Container Size and Yield?

Due to limited space I'm considering using 3 liter square containers for my next crop. The question is what kind of yield can be gotten from such a small container?


Ideally, and maybe I'm naive, but I'd like to pull between 1-4 ounces off a plant.

I feel that if I could dial in the nutrients (I use organic teas) and use some variation of FIM/LST/Scrog/SOG that I could produce at least an ounce.

The plants I'm using for this experiment is the Hindu Kush and WWxSS.

I'm in the middle of a regular grow using 2 similar sized containers and I'm happy with the amount I'm producing. However those plants weren't manipulated and now I'm left to wonder how much they could produce with proper training.


Has anyone had any experience with producing large yields relative to container size? More specifically, small containers producing larger yields?

I don't want to put in the extra effort for minimal results.

Hi Uninformed,
what size of growing space do you have?, if your using small 3 litre pots i'd say it would be best to grow clones to get the maximum yeild, fit as much clones as you can in the grow room (check just now what the maximum amounts of pots you can fit in there is),
once they're all rooted i'd veg for 7-10 days just to give them a head start then put the lot into flower,
you'll end up with basically a sea of green with each clone being 1 big cola,
doing this you'll be able to smash the gram per watt easily man

peace

What size grow space do you have?

The grow space is 39in x 44in. I've got a 400w HPS and 12 CFL's.

I would recommend taking a look at some SoG methods that people are using if you are concerned about getting the most yield per square foot. Dr.BudGreengenes, Thunderkel and blackfoot all have excellent production in limited amounts of space.

-Q

Start with small containers and pot-up on a regular schedule, only into the next size up, saving the final re-pot for right when you flip the lights. Starting with too large a pot will bump you up against that rootbound wall too early.
Yield and container size are DEFINITELY related, but you have many limiting factors in a grow and pot size is only one of them. Optimize everything else too while you're at it.

uninformed said:

The grow space is 39in x 44in. I've got a 400w HPS and 12 CFL's.

Click to expand...

cool, what's the inch x inch measurment of each pot?

Size of containers are 5.25 squared.


Quazi: I've been looking at Dr.BG for about 6 months now as well as Thunderkel and Blackfoot.

Dr.BG is what got me gardening in the first place. Was originally going to do a CFL only set up but the 400w was literally given to me for free. So, I more or less want to apply what I've learned/read on Dr.BG's/Thunderkel/Smeden and Blackfoots grows in conjunction with what I've learned/experienced growing with traditional set ups.

I'm already into 2 crops experimenting with all the typical methods for normal growing plants using 2gl, 1gl, 1.3gl containers. I've LST'd one, Topped 3, and revegged and flowered a flowering cutting. So far revegging a flowering cutting produces the most branches and flowers, however it eats space and light and I find that I have harvest it multiple times to maximize the yield. It's nice but for my space it isn't practical. The other methods produce well in comparison to a normal growth but spacing and making sure leafs aren't overlapping is a problem. I'm a proponent of minimizing the amount of leaf I cut. But that may change for this particular grow.


Now that I've cut my teeth on the traditional methods (1st time grower) I'm ready to attempt something a little more elaborate and time intensive. Now that I understand how plants behave I wont be racked with anxiety about every little blemish on my plants leaves or stems. Between the reading and the experience all the knowledge I've acquired has finally gelled together.


But being that I have now gone through the first grows, I know how time intensive this is. So, smaller containers require more watering. I just want to make sure that the time invested in the SOG will be worth it.

stinkyattic said:

Start with small containers and pot-up on a regular schedule, only into the next size up, saving the final re-pot for right when you flip the lights. Starting with too large a pot will bump you up against that rootbound wall too early.

Click to expand...

I agree totally with Stinkyattic's comment above. It is very important to repot a few times so that the roots can fill each pot before changing into the next size up. This utilizes the soils space most efficiently instead of the roots growing just straight down to the bottom of the pot and swirling around the base.

For my plants I use three pots, a 4 inch for the clones, then move to a 8 inch that is a little deeper, and then finally the 3.5 gallon buckets. I do tree size and I usually have 6 foot plants at the end of bud planted in 3.5 gallon buckets. For me I find three transplants works well.

There is one thing I would like to mention regarding pot size that I have experienced in the past. I always use the same strain of clone and have first used 5 gallon buckets to finish my 6 foot plants in as I thought this would be the minimum. I then tried to end in 3.5 gallon buckets with the same sized plants after a year or so of constant growing to save the work of bringing in more soil than needed. I found that the yield was exactly the same regardless of using a 5 gallon or a 3.5 gallon.

Keep in mind this could be strain related. I use Serious AK47. Also, I grow in Promix which is a soiless mix and acts almost like hydro, so I don't know if the same results would happen in a soil based mixture. But we have all seen even house plants doing wonderfully in tiny pots and the plants are huge. I think pot size is important as too small a pot with such a fast growing plant is likely not going to benefit it much, but I don't think we should go overboard on the matter either. If you feed your plant well it shouldn't have to establish such a large root system like it would have to in the wild.

This is just my observations from growing over the last while so I am not saying pot size doesn't matter, but I don't believe it is as important as I once thought.

TGT

uninformed said:

Size of containers are 5.25 squared.

Click to expand...

Hi Uninformed,
so in theory if my maths is correct you could squeeze 56 of those pots n there:

39 divided by 5.25 = 7.4285.. (round it off to 7 pots)
44 divided by 5.25 = 8.3809.. (round it off to 8 pots)

7 x 8 = 56 pots,

if it was me i'd root all the clones in either root riot cubes or jiffy plugs,
once they're rooted transplant each 1 into their 3 litre container,
give them 7-14 days veg under 20/4 light,
flick to 12/12,
then prepare for a massive yeild

TGT said:

But we have all seen even house plants doing wonderfully in tiny pots and the plants are huge. I think pot size is important as too small a pot with such a fast growing plant is likely not going to benefit it much, but I don't think we should go overboard on the matter either. If you feed your plant well it shouldn't have to establish such a large root system like it would have to in the wild.

This is just my observations from growing over the last while so I am not saying pot size doesn't matter, but I don't believe it is as important as I once thought.

TGT

Click to expand...

And that has been my observation as well. That is why I posed the question because it seems to me that pot size doesn't have to correlate to yield, plant health seems more important. If container size affects the health of the plant, then yes that would be problematic but it doesn't seem as if it has to. All that would matter is the feeding schedule.


Hazeseeker: That was the number I came up with as well. I might not be able to do that many but it gives me a broad range to work with!!

It's worth it if you can fit them!

I put 25 plants in 6.5 L pots. They are roughly 7" squared.

UK Cheese



Not sure on the yield yet, but they're under a 600...

ARTofMAKINGfire said:

It's worth it if you can fit them!

I put 25 plants in 6.5 L pots. They are roughly 7" squared.

UK Cheese

Not sure on the yield yet, but they're under a 600...

Click to expand...

I'd guess you might make out with enough for a couple proper spliffs.

Hazeseeker said:

Hi Uninformed,
so in theory if my maths is correct you could squeeze 56 of those pots n there:

39 divided by 5.25 = 7.4285.. (round it off to 7 pots)
44 divided by 5.25 = 8.3809.. (round it off to 8 pots)

7 x 8 = 56 pots,

if it was me i'd root all the clones in either root riot cubes or jiffy plugs,
once they're rooted transplant each 1 into their 3 litre container,
give them 7-14 days veg under 20/4 light,
flick to 12/12,
then prepare for a massive yeild

Click to expand...

I am germinating 40 seeds of Nirvana Northern Light in RootRiot-cubes right now

I do not have any large space to keep clones, so how can I keep them as small as possible for about 8 weeks? You guys like to see the fast rooting of you clones, but the growth of my clones will be my enemy

Jack Dalton: to keep them small as possible you could do multiple things:

1. Top them (cutting the top either the traditional way or FIM)
2. LST them (Low Stress Training)
3. Scrog them (screen of green)
4. SOG them (sea of green)


I'm going for a 1/2 topped 1/2 pruned (from the bottom instead of the top) SOG.

You veg for a week and then throw them in 12/12.

I've got a couple I kept about 14 in and I'm probably going to get 1-1/2z per plant.

With 40 plants though you could really experiment. You could try everything under the sun. I've really become fond of the LST. In essence a SCROG without the chicken wire. You can make some spectular plant sculptures.


Follow the recommendations in this thread and check out Dr.Budgreens/Thunderkel/Toodles threads. They get the most out of small plants.