1200 Watts - How Many Plants??

[sap_boy]

I'm going to be using 1200 Watts of HPS when it comes time to flower. My original plan was to cram as many plants under them as possible, but I've since reconsidered. I'm not sure what the cut-off is for felony charges or jail time as far as penalties go, but I do know that generally speaking, fewer plants is better. I've also been told that growing fewer plants larger will yield about the same as growing more plants smaller.

So, how many plants for 1200 Watts? I thought that eight 5-gallon containers would grow some really nice 3-foot plants with room to spare for good roots. A friend suggested growing 12 plants. Yet another suggested six. The space I'm growing in is approximately 5 X 3.5 feet.

Any opinions?

 

[New_2_Chronic]

the question of how many plants is irrelevant. You could fill the space with one plant and harvest the same amount if you had 8 plants in there. yield has less to do with number of plants and more to do with lighting.

I think your space I would put four nice plants in 3 gal and use some techniques to make the plants grow and fill the space

 

[sap_boy]

Thanks, New_2_Chronic. I should have mentioned the following:

I'll be propagating cuttings in an aeroponic propagater, "vegging" them in there for a few weeks after they root. This will be done in the smae room as my mothers. THEN, I'll move them under the 1200 Watts to veg in soil for five weeks. I should have asked how many plants would be a good for five weeks of vegging followed by eight weeks of flowering. I'm pretty sure that it would take four plants much longer than this to fill the space under 1200 Watts. Not to mention the stress of topping, training, etc.

Any other thoughts?

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I have a space that is 3 x 6.5--19.5 sq ft.; you have 17.5 sq ft, so fairly close in size. I use 5 gal buckets in a DWC setup. I never put more than 8 plants in this space. I let them veg until they are about 2-2.5' tall (my veg room is only 4'tall) and then put into flowering. Some strains grow taller faster than others, some spread out and are bushier, some grow tall like trees. A big part of how many plants you will want to put into your room depends on strain. If you are vegging them under a HPS rather than a MH, expect them to stretch a little more.

Your girls are really going to like having that much light!

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

a 1200w light should rock out like spinal tap in a 18sqft room...i use 1000w in 24 sqft room on 5 plants...(5 plants that are super crowded)

 

[raoulduke2.0]

That much lighting could go a long way. If you truly want to get the most out of the space. Try LST growing in that space and try to get a low, wide, sea of green going. Square containers give you a little more root space in the same area, as well.

 

[Killertea08]

It depends on what you want buddy. Do you want the hassle of watering a lot of small containers. If you have 18 square feet you could do the easy one plant per square foot. Or if you really want a headache put in as many rooted clones in one gallon pots and veg for a wk then flower. I would set up automatic watering if your going that route. Just make sure you have enough room to get to all of your plants and your not stretching to get to them that gets old after a while. If your doing a SOG set up like I just said make sure that you have a SOG compatible strain because some dont respond to well to it. My opinion do 18 big plants like The Hemp Goddess says and flower at a foot or two and top them to make them bush out so you dont waste any of that light.

Hey what kind of lamp do you have? And what do you do to keep temps down?

 

[sap_boy]

Well, I'm leaning toward fewer plants, because I don't want the hassle of caring for so many, when I can get a similar yield with more veg time and fewer crops. Also, even though I keep a low profile and I'm in a state that has reasonable laws, I don't want to face harsh punishment if I'm ever busted. I figured eight plants would grow to fill the space in the same way as SOG would, only take a little longer. four crops per year instead of five or six, but similar yield over the course of a year. 18 plants is definitely SOG. Too much work, too much risk, for a similar end result.

To answer KillerTea, I will have two 600 Watt HPS electronic ballasts with a 46-inch wide dual bulb air-cooled hood (not set up yet). I will cool it with a 6-inch Vortex inline fan connected to a CAN carbon filter, hopefully exhausted outdoors. In the winter, I will most likely NOT air-cool the hood, as the room gets cold and the heat from the lamps will make the room warmer.

So far, I've had success with the 4 female clones and the 12 seedlings (perhaps can expect 1/2 to be female?) I sprouted a few weeks ago under a 250 Watt Metal Halide. I have started a grow journal, which can be viewed here:

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=31004

I'll focus on keeping both threads up to date.

Anybody know if it would be worth it to invest in 2 600W metal halide conversion bulbs, or would five weeks of veg time not be affected too badly by the HPS?

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

Look At My Journal For #of Plants And Grow Time

 

[Killertea08]

If you can use the bulbs with your ballast then why not your still veggin at the moment anyway. I thought you could only use conversion bulbs with digital ballasts? If you can I would unless you where going to flower soon then Id wait until next cycle.

 

[Killertea08]

What are the dimensions of your space Sap Boy

 

[sap_boy]

Clone room 4 X 2.5

Flower room 5 X 3.5

See grow journal:

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?p=316453&posted=1#post316453

 

[papabeach1]

I will say 10 plants, ya still can yield more buds, we got 1000 watt hps, still manage lol

 

[sap_boy]

Like I said, ten plants might be too many for the space, but also it's getting into the area where number of plants may become a problem legally. Is there any place I can get DETAILED information on number of plant penalties for my state? NORML.ORG is ok for general information, but it doesn't go into specifics about cultivation. Any alternatives?

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Like I said, ten plants might be too many for the space, but also it's getting into the area where number of plants may become a problem legally. Is there any place I can get DETAILED information on number of plant penalties for my state? NORML.ORG is ok for general information, but it doesn't go into specifics about cultivation. Any alternatives?

State by state penalties courtesy of NORML.

hxxp://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4516

Change xx to tt

 

[sap_boy]

Thanks Goddess, but what I'm looking for is something a llittle more specific than norml.org. NORML doesn't do into specifics of how many plants equals a misdemeaner, how many equals a felony, etc. That's the info I'm looking for.

 

[Dubbaman]

IMO you can get more in there than you think i run 800W of HPS in my flower room and can get 12 plants in there in 3 or 5 gal potters.id say so long as you let the plant grow without any LST or HST and stop vegging at a foot and flower then you should be able to do 15 or so after all a 5 gal potter or even plain old paint bucket is just under a ft in diameter.

Oh and that normal site may deserve another look after you get to the main site look for your particular area and see whats what i know they have it broken down for my area of the colonies.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Thanks Goddess, but what I'm looking for is something a llittle more specific than norml.org. NORML doesn't do into specifics of how many plants equals a misdemeaner, how many equals a felony, etc. That's the info I'm looking for.

Have you checked out this site? This site does have specifics (at least for my state). I know EXACTLY how many plants I can grow before it is a MANDATORY jail sentence. I think that in most states that do not have medical marijuana statutes in effect that cultivation is always a felony. The number of plants determine whether it is a mandatory jail sentence or not.

 

[Aurora_Indicas_Dad]

my system holds 40 pots,im gonna be filling it and i have 2 600 watt hps's.i look at it like this,if you get busted,you goin to jail whether its 10 or 50 plants where i am.ill veg til there 10 inches,then once they hit that 10-12 inch mark,ill flower them.

 

[sap_boy]

I'm in NY, I can't find anything on NORML that tells me specific number of plants. I guess this is because it's considered a felony. However, I've been told by more than one seasoned grower that NY doesn't throw people in jail or take their house away for first-time offenders with under a certain number of plants. They just didn't know what that number was.