15 plants in a 5X5 Space - Should I train?

[clp]

Hey guys,
I have a ton of seedlings right now and over the next couple weeks I will be picking the best seedlings for my 5 X 5 X 7 W/L/H tent but with equipment 5 feet vertical to work with. I am growing both stages under a 1000W MH bulb. I have exactly 15 spots (1 spot being taken up by a fan - maybe I should mount it to the wall?) and will be ending the grow in 5 gallon grow bags on 14" saucers. I am looking for MAX yield on this grow.


Strain wise I am growing mandala #1 and Original Haze X Skunk #1. Both of them especially the OHSK1 are somewhat tall strains and I feel that some training may be needed to control height.

We will be giving the Mandala #1 a 2 week veg and the OHSK1 a 1 week veg to make sure that they don't get to tall during the stretch.

The thing is whether or not I will have space to train them.

I would love to SCROG but I feel that with this many plants my canopy will be too tight and mashed together.

With LST I feel that they may get too bushy and once again crowd the others and go out of their 14" or so tray area.

I don't really want to do any slicing or chopping to these plants besides basic pruning. I am on a semi-limited time frame and want the quickest crop possible so these will add too much time onto veg.

Should I just let them grow straight up and support them as they grow? Will they get too tall for the tent if I do it this way?

Any advice on how to get the most yield out of my 15 plants?

Thanks again IC

 

[orangejuice]

15 plants in 5gal bags in a 5x5 space? are you sure that would even fit? i grow in a 4x4 area with super cropping and 6 pants in 3 gallon pots completely fills the grow area, like DENSE jungle. so i'd prolly avoid any sort of training in your case, but i really dont think you can fit 15 5gal bags into 5x5 anyway. (not to say it's impossible, sure you can jam them in there but 15 plants in 5 gal bag with only 2 week veg seems overkill)

 

[clp]

Yea after thinking about the veg time that I want I think Im going to go with 3 gallon bags.. With that little veg time most of the soil wouldn't be used I'm guessing. I think I'm going to go with a more SOG type approach, just a little bigger then most.

 

[clp]

BUMP - I think I'm going to move them down to the 3 gallon bags for sure, I still have the same question though.. Would I be able to fit that many trained plants into a 5X5 space? Which method of training is most space efficient.

 

[Stoner Chick]

I am growing in a 4x4 space and plan on keeping it down to 9-12 girls. At first i was going to go with 16 but from what people say, it would be an uncontrollable jungle that would just have a negative impact on my final yield. I am also using 3 gal bags.

I think you can probably do it with some heavy training.

 

[Rysam]

pack em' tight and flower short. Its gonna be a jungle in there.

Ever consider doing some form of vert? I was a doubter until this round, I doubt i'll ever go flat again. my 6 are already fuller than they usually finish at and I have 4 weeks to go. Its all about the VSCROG next time. my room is 3.5 x 7 with a 6' ceiling and a 1k hps

 

[aqualungs]

You can fit 9 in a 4X4 in 5 gallon buckets, so may be 12 in a 5X5.

 

[clp]

I can fit 15 5 gal bags + there 14 inch drainage saucers in the tent but its pretty tight. Do I want to go that tight?

I'm only going to be vegging the mandala #1 for around 2-3 weeks and the OHSK1 1-2 weeks. If I use a 5 gal will it even be filled up by the end or will soil be wasted?

 

[clp]

pack em' tight and flower short. Its gonna be a jungle in there.

Ever consider doing some form of vert? I was a doubter until this round, I doubt i'll ever go flat again. my 6 are already fuller than they usually finish at and I have 4 weeks to go. Its all about the VSCROG next time. my room is 3.5 x 7 with a 6' ceiling and a 1k hps

I may go vert in the future but right now I have the setup all set for going horizontal.

 

[Stoner Chick]

I can fit 15 5 gal bags + there 14 inch drainage saucers in the tent but its pretty tight. Do I want to go that tight?

I'm only going to be vegging the mandala #1 for around 2-3 weeks and the OHSK1 1-2 weeks. If I use a 5 gal will it even be filled up by the end or will soil be wasted?

How will you tend to them with them packed so tightly?

I am vegging for 3 weeks, and only going for 3 gallon smart pots. I do not think 1-3 weeks is enough time to fill a 5 gal even by the end of flowering.

 

[clp]

How will you tend to them with them packed so tightly?

I am vegging for 3 weeks, and only going for 3 gallon smart pots. I do not think 1-3 weeks is enough time to fill a 5 gal even by the end of flowering.

This is what I'm starting to figure out as well. There would be alot of medium wasted, and unnecessary space taken up. I think 3 gallon grow bags woudl be my best bet. I think I'm still going to fit around 15 in the tent though, they will just be a bit smaller. Now should I train them or not? LST seems like the best bet for these plants as a scrog would have a MASSIVE canopy. Although maybe I am mistaken.. Any guidance?

 

[simon]

I can fit 15 5 gal bags + there 14 inch drainage saucers in the tent but its pretty tight. Do I want to go that tight?

Depends on how you go about it. I can only discuss my own experience. I run a plant per square foot, LST'd, 2gal pot, vegged 2-6 weeks (depending on seed/clone/strain), pruned to remove all secondary branches. All the bud is on top. From seed, the plants stay at 2-3' (not including pot) with 5-8 main stems extending into the canopy; we're essentially dealing with 5-8 colas per square foot. Plants being plants overlap and find their own way, so the square foot measure is a per plant average.

Tending isn't all that difficult. It takes ~1 hour per day in a 3.8' x 12' room. The plants are lifted slightly, by hand, to check for moisture and watered. The fertilizer mix is already in place and the watering can holds the exact amount needed for a 2gal pot.

Simon

 

[Stoner Chick]

Now should I train them or not? LST seems like the best bet for these plants as a scrog would have a MASSIVE canopy. Although maybe I am mistaken.. Any guidance?

From what i have read, training seems the best way to maximize your bud yield. But i have no clue how to train, and am not looking forward to that part of growing...I just fear breaking branches and destroying everything. This grow stuff is easy to over think and then wreck everything, like i think i may be in the process of doing!

Good luck!

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Stick with the 9 plants.

Don't LST... as it will increase the diameter of your plants.

Keep your veg time short.

Pinch the stem of any stalks that shoot up above the canopy. It'll slow em down for a day or so and let the rest of the canopy catch up. (Don't have to bend it over... just crush it with your fingers... it should stay standing)

You'll do great


Be sure to take lots of notes.


Stay Safe!

 

[Stoner Chick]

Stick with the 9 plants.

Don't LST... as it will increase the diameter of your plants.

Keep your veg time short.

Pinch the stem of any stalks that shoot up above the canopy. It'll slow em down for a day or so and let the rest of the canopy catch up. (Don't have to bend it over... just crush it with your fingers... it should stay standing)

You'll do great


Be sure to take lots of notes.


Stay Safe!

This is the advice i am going to use on my grow.

Thanks Hydro-Soil!

 

[clp]

Stick with only 9 plants? How long of a veg time would you recommend if I'm trying to fill out my tent completely. I already have quite a few seedlings so I'd like to fit as many plants as possible, obviously I will be taking the best females out of the bunch.

 

[orangejuice]

But i have no clue how to train, and am not looking forward to that part of growing...I just fear breaking branches and destroying everything. This grow stuff is easy to over think and then wreck everything, like i think i may be in the process of doing!

don't worry about it too much, you can snap the stems over and it heals fine, pretty hard to actually hurt a living plant once it's well established.

 

[Oregongrow]

find a torrent of the video seemorebuds. guy does like 100 plants in a 4x6 space.

 

[U4EA]

Choo choo!!

 

[clp]

Okay I have officially decided to go 15 plants in 3 gal bags. That is assuming all 15 healthy females come out of these seeds which as of right now may not happen. That wouldn't be a huge deal though, we have 20 of the original haze X skunk #1 germinating and hardly any of them are cracking..

If I do get my plant number up to 15 in 3 gal bags would this work? Will I still be packed in there too tightly? If I have that many plants I'm going to grow straight up not a whole lot of training. I'm going to be vegging for 2-3 weeks at the most.