not at least getting .5 grams to every watt of light, something is terribly wrong. Don't quote me on that, it's been years.

Nowadays I see people striving for 1g/watt.

OPT

 

[Lazyman]

Yeah that's more or less true, I usually average between .6 and .7 gpw, but with flat gardens and 1kw lights it's tricky to get 1gpw. 600w bulbs are more efficient, as are vertical setups. Vert grows often exceed 1.5-2.0gpw!

 

[VerdantGreen]

i get between 2 and 3 ounces per square foot with my scrog - so it's possible to get more with an intensive method.

V.

 

[Lazyman]

Damn VG, props to you and your success! You SCROG growers sure get your shit dialed-in dontcha?

 

[EvilTwin]

Damn VG, props to you and your success! You SCROG growers sure get your shit dialed-in dontcha?

But...scrog is a veg intensive method that also ties up bloom room time waiting for the screen to fill. Also labor intensive. Not knocking your grow at all VG...most impressive, but this demonstrates the weakness of yield calculations. A sog won't yield like a scrog but it's faster with as little as zero veg time.
ET

 

[Lazyman]

Oh yeah, I think even a 2KW scrog is waay too much work for one man! Doing SCROG on a large scale is unheard of.

 

[Red Swan]

Back on Overgrow, Psychobabble got a lb in one square meter with 16 Aurora Indica plants from Nirvana under a 400. He grew 2 packs to find the best mother, then tried 12 and then on the third shot got 1 0z per plant.

He grew in handwatered hydro, a mixture of 1 inch rockwool cubes and hydroton 50/50.
Always blew me away. Watered once a day. I wish that thread were still around. Parts of it were at PG and HG 420 and both sites are gone now.

 

[EvilTwin]

Hi Guys,
Discussions about yield calculations can be interesting and useful...and that's what this thread is about. But there also is the...let's call it the "Labor of Love" issue. That is...growing strains that don't yield well...purely because we enjoy the smoke so damned much.

I'm a victim of sativa infatuation. Love to smoke stuff like Burmese sativa, Maroc (currently in bloom), Willie Nelson (SE Asian cross) and so I'll tolerate a pathetic yield that takes 12-15 weeks so that I can enjoy that type of smoke.

It's all relative...
ET

 

[Dislexus]

I wanna grow Willie Nelson and then smoke Willie Nelson while I'm listening to Willie Nelson at the Willie Nelson 4th of July Picnic concert.

 

[Dislexus]

My very first grow I got 1.25gpw, 11 oz in 7.5 sqft with a 250W.

I used everything at first but by process of elimination many grows down the line I have to say what had the most impact, besides nute regimin and a full canopy being the obvious, was seaweed extract for cytokinins, blackstrap molasses for many reasons, perfect temps, a little bit of veg time, and "vertical" lighting from when I had my kali mist tree tied over sideways.

So if you're having problems with yield just add some seaweed extract and blackstrap molasses you will see nice improvement.

 

[EvilTwin]

I wanna grow Willie Nelson and then smoke Willie Nelson while I'm listening to Willie Nelson at the Willie Nelson 4th of July Picnic concert.

I'm with you on that one fo' sure! And I just started using a seaweed extract from Mother Nature Organics. Only a month into flower so it's a little early to tell.

Now this is a little yield story...call it an urban ganja myth or whatever. I don't know if I'm going to try it this grow...but I may. I have no sources for any of this. For amusement only...

There's a famous Jamaican strain called Lambsbread. Some say that it got this name from the soft smoke and the large buds like a loaf of bread.

This is how the Jamaican's created those huge buds. (or so the story goes)

A week before harvest, they would pollinate the entire crop. That would cause the already large sensimilla buds to expand as the calixes prepared for seed-making. But then before any seeds grew...the crop was harvested.

I don't really see any risk from trying this. any thoughts or opinions?
One Love,
ET

 

[SOTF420]

A week before harvest, they would pollinate the entire crop. That would cause the already large sensimilla buds to expand as the calixes prepared for seed-making. But then before any seeds grew...the crop was harvested.

I don't really see any risk from trying this. any thoughts or opinions?

It works to increase harvest weight surely but you do run the risk of the buds smoking kinda harsh from all the little tiny white immature seeds in it. Really gotta time it right but if you are that desperate for weight then you should grow more plants or get more light.

I also think it is kind of evil to pollinate a plant and then not let the little seeds mature, very bad karma.

 

[Dislexus]

Dude you just blew my mind. Can't do it growing indoors tho too much of a hassle to wipe the room down with bleach after every harvest.

 

[EvilTwin]

Dude you just blew my mind. Can't do it growing indoors tho too much of a hassle to wipe the room down with bleach after every harvest.

Dislexus,
Save the bleach. In open air, pollen only lives a couple weeks.

And leave it to a Californian to bring Karma into the mix... lol
ET