How much will i yeild?

Contributed by Sun is Shining

A common inquiry. From ambitious new gardeners and for goodreason too. But, this is really a loaded question that doesn't have adefinite answer. It seems one of the first assumptions by new gardenersis that loads of light automatically equals loads of buds.Unfortunately, it's just not that simple. Yield is equally contingenton a number of factors; light, temperature, humidity, water, nutrients,CO2/ventilation, genetics, etc. Think of it as an engine, with eachfactor of cultivation representing a single piston, sure the enginewill run if some of the cylinders are misfiring or not firing at all,but to yield the most power from that engine, all cylinders must befiring in sync and at maximum capacity.

Temperature. Most cannabis plants will slow or ceasegrowth when temp's get above 85F, or below 65f. Optimal lights-on tempfor most strains is about 72-78F, with 5-10 degrees cooler during thedark period being a good rule of thumb.

Humidity. Cannabis does best around 45%-55% RH (relative humidity).
During veg and late flower, however letting it drop lower duringthe final two weeks of flower is advised, as it will help prevent mouldproblems.

Water/moisture. Cannabis generally doesn't like "wet feet",or a soggy environment, so it's very important to have a fast drainingsoil/soil-less mix (or well aerated solution in a hydro garden). Wet ordamp conditions can also lead to mould problems during flowering.

Nutrients. Cannabis will require a variety of nutrients atvarying NPK ratios during its existence. NPK stand for; nitrogen (N),phosphorus (P), and potassium (K)-the three major nutrients used byplants. Simply put, your plants will need a fertilizer with more N thanP and K during vegetative growth and fertilizer with more P than N andK during flowering. Using any well-known quality fertilizer applied perinstruction @ ½ strength is a good place to start. Organic, chemical,or somewhere in-between is another choice to be made and is a totallypersonal one. There is a plethora of fertilizers on the market, but thebest fertilizer is the one that's used properly.

CO2/ventilation. Plants require CO2. There issufficient CO2 in our atmosphere to support massive bud growth, butwhen growing inside you must either have adequate ventilation (thevolume of the room exhausted at least once/5 minutes) to ensure thatthere is a constant supply of fresh, CO2 enriched air or one must havesupplemental CO2, which requires higher temp's and more nutrients to beutilized effectively.

Light. Typically, the more the merrier, but more lightwill create stronger water, nutrient, and CO2 demands on the plants.You must also have the proper spectrum of lighting as well as a meansof efficiently reflecting as much of the light as possible into thegarden\'s canopy. The norm is to use more bluish light (Metal Halide,cool-white fluorescents) for vegetative growth and more reddish (HighPressure sodium, warm fluoro's) light for flowering. Though it'spossible to grow great buds under fluorescent lighting and a few willeven argue their superiority to HID's, most indoor growers use HighIntensity Discharge lights such as MH and HPS, and many use fluoro'sfor vegetative growth and HPS for flowering. It's very important tohave the light as physically close to the canopy as possible withoutburning the foliage and still allowing for even coverage.Many newgrowers believe that "Droppin the light" closer to the plant will bebeneficial. Besides heat stress, the bulb puts out radiant energy thatcauses leaf burn (Note it is possible to complete a grow using just HPSor MH)

Genetics. Its an easily overlooked factor. Some strainssimply have the potential to yield more than others. Having aheavy-yielding strain doesn't automatically equal big yields, either.It only means that the potential for heavy yields is there. The growermust provide the optimum environment for that particular strain inorder for it to be able to reach it's yield potential, and each strainhas slightly unique requirements. Also, within a strain there areusually several phenotypes, each of which will exhibit uniquecharacteristics which is to say that some pheno\'s of a particularstrain will weigh more than others.

Plant/root/container size. Obviously, the longer a plant isveg'd, the bigger it will get and the more it will yield. Almost alwaysoverlooked because they're unseen are the roots. Root mass is directlyrelated to bud production. Simply put, the more roots you have the morebud you will (potentially) have. Be sure to always allow plenty ofspace for the roots to grow and spread out, even more-so in soil Ageneral rule of thumb is 1 gallon of soil for every foot of plantheight.

System.
Scrog/Sog/Vertical gardens
These systems have a higher g/w/time yield than comparable large plant system over the same time period.

Grower's skill. Growers can add yield by: using additives (like B1, kelp, enzymes), foliar feeding, and topping/FIM/

In addition. Tricks like keeping nutrients and the air tempswarm during night cycle can help final yield. Although it's a topic ofhot debate, it's generally thought that any system that supplies theroots with maximum oxygen (aeroponics) would outperform a system thatrestricts 02 input such as (soil).
So, as you can see there's much more to yield than throwing someplants under tons of light with tons of nutes. Before one becomes tooconcerned with yield, one must first learn how to grow plants well,learn how to "listen" to the plants and give them just what they need.It's best to start with simpler methods, in fact, I think the simplermethod is always the better one. Learn how to grow strong, healthy,fast-growing plants and the yields will come.