About to have another go.

[getnasty]

As some of you may be aware, my last grow was a big success for a beginner's first grow. I'm on the verge of embarking on number two. I've gotten the opportunity to upgrade spaces and have moved into a wider closet. The dimensions are 2ft x 5ft x 8ft. It's approximately half an inch less deep than the last closet, which gives it the same surface area. I still have my 600w dimmable, switchable ballast. It's set at 400w and without ventilation, the temperature reads a steady 83 degrees. The required ducting will be picked up soon, and with proper ventilation, I expect the temperatures to read the same at full 600w capacity, and only getting better as the winter progresses and the ambient temperature drops. The exhaust will be set up through an access panel into the attic, run to an outside vent of the building.

My question comes in regarding intake. The closet doors are bifolding doors and there remains light escaping from the sides. I don't think that there is any way to make the doors completely light tight, but I also haven't been able to install a mylar curtain yet, either. Will i be able to use these cracks in the door as air intake? This way I can bring fresh air into the space? Will this be adequate for the exchange of air if I am able to install the mylar curtain with velcro to prevent light from escaping the cracks? I would really like to avoid cutting a hole into the wall, as I rent and do not want to destroy my landlord's property. I do know a couple trustworthy people who can drywall, but would like to avoid this altogether if possible.

Next, I am considering LST'ing these girls. With this closet being twice the length of the last, I am looking to house 3-4 large plants. If I go with 4 and veg 6-7 weeks, the closet will be crammed full with girls that robust. This will not, however, allow me to transplant from 3gal to 5gal bags as I did before. This is a problem I have ten seedlings, NOT clones; meaning I'm not going to know the sex of these for another month to month and a half and they need time to grow. I don't have the room in this closet for ten of my 5 gallon grow bags, so it's really not an option.

So, if I transplant them straight into 3 gallon grow bags, and begin LST'ing them, I could wind up with enough space for 6-7 medium-sized females, LST'd onto the side of the fabric grow bags. I have zero experience with LST but have heard of its powers of increasing yields. My last grow netted me half a pound of sweet stocky. Now, I'm aiming for 1.5 lbs. I think if I select 3-4 good females in 5gal bags without lst'ing, but fim'ing the hell out of them, I can come close to that. The question is, if I lst 5-7 females in 3gal bags, can i expect to jarvest somewhere in the ballpark of 1.5lbs? This is slightly over 1g per watt, so I realize it's nearly impossible. However my ambition is to merely get as close to that as possible.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

More plants does not mean more bud. In fact, I find it detrimental to yield to cram the closet too full. I would go with fewer plants, 5 gal buckets, and lst. I don't see you getting 6-7 plants in 10 sq ft and being able to do any lst.

I would not set up expectations like that. Expecting to triple your harvest is really not realistic. If you get 3/4 of a lb, you should be thrilled. A harvest of 1-1/2 lbs would be 6 plants that are 4 ozs each....a 4 oz plant is quite a large plant. I just don't see 6 of these happening in 10 sq ft.

 

[getnasty]

It was calculated off my largest plant last time which yielded a little over 6oz dry. It was topped and fim'd to hell and back. Figure if I can do it with a cross like that, these kush seeds should most definitely be capable of the same growth. I vegged for 8 weeks + 2 weeks seedling. The other plant was only vegged for 5-6 weeks and wasnt nearly as robust, but was also not fim'd nearly as much as the big plant. It still yielded 2oz in a 3gal air pot. Thanks for the input THG.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

It is the small amount of space, not that you couldn't do that. Six 4 oz plants (or 4 6 oz plants) in 10 sq ft just seems like an awfully tight fit. How much space did your 6 oz plant take? You can only cram so many plants together without affecting yield.

 

[growgreen420]

I have 4 plants, each in 2 gallon pots, in my 6 sq ft tent and that is a lot. So cramming another 3 plants in just another 4 sqft would seem too much like THG said. Especially if you use bigger pots than me. I have a hard enough time watering the plants (getting my watering bucket around the front plants to get to the back plants). I have done a lot of reading and it's best to have fewer plants where you can focus more on those plants and produce a greater yield. I would rather have fewer plants that have a greater yield then more plants that have a smaller yield. Once you get your strain/plant type figured out as far as veg times goes, water schedule, nute schedule, light setup... (all this can be documented and tweaked for the next grow so that way you can learn from past experiences and mistakes and make changes to your next grow)... all-in-all will produce a greater yield per plant. What I plan on doing before I do my next grow is go through all my papers and notes I made and make changes. My first grow I can tell you off the top of my head... I added nutes too soon, I used smaller lights then needed... I messed around with Co2 (which is not needed for out smaller closet grows) I vegged too long for my grow tent size... all this can be documented and learned from. Theoretically you can have the same grow every time with the same plants if everything is the same for each grow... which is quite amazing if you ask me. This way you can continuously produce the same yield/quality product every time. So... go with fewer plants and "learn" those plants the best you can to maximize your yield/quality with using the resources you have available to you.

As far as using the cracks in the doors as in intake.. this probably will work. I prefer to have my intake at the bottom of my tent so that way I will have fresh air move upwards through the grow space to the top of the tent where it is then expelled through the exhaust fan.

A way you could test this is run your fan outside of the grow space and take a mental note on how much air is moving out... use your hand... whatever you want.

Then, without attaching the filter, install your exhaust fan in your grow space and turn it on... if the air coming out is far less than before than you know the cracks in the door are not adequate enough. If the air coming out is about the same then you know the cracks in the door are suitable for your intended purpose.

 

[7greeneyes]

with Jack47 I grow 4-5 foot tree's and only bloom four roughly yielding a qp per plant. I completely concur with The Goddess:aok: It seems like I pay more attention to'em too if they're fewer but ginormous.

FFOF amended with Perlite in 5 gal home de pot buckets and Great White at xplant under 1kw vegged from clone for a month typically b4 the flip....

Much :heart:,

7ge

 

[WeedHopper]

I had three nice plants in 8sf and they took up all the space,,and i mean all of it.

 

[7greeneyes]

niiiice Weedhopper!

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I don't see the cracks between the closet doors as being enough "intake". I can understand not wanting to alter a rental, but a continual supply of fresh air is critical for proper photosynthesis.

 

[getnasty]

We'll see how it works out as thats how I'm going to begin. These are roughly 1/8" cracks all around the perimeter and 1/16" cracks where the doors meet and fold. I feel like that should be enough for fresh air to be drawn in once the ventilation is set up.

I believe the decision I've made it to not LST, but to continue my grow the same way I went about the last one: Transplanting from solo to roughly 3gal to roughly 5gal while FIM'ing and topping along the way. Going to select my best 4 and veg them for 6 weeks and then flip them. I'll have monsters again, but who doesn't love a monster? Theyve been in solo cups for at max 2 weeks. Leaving them there for another week or two and then transplanting them into the 3gal fabric grow bags. One thing to keep in mind is that my 3gal bags are taller than they are wide, and they do not taper. So there's plenty of room on the floor for them, it's just the canopy that would be crammed together.

My large plant took up 1/2 of the old closet. This closet is twice the width of the last one.

 

[The Silver Bullet Special]

Wont that allow light to leak during the dark period of flowering? My flowering room is a tad bigger than yours at 2ftx5.5 and at the rate I'm finding how my plants are doing, I can only fit 3-4 plants in there to make them produce nicely.

 

[Hushpuppy]

Bi-fold doors are relatively cheap and easy to replace. I would cut a round 4" hole in one of the doors and then get a 4" dryer vent and hose and connect them to the door with the hooded vent on the inside facing down, then run the metal hose on the outside of the door making several turns to block out light leaking in. Then I would get the rubber weatherstriping and seal all the way around the edges of the doors and then staple the reflective material to the inside of the door to both seal the cracks and give reflective wall. The small 4" vent at the bottom should allow enough air in while attaching the hose to the outside of the door so that it makes several turns should prevent any light getting in. That's how I would do it.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I built a box within my closet with 1/2" plywood. In the lower left hand corner I have a vent hold drilled. There is a 4" piece of ABS that goes through the wall into the box. A louvered vent cover is connected to the 4" ABS at the wall. This is at the very corner of the closet, so it is not where the doors are, but where the drywall is. I decided that I did not want any duct work connected to my doors because that would prevent me from opening them. I do have bypass doors rather than bifold doors, but any ducting connected to the doors will be detrimental to the working of the door. In addition, drywall is extremely easy to repair. There is a large bathroom type exhaust fan sitting on the right upper part of the box in the back corner. This is enough to keep the T5s cool. As this is my vegging space, I do not care if light escapes. However when I ran a scrog in this closet, it was easy to bend some duct work to create a light trap and not have any light escape.

 

[getnasty]

The light should not leak afterbI hang a mylar curtain. If the cracks do not suffice as intake as has been predicted ghere, I will look into cutting a hole in the kitchen wall behind the closet. I dont have the cash to go buy a new set of doors right now.

 

[Growdude]

The light should not leak afterbI hang a mylar curtain. If the cracks do not suffice as intake as has been predicted ghere, I will look into cutting a hole in the kitchen wall behind the closet. I dont have the cash to go buy a new set of doors right now.

If that doesnt work out to light proof the closet, My closet has the same doors. I took a thick blanket and tacked it up on the outside along the top, then just dropped it down over the doors when its dark time.

 

[getnasty]

Thanks for the tip bud