S
sourpuss
Haha... ben your genius...
So I've read the whole thread, thought maybe I'd find the holy grail here. I'm a pretty good grower, I get gram/watt all day long w almost any strain. With that said, I'm a hack, but I have out a lot of money and time into my room, 100% sealed, 3600 watts to get 1000 umol at the canopy, co2, ro, etc. I pull 8# every 9wks. That's gram/watt per cycle. If I did math right that's 266g/mo/600w. My best 10lb cycle was, 1.25/watt. Avg 335g/mo/600w. Still short of that mark. So trick question??, use a flip box so 1 600 is on 24/7. Ok that works, but bills are twice as high, original post said needed to pay bills. I think if I wasn't limited by #'s I'd do the clone/flip w no veg. It works. I've seen the roto garden in op., 300 plants, 3 600's. I think they pull 5# plus.
HarvestMoon303
Active member
I think that the "easy" solution is pretty obvious to all of us. Get another light. Even using some pretty nice equipment, a 1000w ballast/bulb/reflector can be done for $300-400, or a 600w (for about the same price). Run the light at night if power bills are the factor, and get the plan for cheap nights from your power company. Consider that a typical space heater consumes 1500w on "hi". An extra 1000w, 600w, or even 400w isn't going to cost much in power, or equipment. If it makes that 1lb attainable, then the investment is trivial.
I *might* even consider supplementing them with LED, since the power would be quite low, but I am *not* an LED guy at all.
So, if you "need" a pound a month, you just have to make some small changes (more light), instead of spending hours a day in the garden, going for the perfect scrog, trim, weave, light distribution, training, expensive mystery nutes, etc.
Think about what a pound sells for, and then think of what a light costs. The light AND the electricity is likely 10% of the cost of one pound, and the light/bulb/ballast are good for a very long time. Your investment would pay off in one crop (technically, much less than one).
Of course, the other advantage of two (or more) lights is the ability to veg/flower independently, and eventually it's a nice thing to have. I would also get a 2x2 T-5 for clones/seed/mother. Again, cheap ($90), and good on power.
I think that it CAN be done with 600w, but the amount of effort, time, and luck are pretty large if you're starting with very little. There is a reason that there are several 2k, 4k, 8k+ grows on this site. More light works well.
I *might* even consider supplementing them with LED, since the power would be quite low, but I am *not* an LED guy at all.
So, if you "need" a pound a month, you just have to make some small changes (more light), instead of spending hours a day in the garden, going for the perfect scrog, trim, weave, light distribution, training, expensive mystery nutes, etc.
Think about what a pound sells for, and then think of what a light costs. The light AND the electricity is likely 10% of the cost of one pound, and the light/bulb/ballast are good for a very long time. Your investment would pay off in one crop (technically, much less than one).
Of course, the other advantage of two (or more) lights is the ability to veg/flower independently, and eventually it's a nice thing to have. I would also get a 2x2 T-5 for clones/seed/mother. Again, cheap ($90), and good on power.
I think that it CAN be done with 600w, but the amount of effort, time, and luck are pretty large if you're starting with very little. There is a reason that there are several 2k, 4k, 8k+ grows on this site. More light works well.
My first real garden was a weekly perpetual with a 600w.
Only way to come close to 1lbs a month with one light, are small plants and a large number of them. You need to utilize every sq inch of light.
I had a 7wk strain. Using 1 gallon square pots, I would add 6 plants a week until I squeezed in 7 rows. Once I hit row seven I was harvesting 6 plants a week.
A lot of SOG training was needed but when I had everything dialed in, I was averaging about .50-.75 oz a plant or about 3-4.5 oz a week.
A separate veg area was used too.
I finally tossed the towel in with that method. The up keep was to much. Constantly cloning, transplanting, harvesting, trimming. I did it for a good 1.5 yrs before I went back to a single harvest every 2 months.
Same concept, more laid back. 2 lbs every two months. Life is easier.
Only way to come close to 1lbs a month with one light, are small plants and a large number of them. You need to utilize every sq inch of light.
I had a 7wk strain. Using 1 gallon square pots, I would add 6 plants a week until I squeezed in 7 rows. Once I hit row seven I was harvesting 6 plants a week.
A lot of SOG training was needed but when I had everything dialed in, I was averaging about .50-.75 oz a plant or about 3-4.5 oz a week.
A separate veg area was used too.
I finally tossed the towel in with that method. The up keep was to much. Constantly cloning, transplanting, harvesting, trimming. I did it for a good 1.5 yrs before I went back to a single harvest every 2 months.
Same concept, more laid back. 2 lbs every two months. Life is easier.
Daub Marley
Member
Obviously you can lower your watt/square ft lower than the usual ~50 watts/sq ft and increase your yield, but how are we not even considering quality? Shit is real competitive and if you get subpar quality its going to be hard to flip. You're probably right on the line of production capacity at that point too and its taking a risk that should be worked slowly up. It isn't just going to happen. You're going to need multiple runs with careful notes each time getting a little better.
The competitive aspect of it solely depends on your location. Legal states, hell ya its competitive, but none legal states, its a whole different playing field. Usually, from experience, dealers in none legal states generally have a clientell consisting of the same repeat average joe of customers. The option of multiple dealers and sources doesnt usually exist.
My home town, where I grew up, sometimes people cant find danks for a lil bit of time. When you have a market and the demand is much greater then the supply....well then you my friend - pretty much own the market.
Atleast thats how I always looked at it. People buy whatever is available. Mids, shwag, dank....thats the one pro of none legal states when you are the grass man.
stickydank
Member
Made me think of the wasted 12 hrs of the dark half of a 12/12 cycle
if a guy made use of this unused light with a two tent light mover hmm just a smok'en idea
if a guy made use of this unused light with a two tent light mover hmm just a smok'en idea
you're looking for a "flip flop"
stickydank
Member
Or call it the nite lite LOL
If you run 2 600 watt lights you can do it, harvest each light every month and get a perpetual cycle going. Or just harvest 2 lbs every 2 months, this would require a room for vegging as well though so you would need 3 lights total I suppose. Don't expect to come near the 1 GPW without doing your research first though, it's tougher than it seems...
^yup.
This is what I'm going to attempt here very shortly. 2lb / 2 months. SOG w/ no veg room or setup.
See it go down here - 1200w SOG mediumless flood & drain
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=301083
I might stagger it with 2 strains in the future for more variety, but going to try monocrop my 1st run.
This is what I'm going to attempt here very shortly. 2lb / 2 months. SOG w/ no veg room or setup.
See it go down here - 1200w SOG mediumless flood & drain
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=301083
I might stagger it with 2 strains in the future for more variety, but going to try monocrop my 1st run.
HarvestMoon303
Active member
I'm always amazed when people are trying to do something really difficult that it takes perfect everything to achieve, and then getting into light movers and flip boxes and other crazy measures. The solution is staring everyone right in the face, and of course has been mentioned before in this thread, and that magic solution is: get more lights.
Go on CL for used gear and lowball them until someone just needs the money and sells for very cheap, check Amazon Prime, use some cheaper bulbs, but if someone is cranking out a pound per month, wants more lbs, and won't go buy a $300-400 light setup, I don't get it.
If that lb sold for $3k, an extra thousand (or 600) watt setup would be 10% of the profit of one month's sales, once. Then, with 1200-1600+ watts, all of the sudden you can pull 40%-75% more bud EVERY MONTH moving forward "forever".
Go on CL for used gear and lowball them until someone just needs the money and sells for very cheap, check Amazon Prime, use some cheaper bulbs, but if someone is cranking out a pound per month, wants more lbs, and won't go buy a $300-400 light setup, I don't get it.
If that lb sold for $3k, an extra thousand (or 600) watt setup would be 10% of the profit of one month's sales, once. Then, with 1200-1600+ watts, all of the sudden you can pull 40%-75% more bud EVERY MONTH moving forward "forever".
If you too broke to buy another light you are doing it all wrong!!!
Dude, I'd appreciate it if you stopped posting pictures of my spare bedroom.
MarklBSincanna
New member
I do not see a lot of teamwork anymore. Do any of you know how many 1,000 w MH starters and cones the DOT in your state/province retire per year? You say you do not want to show up on the grid monitoring system, not even enough "professional growers" have a professional electrician search out all power vampires. There are many on older farms and acreages, fixing these and unnecessary hook ups can save you $300 a month. Then unhooking a 300 w MV security lamp brought me down to where I could operate 6 metal halide system on 3 whirlybird's constructed by a mechanic. These were in the days before anyone had medical and our collective served a sizable portion of the central portion of the state. Get me an electrician, a mechanic, and a contractor's employee and a tractor with a front end loader and I can do the same for you at $45 over your current electric costs.
My lighting was set up for 440 with a 220 transformer/starter and the method my electrician hooked up the lighting turning system and speed what actually cost most was my Vita Light Power Twist Florescent set-up which was always operating. My 2 to 3 ounce clones thrived well under MH once well rooted I limited myself to 20 clones under a programmable professional self watering system with two outlets for finishing clones and watering Veg. growth. You might be surprised where you can vent grow rooms. I am trying to get those in illegal states to adopt my zero detection system. It takes teamwork that I could find again no sweat!!!
My lighting was set up for 440 with a 220 transformer/starter and the method my electrician hooked up the lighting turning system and speed what actually cost most was my Vita Light Power Twist Florescent set-up which was always operating. My 2 to 3 ounce clones thrived well under MH once well rooted I limited myself to 20 clones under a programmable professional self watering system with two outlets for finishing clones and watering Veg. growth. You might be surprised where you can vent grow rooms. I am trying to get those in illegal states to adopt my zero detection system. It takes teamwork that I could find again no sweat!!!
genedigger
Member
i think you could get close to that #.it would depend on strain and amount of plants.i run a perpetual harvest and 1 to 1.25 zips a month is happening on a 400 watt.i harvest every week.i use to harvest every 8 to 10 weeks and that didnt do it for me.i take lots of clones and spend tons of time doing it so its not a walk in the park.i think you can get close.i grow white diesel and she does a gram a watt without much effort,but i dont get anywhere near that with some other strains.
CoCoSativas
Active member
Late to chime in butthis does not seem likely to me
Well that's a totally fucking irrelevant post^^^
