Ideal setup for under 6 plants

[clp]

Due to the ridiculous mandatory minimums in Canada I need to keep this grow under 6 plants. In order to maximize yield I'd like to take a stab at SCROG vertical growing. I've successfully done a few 1K horizontal grows but this will be a new ball field for me. This is strictly for personal medicinal use so I'd like to have a few different strains growing. Is it feasible to grow 2-4 different strains in the same space?

Requirements:
Stealth/enclosed - This will need to be invisible to the naked eye so I will most likely incase it in a cabinet, dresser, or fridge. Size isn't a huge issue since it will be in a spare room that isn't used.

Lights - If I have 2 plants in flower what is the ideal size lamp for 2 plants in flower? I am thinking 250 or 400 watt hps.

Does anyone know any successful grows that are similar to what I envision? Any links would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[SirStynkalot]

why not use the spare room?

 

[clp]

I need something stealthier for guests etc. It's a small space.

 

[User Name:]

i would put 6 wertical cagese, 6 big pots, 6x400w, all in coco and go !

 

[clp]

Anyone have any cases/setups online that I could follow?

 

[Jhhnn]

We use a 1000w dual arc lamp, enclosed & vented horizontal reflector in a 4x4x6T space to grow our Colorado maximum of 6 flowering plants in organic soil. I just let 'em grow in solo cups, then 1 gal pots, finally 5 gal pots. I've run mixed grows of different varieties, discovered that some varieties have different requirements for water & nutrients. I do it in batches, always holding to legal plant counts. When growing fems, I can overlap 6 seedlings with 6 in flower under a separate 400w lamp, achieve faster turnover. With regs, I harvest, then plant 12 seeds, our legal max of total plants, grow them to ~18-20", flip to 12/12 & select the best 6 in preflower to finish.

There is no home possession limit for what we grow. Current yield is 2+ oz of trimmed dry bud per plant, depending. I'm leery of stretch, so I tend to flower earlier than absolutely necessary. If I settled on one strain, got it dialed in well, I'm sure yield would improve.

I use the two stage ventilation system described in the ventilation 101 thread. Other people, like hush, just power vent the enclosure, use a window A/C with excellent results. Temp control is a serious issue w/ a 1000w watt lamp, as is odor control. The two stage system helps with both.

 

[clp]

Thanks for the help! I'd really like to go vertical though and think 1000 watts is a bit much for the space I will have.

 

[LSWM]

6 flowering plants or 6 total? Do you plan to veg or mother? Do you have a reliable source of clones?

In my experience running with unknown genetics can be vary unpredictable in vert. A stretchy strain tends to he favored by most in these forums, myself included. This aspect also lends it self to lower plant counts with less veg time. Good luck running low plant count kushes in vert anyone who wants to try...

 

[LSWM]

If its just personal, I could see doing a perpetual setup with different strains, 2-4 around each 400. I personally throw 4-6 around a 600 or 1k. I have had good success running multustrain vert scrogs once I knew how the genetics acted and could pair them accordingly.

 

[clp]

I can only have 5 plants max. Ideally I'd like to do perpetual but I might have to stick with 2 flowering, 2 veg, and 1 mother that's a dialed in phenotype. Issue with this though is that I like to have a few different strains. I might be able to get reliable access to clones and if I do I could maybe just do 2 and 2 perpetual with different strains.

 

[clp]

I think I can find access to clones so right now I am thinking of doing perpetual with a new plant going into the flowering room once every week or two. Does anyone have a good timeline on how often this should occur? Really wish I could find grows to model after.

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[LSWM]

I think I can find access to clones so right now I am thinking of doing perpetual with a new plant going into the flowering room once every week or two. Does anyone have a good timeline on how often this should occur? Really wish I could find grows to model after.

Thanks for the help everyone!

You going with the 250 or 400?

No one can give you a good timeline except yourself. The strain is going to dictate much of this, and without previous knowledge of how it stretches, any estimations could be off by as much as 400%. 2 week veg? 4 week veg? 8 Week Veg? If they are kushes, you're screwed. If you can get clones from a fellow grower, maybe you can peek at his garden and pick/choose which strains will be optimal for your setup. Most stretchy strains will double or triple their height during flower. That means at ~6-12 inches they'll end up 24-36 inches tall. Which could mean almost no veg around a 250 or 400...

But you definitely need time to transplant the clones and let them start growing roots. I'd personally shoot for a 2.5 week veg under T5's or 250 HPS, on a decently stretchy 10 week strain. This gives you fresh nuggets every 2.5 weeks, of any strain you choose (yield may suffer SIGNIFICANTLY by running unknown genetics) and keep you with only 4 plants at a time.

 

[LSWM]

Actually that would keep you at 5 plants at a time. 1 in Veg, as well as 1 each @ 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10 weeks. 4 plants around a 400 in flower. Totally sounds doable.

 

[clp]

Thank you for the comments LSWM. I haven't chosen a light size yet but I am thinking I will run a 400 in a cool tube vertically. Will do CFLS or a t5 to veg.

 

[SeedsOfFreedom]

I say keep 1 good mum, 2 in veg always, 2 in buds always, use the biggest light you can, and not worry. Remember 1 plant can still carry a mandatory minimum if you are proved to be trafficking. So just don't sell and grow a couple big trees! Top them, use a scrog maybe? Just get them bushy and big before you bud and you will be happy with the results.

 

[clp]

I would really like to go the mom right since it's perfect for numbers and would keep my yields consistent BUT I also like to have different strains as I tend to get bored/develop a tolerance if I smoke one specific one for too long.

Definitely plan on doing a vertical scrog in a big cab (at least 4 feet tall flowering). Space isn't an issue as long as it's stealth. I will probably use a cabinet like below.