So the most I’ve pulled from a tent of autos was 1.5lbs in a 5x5 using a 600 MH 24/7 lighting in 2 gallon containers. There were 20 of them. Now I’ve got a bunch of 4x4’s with a few 600’s a 1,000 and a CMH 630 watt and also. Marshydro ts 3000. My question is what is the best way to get the biggest yields from these different set ups? All in 4x4’s. I have a grow going now with all Mephisto genetics, 9 all in 3 gallon containers.
The most from autos
- Thread starter JDubs
- Start date
The best way to maximize yield is knowing your genetic choices, and being a well educated grower. There isn't a bottle or soil or light, or advice, that will make the plant yield more than what the plants dna/genetics allow. Your last run got you about 1.5 oz per plant.. That's decent if they were in 1 gallon pots.. But I guarantee that some would have yielded a lot more if in a 3 or 5 gal pot. Meph is really good about providing the expected yield and size. They even recommend pot sizes for certain strains. That's where I would start.
thank you very much for the info! Yes I did see that Mephisto actually does provide some info for some of the strains that I have. For instance using 9 in 3 gallon containers in a 4x4 under a 600 could get upwards of 500grms
I'm eager to see a 4x4 filled with 12 or 16 3 gallons with some small strains from meph. Like sour crack or 24 carat. In my filled tent I had a 24 carat that got 15 inches tall didn't get as much light as the others and got 59 grams off it. The cola weighed just over 112 grams wet. Cant remember dry. 25.6 or something.
I tried growing some Fastbuds in 3 gallon fabric pots. Ended up with huge plants that suffered from such a small pot. I was only getting 2 to 4 ounces cured from the strains I grew in those smaller pots Fastbuds recommended.
I moved on to 5, 7 and 11 gallon pots. Much better yield and bud size for me. I also moved many plants out of tent during the longer Summer days and just let them grow under natural sunlight. May lengthen time the plants need to grow but I was able to grow quantities that way as I only have a 4x4 tent and a 2x4 tent I use for seedlings.
I'm going to grow various photoperiod plants next Spring. I got some fast blooming and finishing seeds as freebies last year not realizing the were short flowering strains. Last year I grew out a single photo freebie of Afgooey strain that resulted in a pound of bud after losing some ounces to bud rot. I ran 51 grams of bud and trim the other day through bubble bags with ice and water and yielded around 4 grams of hash that is seriously potent.
Once it warms up enough in the Spring I'm going to start my photo seedlings for transplanting then run autoflowers in June. I plan on pollinating most of my plants this year and try to get a supply of regular seeds just for fun. Then do some larger hash runs next Fall.
I live in a state that allows you to grow 12 plants at a time. As long as they are out of view you can grow outside on your property. I put up a board fence and a locked gate. I'm lucky if I can fit 3 Fastbuds plants in a 4x4 grow tent. Just a bit of topping and two plants fill my tent.
I moved on to 5, 7 and 11 gallon pots. Much better yield and bud size for me. I also moved many plants out of tent during the longer Summer days and just let them grow under natural sunlight. May lengthen time the plants need to grow but I was able to grow quantities that way as I only have a 4x4 tent and a 2x4 tent I use for seedlings.
I'm going to grow various photoperiod plants next Spring. I got some fast blooming and finishing seeds as freebies last year not realizing the were short flowering strains. Last year I grew out a single photo freebie of Afgooey strain that resulted in a pound of bud after losing some ounces to bud rot. I ran 51 grams of bud and trim the other day through bubble bags with ice and water and yielded around 4 grams of hash that is seriously potent.
Once it warms up enough in the Spring I'm going to start my photo seedlings for transplanting then run autoflowers in June. I plan on pollinating most of my plants this year and try to get a supply of regular seeds just for fun. Then do some larger hash runs next Fall.
I live in a state that allows you to grow 12 plants at a time. As long as they are out of view you can grow outside on your property. I put up a board fence and a locked gate. I'm lucky if I can fit 3 Fastbuds plants in a 4x4 grow tent. Just a bit of topping and two plants fill my tent.
How much you yielding in 11 gallons? Also, how much time difference to harvest comparable to 3?
In one 11 gallon pot last year I planted three regular autoflower seeds expecting to have to cull some male seedlings. All three ended up being female. Two phenotypes could be expected according to the breeders. I got both phenos. Kilter strain from Afterthought Autos. They are not a fast strain.
One appeared to be almost a photoperiod pheno, produced a tall plant that appeared to be sativa dominant. I had it written down how much I yielded from that pheno but I probably tossed it. I filled around 4 quart jars, a couple pint jars from that plant. Probably 50 to 60 inches with numerous branches with two to three inch buds.
The other two plants probably yielded two ounces each, appearance was more of an indica look. The two plant had large central colas with smaller side colas. No taller than maybe 30 inches each. Central colas were as long as my forearm. Three plants in one pot, grown under natural sunlight from seedlings. Very little care. Probably 12 ounces total.
The plants were put outside in June when night time temperatures were still in the high 30's F. Two shorter phenos were harvested in late August. Tall pheno harvested in late September I believe. I gave them nutes but did nothing else. No topping or stress training.
I posted pictures here at the time but I couldn't access my account due to the upgrade of the site last year tanking Facebook sign ins.
I didn't grow this strain in a three gallon pot so I can't compare this strain.
As far as some Fastbud strains I grew in both pot sizes. Some grew so big in 3 gallon pots that the roots were growing out of the soil. Just a mass of roots, rootbound? Huge plants but only 1 1/2 ounce harvests. Had to water 2 to 3 times each day. Larger the pot, I could go days without watering. These were outside grows. Start in tent, move outside once established.
As far as the 11 gallon pot with the three plants. I had read here that you can't grow more than one plant in each pot but the three plants grew fine, considering two of the plants were a small pheno and harvested a month before the large pheno finished.
I harvested 1 lb from the single photo plant I grew, after losing a few ounces to bud rot from the top colas that were huge. That plant was planted straight into ground after transplanting from 2 gallon pot. I filled two half gallon jars from that plant, some quart jars, some pint jars. It seems much more potent than the autoflower plants I grew. I did a hash run from some of that mixed in with some spindly Fastbuds Gorilla Glue that resulted from a three gallon pot. The Fastbuds was a large plant that I accidentally planted in a three gallon pot. It took four months to mature in that small pot, big plants but buds were small. I threw the one ounce I got from the GG into my hash run and the hash is killer. Used another ounce in some cannaoil I made in my Infuzium 420. Very potent. But the buds were so spindly I didn't even finish harvesting that plant before frost killed it. Probably two ounces still left on the plant out in the snow when I last looked at it. I should have cut the plant down and put it in a bag in my basement freezer but I had two pounds of good weed I was busy trimming and drying at the time.
I only smoke about an ounce or two in an entire year. I don't even know what to do with two pounds. Not legal to sell without a state license. But you can gift 2 1/2 ounces to anyone 21 and older. You can only eat so many pot brownies.
Fastbuds in 3 gallon pots took about a month longer to reach harvest versus the same strain in 7 or 11 gallon pots. With Fastbuds I do some topping.
My photo plant planted straight in the ground I did topping, stress training to keep it under 6 feet tall. Did frequent trimming of fan leaves. Had colas so huge the plant split in half a month or so before harvest. Duct taped it back together and had to use straps to tie the plant for support. Gave me a huge harvest compared to the 20 autoflowers I ran last Summer. I going to grow mostly photo plants this year. In ground or 11 gallon pots. Will be pollinating them to get regular seeds. Might cross them with the Kilter autoflower just for kicks.
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Was it pheno variation that caused the same strain to finish a month faster in the larger pot?
Just my opinion. Outdoor grow. So it took both plants longer to mature. No 24 hour lighting. I suppose the tall pheno would take longer because it vegged longer, grew taller and flowered later. The tall pheno grew to 60 some inches and produced smaller buds on many more branches, but the time it started to flower it was a month later, days were shorter and colder. It looked more like a sativa strain I grew from Fastbuds, Mexican Airlines. Much larger than breeder descriptions. It's a hybrid plant sativa/indica. I suspect the sativa came through dominate.
Kilter strain description from breeder.
This large sized-auto hybrid produces plants for a nice daytime high. Plant in 5 gallon container as she likes to spread her roots and grows to be 34-38”. Using the Domina and Ogre auto strains as part of the hybrid, we introduced it to a prominent fast maturing photoperiod with both sativa and indica in the genes. Finishes in ~ 85 - 90 days.
Ogre is a Skunk-leaning phenotype of the multiple award-winning indica Sensi Star. While most phenotypes of Sensi Star are fairly compact indica plants, Ogre is named for its much larger size and huge yields. Giant, frosty colas produce very high levels of THC and a pungent lemon-skunk aroma.
The domina strain is indica.
Then they crossed that with some unknown photo plant.
The shorter two phenos appeared to be indica dominant. Short plant, 24 inches, with tightly packed large buds. I suppose it matured faster because it doesn't get as large and maturing a month sooner, it grew in the hottest months of Summer with longer days.
I had two Fastbuds plants of the same strain planted on the same day, same soil mix. Same identical watering scheduled, nutrients out of same watering jug. One finished in nine weeks the other took two additional weeks. One in a 3 gallon pot, the faster was planted in a 7 gallon pot. Probably the larger pot, having more Fox Farms soil probably had more nutrients available from the start before I started feeding addition nutes. Just a guess.
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Here was the large Kilter plant after harvesting the two short phenos from the same 11 gallon pot.
