Green Smoke
Member
I think Red has hit it on the head. Anything so small that it requires you to alter the natural growth of a plant.
What do you consider a Micro Grow?
- Thread starter Barney Fife
- Start date
M
mrred
400w and under, 600 is not micro imo
I base it off wattage, because for a given wattage you're only going to have a certain area you can cover effectively. You could use 150w to cover a 10x10 room, but you're really only going to get 2-4 square feet of effective coverage.
Some micro-growers use cabinets, some don't. I'd say 400 & up are just outside of the territory of what I'd consider a microgrow.
Some micro-growers use cabinets, some don't. I'd say 400 & up are just outside of the territory of what I'd consider a microgrow.
LadyLargely
Member
Genius.
I'd say you're in micro territory when you're started to think really hard about how to fit as much bud as you can in a given space. Being unwilling to let the plants grow as nature intended is one of the sure-fire signs:
344 watts into 6 vertical inches is where micro growing took me. I have graduated to a room recently, but years of growing in a 24 inch tall cabinet still shows in my grow style.
There are a lot of distinctions you could make when designating what a 'micro' grow is; trying to figure out what might 'belong' here in the micro forums. Part of me sees the argument for measuring strictly by small wattage numbers. There is a whole spectrum of growers who look at a 150 watt HPS like its the motherfucking sun!
Like that russian cat who runs around on here growing out of a pair of speakers. One of them is a really small HID, like 70 watt HPS. Its amazing. Lights, medium, plant, ventilation, filtration, electronics & switchgear, all packed in a sub-cubic-foot volume. I think this is the true spirit of MICRO gardening.
That said, this isn't really representitive of your average cannabis gardener. These micro grows are works of pure genius and getting one to yield worth a shit takes unbelievable dedication and skill.
No, I think many more gardeners are a step up from that. We've chosen the word 'Micro' to designate this forum, but it doesn't describe most of us.
I think the true spirit of these forums is cabinet growing.
If you can't stand in your grow space, its a micro.
Micro grows are people who are limited to spaces that aren't rooms. I have a room now (very small one, barely a 'room') and so the distinction seems much more significant to me. 'micro' is working towards efficiency like redgreenry said, but also I think stealth and a compact nature are implicit in the spirit of these forums.
And that means certain medium-to-large size HIDs (400-600 for instance) could be roped into this catagory. Skillfull installations can wrangle big hot HID lamps into remarkably small spaces. Clever ventilation and creative training setups can bring medium HPS systems into a league of their own. Ordinary gardeners in open setups without CO2 supplimentation can absolutely obliterate the 1 gram-per-watt mark with this combination.
Which brings us to another distinction that others here have already mentioned: 'micro' grows should be strictly personal-stash affairs. I think anything built and/or run with the sale of marijuana anywhere on the priority list should be largely disguarded from the discussion here. Micro techniques tend to run intense training schedules. This takes a lot of time per plant and for a given quantity of yield. This makes no sense for a commercial setup. Its only any good for we enthusiasts who enjoy spending this time with our plants.
For me, intense ScrOG complete with heavy supercropping requires a good chunk of time, sometimes every day during periods of stretch in early 12/12. But even if I didn't do this I would still stand there in my box, staring at the ladies. Might as well do something during that time.
So even though I've moved up to a small room, rather than a true micro-box, the spirit of micro gardeners will never leave me. I'm addicted to high-maintinence training techniques and will do them no matter how big I go. I'd still be training and pushing for max GPW in a given space even if I had a whole house to grow in. Old habits and equiptment coupled with no money to replace it means I will continue to use my transplanted micro techniques for some time.
LadyLargely
Member
Hah, grouchy, not trying to define micro growing, we're (or at least I'm) trying to describe micro growing!
You are certainly correct in that it is impossible to define. Micro grows mean too much to too many people in too many different situations to be solidly categorized. But that doesn't mean it can't be characterized. As different as micro growers are from one-another, as unique each micro grow is, as mad and unconventional as some micro setups are I think we all have a common spirit.
Things like striving for efficiency, hiding in plain site and growing for personal use are factors that nearly all of us have in common. That's why my response is filled with flexibility. Some 400 watt HPS grows could be considered micro, some couldn't.
You could never define micro gardening but I think you could definitely describe its spirit. As different as micro gardeners are we're all banded together by certain values. We carry a torch for purity and even though we may drop it occasionally we are warriors; guardians of a simple faith: Our Bud
You are certainly correct in that it is impossible to define. Micro grows mean too much to too many people in too many different situations to be solidly categorized. But that doesn't mean it can't be characterized. As different as micro growers are from one-another, as unique each micro grow is, as mad and unconventional as some micro setups are I think we all have a common spirit.
Things like striving for efficiency, hiding in plain site and growing for personal use are factors that nearly all of us have in common. That's why my response is filled with flexibility. Some 400 watt HPS grows could be considered micro, some couldn't.
You could never define micro gardening but I think you could definitely describe its spirit. As different as micro gardeners are we're all banded together by certain values. We carry a torch for purity and even though we may drop it occasionally we are warriors; guardians of a simple faith: Our Bud
G
guest123
The answer is easy IMO.
Anything up to and including a 2K secret jardin 240W (around 30 square ft.)
Anything up to and including a 2K secret jardin 240W (around 30 square ft.)
M
mrred
the personal stash is the biggest factor i think
Hah, grouchy, not trying to define micro growing, we're (or at least I'm) trying to describe micro growing!
You are certainly correct in that it is impossible to define. Micro grows mean too much to too many people in too many different situations to be solidly categorized. But that doesn't mean it can't be characterized. As different as micro growers are from one-another, as unique each micro grow is, as mad and unconventional as some micro setups are I think we all have a common spirit.
Things like striving for efficiency, hiding in plain site and growing for personal use are factors that nearly all of us have in common. That's why my response is filled with flexibility. Some 400 watt HPS grows could be considered micro, some couldn't.
You could never define micro gardening but I think you could definitely describe its spirit. As different as micro gardeners are we're all banded together by certain values. We carry a torch for purity and even though we may drop it occasionally we are warriors; guardians of a simple faith: Our Bud
I think this is the best way to understand a micro grow
Dimebagg
Member
I tried a grow with less than one light once, wasnt anything to write home about
grouchy
Active member
I hope it was outdoorsI tried a grow with less than one light once, wasnt anything to write home about
BKindication
Member
So Micro is when you have an acute awareness of your space and you utilize every inch of space to it's fullest through techniques like LST, bonsai, SCROG/vert SCROG.
The cab and bulb size don't seem to define micro as much as the attention to detail required to dial one of these in.
I've seen cabs that could supply 4-5 patients that I'd consider micro. I've also seen rooms filled with cabinets for a macro/micro setup, multiple setups staggered.
Chief Rbud
Member
micro grow = tiny little buds. lol so if you intended to grow micro, but pulled a quarter pound off your 1 girl, then maybe it isnt micro. but who cares anyway, if you were used to growing with 10000 watts HID in a 12x12 room and now are restricted to 1 600 W HPS in a big closet then youd consider that micro.and if you were used to growing in a speaker box, with 2 23W cfl's and then got a 400W hps and put it in a closet, you probably wouldnt consider yourself micro anymore right? its all relative to one's perspective imo.
Micro growing can't be determined by wattage. Compared to the Sun, there's little difference between a 1K and a penlight, all indoor grows would be micro. A room is a room, a small room is a small room, a cab is a cab, a small cab is a small cab, a tent is a tent. Until you can easily pick up the entire garden with one hand, your grow is not extraordinarily small. If it's not extraordinarily small, it's not micro.
grouchy
Active member
A freezer is a ....nevermind
It's a subjective opinion.
The definition of micro is: small, very small, or on a small scale
Like someone said. To him, micro is something he can carry around in one hand. To me, it's smaller than what I grow. That's 5 flowering plants, and 6 unsexed seedlings. Yet, in my opinion, my grow is small. It's smaller than the 12 plant limits in many medical marijuana states.
It's like comparing a room to an entire house, or a house to a field. Everyone is growing within their means.
EDIT: Looking over Illinois Law, Up to 5 plants would be a misdemeanor and micro in my opinion.
The definition of micro is: small, very small, or on a small scale
Like someone said. To him, micro is something he can carry around in one hand. To me, it's smaller than what I grow. That's 5 flowering plants, and 6 unsexed seedlings. Yet, in my opinion, my grow is small. It's smaller than the 12 plant limits in many medical marijuana states.
It's like comparing a room to an entire house, or a house to a field. Everyone is growing within their means.
EDIT: Looking over Illinois Law, Up to 5 plants would be a misdemeanor and micro in my opinion.
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