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Need a grow manager for a 30 light perpetual spot, NorCal
- Thread starter Lazyman
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morningdewd
Member
,
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You guys in America would be better putting your monies into breeding projects , you guys all ways over look the main thing with yield is genetics , IMO from where I am sitting you guys invest so much then grow low yielding plants even if you think they are high yielding they may be compared to the other plants but compared to real vigour high yielding plants IMO most of you have missed the boat , all you guys need to do is spend a few years breeding not pollen chucking og X og X Gods og X fire killer og and it poor man great taste killer resin but across the board poor attempts at breeding becuae yyes cup winning flavours all around but not actual breeding for all attributes ,
Also I hear this many pounds per light , but in how long massive plants because of numbers and the law they are vegged big only then do they yeild but the yields is still poor considering the amount of time it takes , of course I am generalising ,
But if I came to work in America I would be breeding new hybrids much like I do now and then I would double my yeild def if I had all the space you guys have ,
Your industry is fueled by money men that use growers stop real growers from progressing , most can't actually do what they want because the bosses have contracts with nute comps and light comps ,
I will say most of my brothers from here and other forums all say they to me they wish they kept there own small grow and wish they never got involved with the cash for crop dudes ., I enjoy hand water my 100 odd different phenos of different strains over my 400 plant room with drippers and all I have to do is press a button and ten minutes later it's done , this is not fun , I never touch the plants as its commercial all the same bloody same old amnesia just like my pals in America complain they have to grow the same strains over and over , they feel like grow room monkies all though they are making so much money .
No one is getting ripped off its just not what they imagined ,
Of course it's not like this for every one , a good grower is only as good as his plants , when I get employed I increase every thing including the stock plants yeild , I just bread a plant for some guys just a favour I took there main stock and ramped it up they have double the yeild from the first run , just making a few points here
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jumpincactus
Member
ya that is sort of like never front any meds to anyone. Learned that years and years ago.
You guys keep saying 1 person can run a 30, but it doesn't make it true. It's 3 flowering gardens of 160 plants each (total 480 plants) plus another 160 plants in veg, 300 clones, and 3 generations of moms to look after. Watering takes around 2 hours per day.
Yields of pure OG and pure sour diesel are not great, and we have the best yielding cuts I've found in 20 years. Nobody gets 3 pounds a light of these. 2 is pretty great.
Power is fucking expensive. Try 7500 a month. Rent is 3000. Trimmers cost me around 9k a month.
Labor to water, spray, deleafing each crop twice, stake and tape every plant in flower, clean, chop, dump pots, transplant, take clones, fix what's broken, take out the trash and shop vac costs aound 8 grand a month in man hours. Plus a couple of my guys build fences, mow the field and do other yard work so the house doesn't look like a dump or create a fire hazard.
It takes 2 people around 6 hours a day busting ass to keep up with that list, 7 days a week. Maybe you want to work 7 pm to 7 am every single day by yourself. Maybe you have no family, friends, or life. Maybe you've never been sick or hurt a day in your life. Thats great. Owning the business means I get the choice, and I choose to employ good people and pay them better than any of my other buddies.
Pot isn't worth 4k a pound here, around half that actually.. Our power is about the most expensive in the mainland US. Our margins are ok, but right around 40%. Should I pay my guys 100% of the profit?
You're right, I should just do it all myself. 84 hours a week is nothing. I'll just fire all my guys and divorce my wife, since it'll never see her and gain anyway. Thanks for the tips!
Yields of pure OG and pure sour diesel are not great, and we have the best yielding cuts I've found in 20 years. Nobody gets 3 pounds a light of these. 2 is pretty great.
Power is fucking expensive. Try 7500 a month. Rent is 3000. Trimmers cost me around 9k a month.
Labor to water, spray, deleafing each crop twice, stake and tape every plant in flower, clean, chop, dump pots, transplant, take clones, fix what's broken, take out the trash and shop vac costs aound 8 grand a month in man hours. Plus a couple of my guys build fences, mow the field and do other yard work so the house doesn't look like a dump or create a fire hazard.
It takes 2 people around 6 hours a day busting ass to keep up with that list, 7 days a week. Maybe you want to work 7 pm to 7 am every single day by yourself. Maybe you have no family, friends, or life. Maybe you've never been sick or hurt a day in your life. Thats great. Owning the business means I get the choice, and I choose to employ good people and pay them better than any of my other buddies.
Pot isn't worth 4k a pound here, around half that actually.. Our power is about the most expensive in the mainland US. Our margins are ok, but right around 40%. Should I pay my guys 100% of the profit?
You're right, I should just do it all myself. 84 hours a week is nothing. I'll just fire all my guys and divorce my wife, since it'll never see her and gain anyway. Thanks for the tips!
Principante 8
Member
Lazyman has some excellent points. Some of my friends with 30+lights have full time guys and they have a trim crew show up. Their setups sound a lot like Lazyman's. Usually 3-4rooms in a house, harvesting and transplanting every couple weeks, yard work, cleaning house, dump runs, and home Depot runs, etc. It all adds up.
For people that don't run perpetual it doesn't take much. Me + two guys +1days=transplants done. Water once a day for first week, then to larger pots and water every two days. This requires another two guys and me for 2days this time. Eatch watering takes 10-80min depending on plant size. The babes need only a splash so I can walk through with the hose and wand and hit each plant for about 2 seconds. Defoliation takes about 5-10 minutes every watering after week 2 of veg from a big healthy clone. Nets go up 10 days in flower and pots at moved to final home on the tables and situated according to strain and height. This takes me and another guy half to one full day. Since I usually defoliate as I go, there's not much left work wise, but I do defoliate and prune at week three of flower. After that plants don't get touched much, so it's just watering and weekly foliar with bennies. So,I usually I have less than ten hour work weeks. At harvest I have a group of guys come and we cut it all down in 4-5days, cleaning it up nice for fine trimmers. 12 hour days for a team of us. Debranching buds is two full days. Trimmers get $200lb. Then there's veg room maintenance which is easy peas when you're only cutting clones every 2 months. Clean up and transplanting takes a few days while everything is drying. Then there's selling it, which in a way is a whole other job sometimes. But lately I turn it all over to one dispensary for discounted rate, which puts me right back to watering plants every couple days and being bored out of my mind.
My way isn't better. Some people like to stay busy, and have people around all the time, and to maximize everything at all times. Running perpetual and staying busy can be a relief for some, and a pain for others. To each his own, as the saying goes. I only have buds 4-5 times a year, so that can be problematic for some. Keeping a steady supply is easier to keep customers sometimes. This is especially the case for small time deliveries that want five lb or less of several types. I used to hand water a 50 lighter which I ran on my own, and, I am confident now I could run many hundreds of lights and still stick to a 40 hour work week. Just need lots of transplanters and trimmers and I can do the rest. I don't like being busy and have no need to trade time to maximize anything, it's just not in my nature. Some of my friends would go crazy with my lifestyle, so they find ways to keep busy. Like I said, there's no proper way to go about it.
For people that don't run perpetual it doesn't take much. Me + two guys +1days=transplants done. Water once a day for first week, then to larger pots and water every two days. This requires another two guys and me for 2days this time. Eatch watering takes 10-80min depending on plant size. The babes need only a splash so I can walk through with the hose and wand and hit each plant for about 2 seconds. Defoliation takes about 5-10 minutes every watering after week 2 of veg from a big healthy clone. Nets go up 10 days in flower and pots at moved to final home on the tables and situated according to strain and height. This takes me and another guy half to one full day. Since I usually defoliate as I go, there's not much left work wise, but I do defoliate and prune at week three of flower. After that plants don't get touched much, so it's just watering and weekly foliar with bennies. So,I usually I have less than ten hour work weeks. At harvest I have a group of guys come and we cut it all down in 4-5days, cleaning it up nice for fine trimmers. 12 hour days for a team of us. Debranching buds is two full days. Trimmers get $200lb. Then there's veg room maintenance which is easy peas when you're only cutting clones every 2 months. Clean up and transplanting takes a few days while everything is drying. Then there's selling it, which in a way is a whole other job sometimes. But lately I turn it all over to one dispensary for discounted rate, which puts me right back to watering plants every couple days and being bored out of my mind.
My way isn't better. Some people like to stay busy, and have people around all the time, and to maximize everything at all times. Running perpetual and staying busy can be a relief for some, and a pain for others. To each his own, as the saying goes. I only have buds 4-5 times a year, so that can be problematic for some. Keeping a steady supply is easier to keep customers sometimes. This is especially the case for small time deliveries that want five lb or less of several types. I used to hand water a 50 lighter which I ran on my own, and, I am confident now I could run many hundreds of lights and still stick to a 40 hour work week. Just need lots of transplanters and trimmers and I can do the rest. I don't like being busy and have no need to trade time to maximize anything, it's just not in my nature. Some of my friends would go crazy with my lifestyle, so they find ways to keep busy. Like I said, there's no proper way to go about it.
Z
z-ro
I ran 2x 20 light spots by myself for two years straight and a 50 plant outdoor(did have help for that), besides trimming of course, it was fucking easy. Having 3x 10 light flowering rooms run perpetual is different and more continuos work but still super easy for one person.
should probably close this thread anyway....
should probably close this thread anyway....
Mr. Miyagi
Member
AeroKush102
Active member
Layman, if you set up some form of automation for your bloom feeding and have your grow manager operate the veg cycle then you shouldn't need a staff, just one grower and 2 trimmers. Easy work. I have 24 lights, 1 trimmer plus me, and we make edibles, plus delivery.
I could do 30 myself, no sweat, but come trim time, I better have a kickass machine and some homies to keep my mind sane.
30 lights is not so bad if your on dosatrons, practive ipm & follow vpd...
its also a lot easier if your spot is sealed and you have the right strain...
75k a year when the owner is gettin close to half a million is kinda steep, maybe for 150k
Half a million GROSS a year. You think weed is free to grow? Lol
Now subtract:
Rent 36k a year
Power 37k a year
Labor Around 100k a year
Clones 32k a year
nutes 25k a year
Trimmers 67k a year
Soil 6k a year
Replacement bulbs, reflectors and air filters 5k a year
Water filters (and well pump services) About 3k a year
Property taxes 7k a year
Property maintenance About 8k a year.
Upgrades usually 7k a year
That leaves me roughly 175k, provided every crop is perfect and yields well, and sells for around 2 grand per. None of these things happen on every crop, so my take home is closer to 120k.
In other words, no there's no room in the budget for doubling the salary, as I'm not doing everything I do just to make 50k a year.
mittensmitten
Member
For You to 'do' all that and come up with only that is pitiable. #2 Are you including Your housing costs in all that, just askin'. Cause that is your cost to live like anyone else.
And, what exactly do You 'do'..?
And, what exactly do You 'do'..?
All these people questioning your costs are just plain naïve. Yes, there might be some operations that are more streamline and have higher gross revenue and take home revenue.
You know how they do that? By cutting severely on labor. I know for a fact most of the wage monkeys doing clean up, harvest, dump runs are only making 12-15 an hour at most commercial grows. Lead growers are lucky to get 20-25.
You just are seriously under estimating LABOR. Every single thing from pruning, to filling and dumping res, to mopping up rooms, cleaning and sweeping every day, constant projects and upgrades. Even on a small 30kw setup it can easily take a daily regimen of 8 hours a day and then a period where you need to bring in 4-5 workers to chop, process, hang, bin, destem, prep for trimming, etc etc etc.
It costed me about 15k in labor to do one 100lb greenhouse harvest, not including another 15k in trimming, about 5k in power bills, another 5k in mortgage, 5k on supplies, packaging, meals, transportation to move product to the cities, etc etc etc. And all that when sungrown is going for 12-15 at the most doesn't leave much wiggle room.
If LBs were still 32-4k than maybe he can pay his people more, but with the tightening market every single grow I know is looking to cut labor expenses drastically. Either by wage reduction or by hourly reduction. Il go water and prune my own trays when I can to save the cost of charging hourly wage. I had to let go of all % partners at 4/5 of my grows since its simply not worth it, even as 100% owner my labor costs are easily 30% of budget probably more.
You know how they do that? By cutting severely on labor. I know for a fact most of the wage monkeys doing clean up, harvest, dump runs are only making 12-15 an hour at most commercial grows. Lead growers are lucky to get 20-25.
You just are seriously under estimating LABOR. Every single thing from pruning, to filling and dumping res, to mopping up rooms, cleaning and sweeping every day, constant projects and upgrades. Even on a small 30kw setup it can easily take a daily regimen of 8 hours a day and then a period where you need to bring in 4-5 workers to chop, process, hang, bin, destem, prep for trimming, etc etc etc.
It costed me about 15k in labor to do one 100lb greenhouse harvest, not including another 15k in trimming, about 5k in power bills, another 5k in mortgage, 5k on supplies, packaging, meals, transportation to move product to the cities, etc etc etc. And all that when sungrown is going for 12-15 at the most doesn't leave much wiggle room.
If LBs were still 32-4k than maybe he can pay his people more, but with the tightening market every single grow I know is looking to cut labor expenses drastically. Either by wage reduction or by hourly reduction. Il go water and prune my own trays when I can to save the cost of charging hourly wage. I had to let go of all % partners at 4/5 of my grows since its simply not worth it, even as 100% owner my labor costs are easily 30% of budget probably more.
Lethal
Active member
Hi all,
interesting thread and also bit educational for us living in countries where is growing still illegal. It's sad how fast the industry shifted towards the massive production but what else could have been expected.
I just hope there will still be place for the same type of people like small brewers or wine makers. Producing quality product on small scale and still be able to make living out of it. Does anybody has that experience from your markets?
interesting thread and also bit educational for us living in countries where is growing still illegal. It's sad how fast the industry shifted towards the massive production but what else could have been expected.
I just hope there will still be place for the same type of people like small brewers or wine makers. Producing quality product on small scale and still be able to make living out of it. Does anybody has that experience from your markets?
HillMizer
Member
Heck I've lived in a shack made out of slabs through 3 gates and fueled generators all hours of the night, flopped in poison oak, pulled tarps in rain and snow, managed all kinds of fluff heads and blew up 40 acres for way less than that. I'd be looking for that kind of gig. Well 30k March - November plus bonus.
It takes a pile of sungrown to make 100k these days. Paying the bills is what gives you the grey hairs.
It takes a pile of sungrown to make 100k these days. Paying the bills is what gives you the grey hairs.
Your droppin 32k on clones and 25k on nutrients...then the 7k on upgrades...
Theres the other half of my paycheck right there
Keep a solid mom around & make your own clones with trays...
Also id run jacks/calnit (.07cents/gl), might spend 300 bucks a year on nutrients tops...
Haha that's cute man! A mom, supplying 180 clones every 2 weeks. Takes a whole nother grow tent full of 2 generations of moms, 2 big cloning machines, and a couple hours a day of maintenance, and 18 hours a day of power. Cost to make clones is only a smidge less than buying them, and zero guarantees they'll all have feet in 14 days. Trust me, I spreadsheet this shit. What really fucking sucks is your cost to grow those clones is the same whether you get 300 rooted, or zero. Extra fun to then have to go BUY clones last second when you're a tray or two short.
Between my 3 spots I have 1900 gallons of reservoirs changed every week. Nutrients add up fast.
I also have to pay my helpers 25 an hour (soon to be 30) to keep them from leaving for people who already pay that much. Costs of everything keep climbing, except the retail price of pot.
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