Critical strain - height issue

[Kyriakos]

I would like to have your opinion and advice on one issue that I have.

Would be possible to grow the strain Critical in a room where the height is 2m? I have read that this strain does not become more than 1m tall so I am thinking whether I should plant this photosynthesis strain instead of an autoflower.

Any help on this matters is very appreciated, it is the last step before I can start.

 

[stonedagain714]

i think critical is an indica strain.not much stretch,i cant see why not.height of plant when you flip are important.if you know how far it will stretch when you flip,you can grow just about any strain in a 6 or 7 foot high room. google the strain you want--example critical grow reports--read several, and you will get a lot of info.

 

[Kyriakos]

Thank you for answering. The goal is to have as big yield as possible. How many plants and in what pot size would you recommend under a 600w HPS lamp? Would it be better to give them space to grow wide or maybe make a SoG in the area?

 

[chazmaine420]

Theres a lot of ways you could do it. I would do 6 plants in 3 gallon pots in a 4 x 4 ScroG.
Do you have a tent or what for grow space?

 

[Kyriakos]

It is a room in a basement that is 19,5 m2. I need to know what is the best way to get as much yield as possible. I dont know whether I should put less plants under each 600w lamp to let them have space to grow or to put more plants close to eachother...

 

[stonedagain714]

i have no experience with 600 watt,but under 1000 watt less plants(6 in 4X4)is easier to deal with,and good yield. you can read up on scrog. ive read you can bring your yield up substantually. it takes a little longer in veg.read up on it see if its for you

 

[samarta]

I grew a critical hog strain and yes it was stacked node on node. Grew like a little hedge hog, nice production for size - only a couple oz's of dried bud, but nice buds. I may have increased yield by doing something but because of great health and compact size, I did not know what to do. A little stretch would have been great if you can force it some how.

 

[PencilHead]

You either need to get a tent or build an enclosure. You'll lose too much light in a room that big. How many 600s are you running? I run 3 in a 34 square foot (about 3 M2) room, and 6 big plants in 15 gallon (what's that, like 50-something liters?) pots is pushing it.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Do you have 2 m total or is this the space for the plant after taking into account the light? This will make a difference on what we advise.

You might want to try LST--low stress training. It will be a bit simpler for you just starting out than scrog, which I personally feel works better with clones. The training for scrog must be started in veg and it is really difficult to cull the males from a scrog ready to flower. It is fairly easy to control the height of the plant if you have adequate light and a good environment set up.

Whether you run more smaller plants or fewer big plants is more a matter of choice. You are not going to want to put reg plants into 12/12 until they are sexually mature, though. Clones can be flowered at any time as you know the sex and they are the same biological age as the mother. Keep in mind that overcrowding plants can actually be detrimental to good growth, so there is a fine line between just enough and too many. I personally prefer fewer larger plants, but circumstances often dictate how you grow. I have successfully grown a scrog in a space that was about 4 sq ft (22" x 28") and 4' tall total during a flowering room remodel.

Like mentioned, you are also going to need some kind of enclosure that you can control the environment. This really is critical to good plant health as you have to be able to control the environment--temps, RH, ventilation, and lastly, but most important, to keep the light out during the dark period of flowering. This space cannot be larger than 4 x 4 or your 600W will not be inadequate.

Have you picked out your medium and nutrients? Do you have a ventilation system set up? We all wish that we could just throw a light in a corner somewhere, but the truth of the matter is that it requires a bunch more than that. If the Critical has caught your eye, you should be able to make that work just fine in 2 m. So, you could get some seeds ordered and get a space set up or look into a tent (probably the best option if you are not handy with power tools and building things) while you are waiting for the seeds. Tell us about the pots, medium, and fertilizers you are planning on using. A lot of new growers make the mistake of starting their seeds in the wrong medium. Basements make wonderful places to grow!

 

[Kyriakos]

The rooms is almost 20m2 and I am planning one HPS 600w for every 1,25m2.
The thought is to have four 18litre pots for every 1,50m2 but I need to see what space is needed to move around. Any help on this matter would be great.

The environmental conditions are calculated and planned for. For medium I am thinking a mix between outside soil and perlite and for nutrients I have decided to use Canna Aqua series after a recommendation from a friend. The seed will be planted straight into its final pot.

I am trying to find out what would be the best way for me as an amateur to train the plants to keep them low. Is LST combined with super cropping a good way to go?

Are these thoughts good or is it something I should change? Appreciate your help!

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Running a 600W in a 1.25m2 space is pushing the lights to the max--most of us find that we actually need more light than that to get great yield, which is what you are looking for. Trying to make your light do more space than it should is probably one of the biggest mistakes new growers make. The lights look so bright that you have trouble believing that it is not enough. It sounds like you are looking at filling the entire space with plants. How many lights are you planning? There truly is a big learning curve with this indoor growing and going huge right out of the gate can be a mistake.

When you say that the environmental conditions are calculated and planned for...I don't know exactly what that means? That kind of thing for a large grow can be quite complicated...do you have monitors and regulators to control things?

I doubt that using your outdoor soil and only adding perlite is going to give you a good planting mixture. Unless your native soil is very very good, you are going to want to add more things--lime, compost, worm castings, peat moss, etc. I encourage you to check out some soil mixtures listed in the organic section. For instance, IMO, lime is an absolute must for every soil grow. It is also a mistake to plant seeds into huge containers.

I also recommend not starting out in large containers. It is very hard to control the water and the amount of nutrients the plants are receiving and you waste a whole bunch of nutrients. There is no reason at all that transplanting has to cause shock. It is best to start in something small like kegger cups and then go bigger as the plant grows.

I think that lst and supercropping is a good way to go if you decide that you need to do training. How long are you planning on vegging them? Though it does not look like Critical gets very tall even if no training is done. I am kind of looking at a high CBD Critical for a grow with a lot less space than that.

 

[Kyriakos]

I am thinking one lamp for every 1,25m2 so in that area 16 lamps with reflectors and the whole area dressed in white mylar. The recommendation about one lamp/1.25m2 came from a Dutch indoor grower with 20+ years experience, do you believe I should install more lamps or use higher wattage?

I am planning to use an extractor fan that can ventilate the room every three minutes. I will also use an intake fan on the other side of the room and of course a good carbon filter. Both fans will be having controllers. Humidifier/dehumidifier and air condition.

I will check the organic section to see what I can find there. Maybe you recommend me to buy ready made mixtures straight from shop for first time or would it be easy to mix something myself?

I will go for Critical + from Dinafem and veg for 4-5 weeks. Thank you for helping me out, I need to read and watch videos about training them before I get to start.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

You are seriously going to run 16 600w lights without any growing experience at all?!? Do you have the amperage to do that? The money? The knowledge? Do you have any idea what it entails to tend to 64 plants? Do you realize how large a fan you are going to require? Do you have a large A/C there? I have been growing for decades (30+ years) and I would not undertake a project that size without a whole lot of help....

I know that I sound shocked, but I am. This growing thing is not like planting a veggy garden or growing an acre of corn. Every plant requires individual care and maintenance. And cannabis is very finicky....

Okay now on to your setup. You are most likely going to find that exchanging the air once every 3 minutes is not going to be adequate. You are most likely going to need a large commercial type A/C to keep things cool enough. Soil that you make up has to cook--how much room do you have? Can you make up cubic yards of soil and have room to let it cook for a month or 2? If not you are going to have to buy soil. If going organic, everything you use must be organic, 100% organic, starting with your soil and everything you put into it. However, even if you buy soil, you are most likely going to have to add things. Time spent in the organic section will help you get an idea of what is entailed for a good organic medium. IMO, lime and perlite are "musts" for all soil grows.

I am again going to urge you to start smaller and get a feel for this before you invest thousands and thousands of dollars into a project like this....

 

[Kyriakos]

The idea is not mine, neither the money for this project. I believe also it is a big challenge. The amperage is enough and the capacity for the extractor fan is 1900m3/h. For intake, the capacity is 1500m3/h. An A/C of good quality will be present. Is this enough or do you believe it will still be too hot?

Because of time restriction I believe tht buying soil from the shop would be a better option. Do you have any suggestions on what brand/type I should use?

 

[Joe420Camel]

.

it's like a 15 year old with a learners permit (driving license) saying well I want to drive a TOP FUEL dragster @ 300mph+ but I'm not sure how to use a seatbelt and do I really need a helmet or is this baseball cap ok? Oh and can you tell me how to use a clutch... that's the one on the left, right?

seriously, this is a personal growers forum. we grow for ourselves and friends for the most part. If you want to become an industrial grower you may want to ... learn to crawl before you try to teleport.

sorry if I come-off grouchy or unfriendly it's just very frustrating watching our Canna-Saint (THG) try to teach people who have never planted a seed (or, in some cases, smoked a joint) how to grow HUGE, professional, industrial sized setups that very VERY few of us (maybe 3-5 @ most) here have ever seen let alone set-up and run.


.

 

[Kyriakos]

You are right and I understand how abstract it sound for you. I appreciate that people with years of experience take their time to answer my questions.
If the forum only is for personal use grows then there is no idea I continue on writing. Otherwise I would like to have THG's confirmation on the choice of fan setup and the advice about soil.

 

[Joe420Camel]

its for anyone who wants to learn to grow

its for people who love marijuana and want to grow it

its for sharing and learning and making friends

if you fit into any/all of those.. PLEASE stay and ENJOY!
just don't use us like a Wikipedia page

:48:


EDIT/PS
IF I lived someplace I could go BIG, trust me brotha', I'd be talking AC units rated in tons not BTUs (too)
but I don't and maybe that adds a little resentment to my responses to those who are LEGAL and able to go BIG
sorry