Trying to maximize yield

[Surfer Joe]

I have noticed a problem with my grows and am looking for advice from you more experienced growers.
I started in a small tent and maxed out at a 1 x 1 x 2m tent and I can't go further for the time being.
On one grow, I had 8 plants in there in 11L pots and they crowded each other too much. On another grow, I had only one hydro plant in there and it was massively bushy, but that was probably more due to being in hydro than soil.
My current grow has 7 plants, and again, they are crowded and the side branches that I did lst earlier on are being denied their place in the sun.

I was thinking of going one of two routes for the next grow, which will be in soil.

Should I plant about 16 seeds in 6L pots and trim them so they are basically the main cola and pack them tight (SOG), or plant only 3 or 4 max in 20 L pots and do lst on them to make them bushy with lots of colas?

Even with my crowding, I can count over 50 colas on the 7 current plants I have, plus there's a lot of lower stuff that doesn't stick up like the rest.
Would a SOG basically only give me one cola per plant?
Would fewer plants with lst tend to give a better yield?
Or is my sloppy way of crowding the tent and ending up with a thicket of varying colas and buds typical?
This is what the tent looks like now.

View attachment tent shot.jpg

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Firs, when you are overcrowded, you actually get less yield than a tent that has the right amount of plants. I have a space almost twice as big az yours and I never put more than 8 plants into it. I think that overcrowding is your major problem. More plants does not equal more bud. In a tent that size, I would probably run about 4 plants. Running 7, each plants only has a space of about 15" x 15", not enough unless you are running really small plants.

 

[Surfer Joe]

Thanks, I agree, and I also see that the crowded buds that don't get enough light are also less developed.
My mistake is that I plant more seeds than I want to grow in case some are males, but the last two grows I got about a 90% female ratio and then I can't bring myself to throw them out.
I want to limit the tent to 3 or 4 plants max but then I start to rationalize that fewer plants mean fewer buds and all my good intentions go up in smoke.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I know that it hard to throw them away, but your entire grow suffers if you put too many plants in a space. It is counterproductive and learning to throw plants away is part of becoming a grower...

 

[LostSoul]

I've got a 120 X 120 X 200 tent and I only ever do 4 under a 400W dual spec. I have crammed 9 in there before but I get more now then I did then and had mold problems too.

I'd go with the 4 if I was you.

 

[Surfer Joe]

Thanks. I plan to limit the tent to 3 or 4 next time. If I have to put a dehumidifier in the tent I will keep it to three. I have noticed some moist spots on the tent walls where the plants were touching it and worry about getting mold too.