another new one

[ValkyrieAg]

Hey guys, been looking around the past month or so. Finally signed up. I am from the southern US. I am 21 and in college. I haven't ever grown to flowered maturity, but I have a closet garden started right now. It is my first real grow. I have 5 (five)- 4 week old NorthernBerrys from peakseeds/BC. They are 13" tall. I also have 2 plants that I suppose are Columbian. I pulled the seeds out of some great schwag. They are about 8" tall. My growing area is about 18 square feet. My light is a 400W HPS. Actually, when i bought lights, i figured hell, i'll buy 2 lights....so i actually have a whole nother 400wHPS brand new in a box. I guess i'll rig it up to supplement the other 400 during flowering. Either that, or I may set it up in another closet that is about 12sq feet. That way i have one area for veg and one for flowering. I suppose the bigger closet will do best for flowering since the plants will be biggest at that point. I am actually kinda new to the whole pot thing. I only recently (past 2 years) started smoking regularly. I spent my first two years of college drinking /partying heavily which took a toll on me. I now have a much safer alternative and no hangover....which means i can actually get a few things done.

I have a question, i have read the FAQ and QA but i can't seem to find the answer im looking for.

What is the maximum number of plants a 400W HPS can grow in veg? If i plan on growing, i might as well fill the area with plants. I've had all my pots in there at one time and i can fit about 35 pots (my standard 8s). Can a 400W grow 35 plants that are 18" and smaller? (I plan on flowering around 18") I actually have about 25 more pots that are mixed and filled and ready for service. I am going to buy 20 "mixed" seeds from peakseed and germ em asap. Any remainding pot will get some good schwag seeds. I'll have pictures in the future. My current plants look great and happy.

[Return of The Joker]

Welcome to Growkind! :wave:

As far as how many plants a light will grow.....There is no exact answer. It depends on your setup, how far away they are, how big they are, what kind of reflection you are using....it goes on and on. Right now I only have 5 plants flowering under a 400W HPS and they take up all the light. Someone with smaller plants might be able to fit more. I would say you will need both lights to do 20 or more plants, IMO. Again...welcome, and good luck!

[ThAtGUy]

welcome aboard Val...
im a newbie here but can be found at many other places....i have a 400 and a 250 watt hps that is lighting up 3 ladies right now....i probably could get a few more plants under them but due to space thats all i can fit....my buds are usually very tight and usually a nice size also....i keep it to three plants because i dont want a bunch of stringy buds id rather have fewer dense nugs..
if i was you i would buy a couple cfl's (this is if you have the space) and make them my veg lights and i would use the second closet for another flowering chamber and have 2 rooms going....because you realy dont need much room for veg...im on my 7th succesful grow and i use a very little room for veg and it seems to work rather well..

well hope all turns out as u want and welcome again...
oh by the way the people here are very welcoming and seem to be very knowledgeable..so good luck with all....Tg

[Administrator]

Welcome to GK :wave:

If you are going to flower the plants at 18" then expect them to at least double if not triple in size. I ran a 430W and flowered my clones at 15"....they were close to 3 feet tall at harvest which is perfect for a 400W. Anything more and you're simply wasting time vegging the plants. That being said....the MAX you should have is roughly 9 plants...that's 1 plant per sqft in a 3 x 3 area which is what a 400W is good for. I think 35 plants is a bit much for one 400W. It's better to have fewer plants than have a shitload all trying to compete for the resources.

[ThAtGUy]

It's better to have fewer plants than have a shitload all trying to compete for the resources.
also seriously you dont want to be taken care of 30 or so plants..

[Bud Greenright]

Welcome and hello.:wave: Good to see someone who waited until they got into college to start smoking. Thats the time and place for anyone to take up the herb. Lord knows I did.:)

[CREATIVE GARDENER]

i know at first i thought i was going to get a shitload of plants growing at one time. but as they started to really grow i clearly saw how much room they can take up.
i was initially looking at the container size to determine how many. but the plants grew way larger than the pot. they were 2' wide before i knew it.

like sparky said, don't make them compete too much. i'll just keep my smaller ones under flos til theres room for them. i'd say play it by ear and you'll figure it out.
peace, CG

[TheApprentice]

i see you are thinking about adding an extra set of 400w hps to your grow?Just be careful your grow room isnt too small cos thats a lot of light,my closet couldnt handle anymore than 600w hps but yours could be a lot bigger,just a thought.Peace

[wawona]

welcome to growkind.

[Randy High]

Welcome!

[Mr Douglas]

Welcome, ValkyrieAg :wave:

Stick around, you'll find alot of good advise here! :punk:

[ValkyrieAg]

yeah thanks guys. Yeah, i'd smoked in HS, but only when someone offered it occasionally. I think its hard to get into the habit when you only smoke every now and then. It took me a month before I could analyze/appreciate the high. Now its kinda part of my routine.

Yeah, I have another 400w brand new...but its a little overkill to have 800w right now.

Scenario: Northern Berry plant under a 400w light. It is flowered at 18" 5.5weeks from seed. How much will this plant yeild? I understand that it can very from plant to plant and enviromental factors and whatnot, Im just looking for a ballpark. Im hoping/guessing for at least 1oz/plant.

[Administrator]

I always averaged around 2 oz dry weight per plant under a 430W. If that helps any. 2 oz per is good for a 400W.

[ValkyrieAg]

and what size are you flowering those plants? any pruning or anything like that?

[ThAtGUy]

i just got into this myself and i never touch my plants cause of inexperience and nervousness.....but i get between 1 and 2 o's a plant also...and i only veg for 30 days..you'll get what you put in :) ..and from your choice of strain,i'd say you got the thumb!!

[Administrator]

and what size are you flowering those plants? any pruning or anything like that?

I'm referring to clones vegged to around 15" - 18" then put to flower. They end up close to 36" at harvest. I always pruned lower branches yes. Only the main dominant colas made the final grade in my garden.

[ValkyrieAg]

Great. So another question. I left the door open the other day, and my cat went in there and ripped a leaf off of one of my plants, so part of one plant is just stem with not much leaf on the lower portion. I'm sure this is fine, but how exactly do female buds form? do they pack on the mainstem? Do i need to worry about keeping leaves on there? Will it form a cola eventually?

[ThAtGUy]

i wouldnt worry about the missing leaves but...you probably want to try to keep your cat away from the plants as much as possible (its like candy to them)...buds are usually at the "v" of a node then somewhere along the middle and then at the tip(this being the colas)....and like herbsparky said he cuts his lower growth anyhow so i dont think u have much to worry about...

[ThAtGUy]

I always pruned lower branches yes. .
herb how many of the lower branches do you usually cut?