Beginner?? Why not 10 gal RDWC Top fed system???

[CVD1983]

As a beginner to the whole indoor thing, I seem to have spent hours and hours, weeks and weeks researching hydroponics and diffrent techniques... Online Forums... Getting advice, Everything I can and the one thing I don't get is WHY do people opt to grow lots of smaller plants rather than 1 large?

I'm only a beginner, I'm on my 2nd grow to be exact.
So definitely NO expert.
My first grow I grew 2 plants.
2 x 10 gal tubs. 1 per plant, Top fed RDWC. 600w light.
I managed to yield just under 10 ounces per plant. And that was with me harvesting WAY TO EARLY. As beginners apparently do lol
I had 4 weeks veg... 7 weeks flower...
All the research I've done, people seem to grow lots of small plants yielding nothing close to that?
Ofcourse there are others that do, but comparing to 80% of what I've read,
Why would anybody not want more bud?
Is there something I'm missing.
like I said, NO EXPERT... Don't want to sound like a flog, just genuinely curious.
Is there reasons I'm not understanding?

 

[Grower13]

20 ozs of dried quality product is a nice haul under one 600 watt bulb and doing it in eleven weeks is pretty awesome........ were your plants from seed or clones .......Yield is strain dependent........ some grow areas are vertically challenged......

 

[CVD1983]

Yeah ok, that makes sense I guess, but surely by just training your 1 plant you can keep it at a low height. And with all the extra room for roots to grow, bigger roots bigger buds I would have thought. I might have to try the technique myself and see why people choose this.

Yeah I started with 2 clones...
Had a few issues like Nute and light burn but all a learning experience.
Room temperature was an biggest issue but sorted that with extraction fan.
Was very happy with my first attempt, would have loved to know what my yield had been if I waited that extra flowering time. .

 

[CVD1983]

Clones

View attachment image.jpeg

 

[CVD1983]

Week before harvest

View attachment image.jpeg

 

[Hushpuppy]

I am one that grows fewer plants to larger size rather than more shorter plants. I think it is just a matter of what people like to do. The key to maximizing your yield is to have the plants at optimal health and (I believe) optimal age/maturity. This for me usually works best with slightly bigger plants. I usually do 4 plants in a 1.2m X 1.2m space and average 22oz

 

[CVD1983]

Definitely makes sense to me. How long you veg before switching to 12/12?
I've noticed that my seedling is much further behind than my last grow.
Obviously using clones give you that head start which I think I'll be doing from now on.

 

[Hushpuppy]

A seedling must be vegged to around 5-8 weeks depending on the strain. Ideally you want to see preflowers and/or alternating branches/leaves (alternating as opposed to each leaf or branch developing directly across from its twin) appear before beginning flowering. This allows the plants to mature sexually and be properly ready to flower. This also helps you to discover any males in the bunch (as they generally show sooner than females).

Once you have cloned a plant, that clone will be genetically the same age as the first seedling it was taken from. I have heard of people cloning the same plant for 5 years. The latest clone from that will not be a "newborn", it will be a 5 year old. When you have reached the point with clones that the plant from which the clone was taken is already sexually mature, then the clone will be sexually mature. At this point you could literally flower the clone as soon as it gets roots.

That wouldn't be a very good way to get much yield but if someone had a very low space to grow in, they could do this in order to keep the plants short, and at least still get some bud. If they grow 20 of these tiny plants and get 1/2oz off each plant then they would be doing ok. Its a more demanding way to grow but for someone with limited options, that is viable.

However, I like to allow my plants to get about 3-5 feet tall by harvest. With that I have to veg most of my strains about 3-5 weeks from clone. You need a couple of weeks just for the rooting process for the clones (if you are doing your own cloning) then 3-5 weeks of veg. This will vary from person to person due to what methods they use, what strains are being used, and by the amount of vertical growth each wants to achieve.

My grow space will not allow me more than 5 feet from top of medium to the bottom of my light, so I try to only have my clones veg to about 15"-18"(inches) and I use a screen to do Scrog or semi-Scrog which is set at 16".
Generally, people who want to keep their plants shorter and bushier will flower them at around 12" for shorter plants, up to 20" for taller plants.

 

[Hushpuppy]

A little more explaining as I'M not sure of your knowledge level. Forgive me if I am repeating stuff you already know.

Some strains are very "leggy" meaning they want to grow like trees. Some want to grow like man-eating bushes with branches going everywhere. These are "typically"(but not always) going to be Sativa dominant strains. I have one right now called Goji and it wants to find cracks in the ceiling and force its way up and out to the sun.

Some strains are more stocky, or shorter and/or bushier. These will "typically" be hybrids of Sativa and Indica strains. Hybrids bring a vast variety of physical traits to each plant breed. The Indicas "typically" will be shorter still, and can be very "blueberry bush like" or "stalky" like tobacco plants. You have to do your homework on finding strains that will fit your preferred methods and space. Then you have to grow it and make adjustments as needed, as you learn the nuances of those plants.

A good place to look and see a massive amount of strains and seeds is: www.worldwide-marijuana-seeds.com I have spent hours there just reading about different strains.

 

[CVD1983]

Thanks for the info HP...
I think I've managed to grow an indica from seed, it seems to be growing very short with extremely large/thick fan leaves. I've never seen a plant like it before. She defly my favourite.
My clone on the other hand is very spindly with much smaller thin looking leaves. Iv also noticed comparing the 2, my clone wants to grow quick. While my seedling is taking her sweet arse time. I'm going to have some issues with this I think...
Would there be a reason my seedling has slowed? She was really moving there for a bit then seems to just stop, still looking healthy but not wanting to do much else. I recently read water temps should stay below 20c. I had a heater in res which was keeping temps at 21.7.
I decided to pull that out... Now temps are 17.4.
Do you think this may be a reason or am I just being typical beginner and looking into everything to much?

 

[Hushpuppy]

the ideal temp for your water is 20c. I think if you can keep it in a range of 19-21, they will stay happy.

The seedling has smaller root mass at this point so it will not be able to keep pace with the clone, which has an already well established root mass. If you still have them in veg, you can go in and prune the clone so that it go back to smaller size. This will also slow down the upward grow of the clone for a short time. This should allow the seedling to catch up some.

Seedlings will go through growth spurts like people but the weak growth and possible stretching of the clone may be coming from the lack of "blue" light.

 

[grass hopper]

A seedling must be vegged to around 5-8 weeks depending on the strain. Ideally you want to see preflowers and/or alternating branches/leaves (alternating as opposed to each leaf or branch developing directly across from its twin) appear before beginning flowering. This allows the plants to mature sexually and be properly ready to flower. This also helps you to discover any males in the bunch (as they generally show sooner than females).

Once you have cloned a plant, that clone will be genetically the same age as the first seedling it was taken from. I have heard of people cloning the same plant for 5 years. The latest clone from that will not be a "newborn", it will be a 5 year old. When you have reached the point with clones that the plant from which the clone was taken is already sexually mature, then the clone will be sexually mature. At this point you could literally flower the clone as soon as it gets roots.

That wouldn't be a very good way to get much yield but if someone had a very low space to grow in, they could do this in order to keep the plants short, and at least still get some bud. If they grow 20 of these tiny plants and get 1/2oz off each plant then they would be doing ok. Its a more demanding way to grow but for someone with limited options, that is viable.

However, I like to allow my plants to get about 3-5 feet tall by harvest. With that I have to veg most of my strains about 3-5 weeks from clone. You need a couple of weeks just for the rooting process for the clones (if you are doing your own cloning) then 3-5 weeks of veg. This will vary from person to person due to what methods they use, what strains are being used, and by the amount of vertical growth each wants to achieve.

My grow space will not allow me more than 5 feet from top of medium to the bottom of my light, so I try to only have my clones veg to about 15"-18"(inches) and I use a screen to do Scrog or semi-Scrog which is set at 16".
Generally, people who want to keep their plants shorter and bushier will flower them at around 12" for shorter plants, up to 20" for taller plants.

aren't there growers that flip at 2 weeks pup? i think some strains(seeds) are recommended to flip at 2 to 3 weeks old but not sure on that.??

 

[Grower13]

aren't there growers that flip at 2 weeks pup? i think some strains(seeds) are recommended to flip at 2 to 3 weeks old but not sure on that.??

plenty of clones you can flip at that age........ I'd like to see a grow from seed that would do well at 2 or 3 weeks of veg......... some breeders don't count first week or 2 as veg....... just like they don't count the first week or 2 of 12/12 as flowering time.

 

[grass hopper]

plenty of clones you can flip at that age........ I'd like to see a grow from seed that would do well at 2 or 3 weeks of veg......... some breeders don't count first week or 2 as veg....... just like they don't count the first week or 2 of 12/12 as flowering time.

ah-so.. thanks g-13

 

[Hushpuppy]

You can flip at 2 weeks for clones that are already sexually mature. It doesn't work well trying to do that with seedlings as they have not reached sexual maturity. A couple people that used to be on here have tried it with very limited success. But once a cutting has been taken from a "mature" plant, that cutting can be put into flower as soon as it roots well, which is generally 2 weeks.