How to harvest bigger denser buds?

[Johnnygrowz]

Hey guys just finish up my first harvest. Everything went pretty well but im not happy with the size and density of my product so far.

My other friend grew out same strain but his came out bigger and nicer .

Hes using led and im using 1000watt hps so no excuse.

He lollipopped way then i did. And came out with bigger buds even though his plants in veg were wayyy smaller then mine .

For next run i will try to lollipop more see whats up. Any expert opinions welcomed!!!!

My plants first pic

My friends second

 

[Aqua Man]

Up the light intensity (aka switch to a quality LED) add PGRs are the 2 that come to mind.

Lots affects this though.

 

[ReeferRon]

Flower size and density depend on many variables... Genetics being number one I think, followed closely by environment. When I grew HPS I had strains that grew big dense buds in the winter months when I didn't have heat issues and looser fluffier buds in the hotter months when heat was a constant fight. Another depending factor is light and light intensity... So many variables...

 

[airedog]

PGRs?

Did your friend use cuts from the same plant or did you just use seeds from the same strain?

 

[Aqua Man]

PGRs?

Plant growth regulators... like tricantonal.

 

[Madmax]

The bees knees ^ Lollipopping wont make bigger buds it doesnt work like that...if that was the case youd just feed it more...

 

[30roll]

So in general, I should be blasting the plants with the max amount of light my setup is capable during flower??

 

[Aqua Man]

So in general, I should be blasting the plants with the max amount of light my setup is capable during flower??

Yes the most they can handle... you only have 12 hrs a day in flower to get them as much light as possible to increase photosynthesis (the amount of energy the plants produce that is used in growth).... this is why intensity matters with lighting. If your growing auto and can do 18-24hrs lights you can get away with much lower and still produce.

Basically anything you can do to increase photosynthetic rates will help increase the yield. Eg higher light intensity, higher co2, PGRs can manipulate the type of growth.

Law of the minimum very much applies here. So figuring out what's the limiting factor is the key to increase yields.... this is why there are optimals for growth that include enviroment, media, nutrients, light, co2 etc and they are all related to eachother... change one and they all change.

 

[Johnnygrowz]

Ok so what light distance would you reccomend for 1000watt hps? 18"?

I was at 20 the whole grow and even a bit higher during veg . I was scared to bkeach the plants. I feel my total ppm of nutes i ever got to was only 600ppm before i experienced burn.

This time i will try to increase the ppm gradually so i can maybe finish up higher. Giving more nutes for bud productivity.

So all this talk.about pgrs lately from everyone i know who grows. So hypothetically if i were to use a type of pgr . Do you hit it day 7 after flip or day 21 ?

Also what brands are good? Is bushload by GH ok? Since im running their line .

We both used the same cuts. He actually made for me . :(
.

 

[Johnnygrowz]

Flower size and density depend on many variables... Genetics being number one I think, followed closely by environment. When I grew HPS I had strains that grew big dense buds in the winter months when I didn't have heat issues and looser fluffier buds in the hotter months when heat was a constant fight. Another depending factor is light and light intensity... So many variables...

How far did you keep those 1000 watters from canopy?

 

[ReeferRon]

How far did you keep those 1000 watters from canopy?

12-18 inches...but I had my hoods on light movers, so I could get pretty close to the canopy without any ill effects. I always just used the back of the hand test to decide distance from the canopy with HPS. Put your hand under the light, if you can feel heat from the bulb, its to close. Or get a light a meter and know for sure..

 

[airedog]

In a pinch you can roll and bend the stem to keep terminal colas from your lights. Be careful not to snap the stem and try not to have to do it too often 'cause you WILL lose bud on occasion and it will be from one of your largest colas.

 

[Aqua Man]

Ok so what light distance would you reccomend for 1000watt hps? 18"?

I was at 20 the whole grow and even a bit higher during veg . I was scared to bkeach the plants. I feel my total ppm of nutes i ever got to was only 600ppm before i experienced burn.

This time i will try to increase the ppm gradually so i can maybe finish up higher. Giving more nutes for bud productivity.

So all this talk.about pgrs lately from everyone i know who grows. So hypothetically if i were to use a type of pgr . Do you hit it day 7 after flip or day 21 ?

Also what brands are good? Is bushload by GH ok? Since im running their line .

We both used the same cuts. He actually made for me . :(
.

More nutes does not equal more growth, nutrient demands change based on growth rates, transpiration and light for the most part.

Get a new HPS bulb if you haven't in the last yr. They actually decline in light output over time.

I can't say what's holding you back but literally every factor of your grow will impact the end result. IMO a 600+ w quality LED will make a significant difference.

Ideals change but here is some rough ranges. There is far far to many variables to go over but here ya go.

LEAF temps of 75-78f are ideal under normal co2 concentrations. With increased co2 you can go higher. This is much more important than room temps and you can adjust the room temps to reach your ideal leaf temps. Type of lighting and the amount of IR it has will affect this and many other things like transpiration.

Following VPD for strain and stage of plant. Absolutely must use leaf temps in these calculations.

Media plays a huge role in growth rates. Imo they go like this... fastest to slowest. Aeroponics, hydroponics, soilless, soil.

Root temps. Again this varies but under HPS I would say likely about 72-74f in aero and hydro, 72-78f soil and soiless.

Watering practices are huge and really depends on plants to much to give ya any meaningful info here.

Really limited in how much I can help as I know nothing about your last grow. But I feel like the light was a large part of it. A new bulb will help but it's hard for HPS to compete against a good quality LED these days.

 

[Aqua Man]

12-18 inches...but I had my hoods on light movers, so I could get pretty close to the canopy without any ill effects. I always just used the back of the hand test to decide distance from the canopy with HPS. Put your hand under the light, if you can feel heat from the bulb, its to close. Or get a light a meter and know for sure..

This OP if you don't have an IR temp gun to measure leaf tenos use you hand. In flower you want them as close as possible without raising leaf temps over 80ish at atmospheric co2.