Plant quantity vs growth size ratio to yield question?

[Aeroponicnoob]

Hi guys I am new to the forum so sorry if this isn't the right place for this question. but after doing a lot of research I have decided to used Pirates DIY 3x3 Aeroponic system: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=113425

now i have a few questions, pirate says that he puts 7 rows and 7 column in this 3x3 setup thats 49 plants... seems like a lot and so that means it suppresses the growth size of plants and i would have to switch from vegetation to flowering faster ?

but on the other isnt it true that the longer you let the plant vegetate it would give more yield? so what is more efficient, more plants (49) in a 3x3 setup with 2 inch net cups or say 25 plants in 3" net cups with longer vegetation time making them get bigger and longer before switching to flowering?

can anyone please give me advice this is my first grow i am going to use the aero setup with 1 600 watt Hps and 600 watt mh

i want maximum yield from this 3x3 setup what would give me the best yield and how much would that be in ideal environment?
thanks

 

[tenthirty]

This is the sog method. Mother selection is of the utmost importance to pull this off.

That method is advanced and fraught with danger for a first timer. Root rot comes to mind.

You would be well served to master sog with 4" rockwool blocks and then move forward to the aero system.

Here is a part of my sog at day 24.

 

[Aeroponicnoob]

okay so what if i make a similar aeroponic system with 6 plants on it? how much will it yield under 600 watt?

 

[greenmatter]

aeroponics for your first grow? ......... pretty ballsy decision

god luck

 

[Aeroponicnoob]

come on now dont hate on my dreams just provide me with some answers. if everyone puts me down about it then ill never get it! lol

so again how about 3x3 aero setup like pirates with 6 plants in 6" net cups under 600 hps would yield?

 

[MIway]

come on now dont hate on my dreams just provide me with some answers. if everyone puts me down about it then ill never get it! lol

so again how about 3x3 aero setup like pirates with 6 plants in 6" net cups under 600 hps would yield?

Its not hating brother... Seems you have an expressed goal of hitting the ground running and putting out weight... Gm is just pointing out yhat going aero isnt the best method to that end.

 

[greenmatter]

Its not hating brother... Seems you have an expressed goal of hitting the ground running and putting out weight... Gm is just pointing out yhat going aero isnt the best method to that end.

^^^^^^^ YUP !

i'm not here to hate on anybody or their dreams ....... i just want to see everyone avoid nightmares

i would go with coco on your first grow if you want to go in the direction of Aero. it's pretty cheap to start out, you will get some hands on experience with nutes, and it will give you some time to get the room dialed in (which IMHO is more important than how you are growing)

biting off more than you can chew is not the way to start gardening ......... and not setting yourself up to fail is a fucking art form

whatever you do i hope it works out for you!!! sorry if i sounded like a buzzkill

 

[TribalSeeds]

I started out aero and would not recommend that to any first timer.
When I switched to coco I decided to never think about aero again.

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

I started out aero and would not recommend that to any first timer.
When I switched to coco I decided to never think about aero again.

Same here, except with NFT not Aero.

To the OP, what you are talking about is a true Sea of Green, SOG, 6" square per plant. I believe this is the most efficient method there is, just. For years I ran a "fake SOG" with 16 plants SCROGed into 4 heads, keeping plant numbers down, but only loosing a few more days vegging on 18h. When I ran a full bore SOG I found that the quality, vigour of the mothers is especially important, likewise propagation and critically, the first week of veg after propagation. Done right, my best plant was flowered at 4", 10cm. Your "Target" yield is 10 or 12g per plantlet, done right you can get more.

When I get another one going, I want to concentrate on testing out lolipopping techniques, grow the cut one, two or 3 nodes more, but trim some off, meticulous records and photos for reference make for easy work and advances. Likewise, if you can make your table setup have higher plants at the edges to create a natural stadium effect, it is free yield, IMO.

This is a "fake SOG" with the bigger plants put on the outside, on upside down pots, coco, drain to waste, this was my friends first ever grow, 4M2, 600w PSM, 1.2 GPW.

 

[socialist]

but on the other isnt it true that the longer you let the plant vegetate it would give more yield? so what is more efficient, more plants (49) in a 3x3 setup with 2 inch net cups or say 25 plants in 3" net cups with longer vegetation time making them get bigger and longer before switching to flowering?

The bigger the plant the larger the plant will yield because it has more flower sites. It's personell preference. Do you want to veg longer? Are you good at keeping nice healthy trees through out your veg? Do you have the ability and space to have many smaller plants in your veg? Do you have a strain that is good for SOG? There many questions to ask yourself before you decide. Most likely you will have to try both several times to decide which you prefer.

I personally do both. I switch it up from time to time to keep it interesting.

 

[VerdantGreen]

asking what you will yield from your first grow, or any grow, is a futile question - it depends on so many things, not least on whether or not you know what you are doing.

but good growers with good genetics can get 1 gram per watt and even a bit more - so realistically you might get anywhere from zero to maybe 3 pounds....

plant quantity is immaterial on flowering yield, its good canopy management that gets the yields however many plants you have .

VG

 

[Aeroponicnoob]

The bigger the plant the larger the plant will yield because it has more flower sites. It's personell preference. Do you want to veg longer? Are you good at keeping nice healthy trees through out your veg? Do you have the ability and space to have many smaller plants in your veg? Do you have a strain that is good for SOG? There many questions to ask yourself before you decide. Most likely you will have to try both several times to decide which you prefer.

I personally do both. I switch it up from time to time to keep it interesting.

Thank you all. I have limited space, I have decided to make my own aeroponic system with 6-8 plants total in a 4x4 space under 600w light. I would like to let the plants vegetate longer and get to max potential. as of right now i am going to use 120 psi pump with bio control nozzles.

my question is does anyone know why pirate suggests to use bottanicare tray and ABS plasitc instead of regular 15-60 gallon totes?

does it matter if I use regular plastic containers/ tote instead of bottanicare tray and abs tray?

thanks

 

[tenthirty]

Start a journal, I want to watch!!

 

[Aeroponicnoob]

Start a journal, I want to watch!!

I will try my best to do so.

 

[socialist]

my question is does anyone know why pirate suggests to use bottanicare tray and ABS plasitc instead of regular 15-60 gallon totes?

does it matter if I use regular plastic containers/ tote instead of bottanicare tray and abs tray?

This only a guess but I'm assuming its because the bottanicare tray and ABS plastic are stronger and easier to clean. The plastic that the totes are made of like to collect salts permanently.

 

[jm420]

My guess is that the trays are 3x3 totes are not.tehy will fit under your lights foot print better ,and are much more durable.
Trying to do aero in totes will be a bitch ,the covers tend to pop off due to the pressure of the water.Start spraying water around inside a tote and your bound to have a wet floor and possibly lose your crop.Totes are much more suited for DWC

Like mentioned to do a true sog you need acces to proven clones and a lot of them.

I grow 4-5 plants per tote typically with 2 weeks veg for clones 30 days from seed and have pulled a gram a watt under a 400 with a monster yeilding WR but running IC was closer to the .5 mark ,

This run is 2 plants per tote veged for 45 days using a trellis for canopy control as well as for support its tough to grow big plants in 3 inch netpots ,they tend to want to fall over,
If you relly want to run totes go dwc versus aero 18 gallon totes are best IMO .Those big 60 gallon totes will eat up nutes in a hurry.heres some cj and sfv x cd in totes dwc using lucas
I fight with the covers on a daily basis as well as plants falling over with out support

 

[medicalmj]

More plants always beats less. If plants counts aren't an issue 4+ per sq/ft is ideal.

And I can't agree more with tenthirty!

I will bet money that you will harvest more with a 3x3 E&F table using 4" Rockwool cubes than aeroponics on your first few attempts. And the couple days you can shave off your flower time just isn't worth the risk, hassle, and extra$.

 

[hempyftw]

Hmmmm.

Hmmmm.

If you really want to start in aero, I would suggest you follow AeroKrafter in his rookie aeroflow grow. He has outlined exactly what to do for new people so as to avoid the downfall of aero that most noobs run into.

People comparing there yields make me laugh. You can't compare on a solely GPW bases. It needs to be GPWT, T being the time you had to run the damn light to get the buds.

If you veg for 4 weeks+ and grow trees you can't compare your GPW to someone with zero veg who grows sog. The person vegging is using significantly more time and watts to achieve his inflated gpw then the soger is. I'm talking total watts used here, not just the size or your light.

Not to mention that the soger might not yield as much on that one run, but depending on your equipment and how you do it, he may be getting 1 or 2 or 3 more harvests per year then the guy growing trees.

So I hope you see that your truly comparing apples to oranges when you say "Oh yeah.... Well I vegged 1 plant for 3 months and got 1.3 gpw". While the other guy who did sog had a harvest at your 2 month veg period and is already half way to his next.

 

[jm420]

A gram a watt is for any grow tree or sog scrog ,etc..... it basically a measure ment to give the grower a goal .Any grow pulling a gram a watt is a good one IMO

 

[jm420]

If i shoot for 2 lbs per 1 k it dosnt matter the stlye it just means your at the top of your game if you hit that mark