Grow Q&A: Should I Grow Fewer Pot Plants and Veg Longer?

Dear Dan, I'm considering changing the amount/size of plants in my growroom. I'm running 8 1000-watt lights and growing in soil in 10-gal. pots. Considering that I mostly grow Kush varieties, I’m wondering if I should do more plants in smaller pots or just stay with something similar to what I’m already doing. I’ve been averaging around .25 grams per watt and I’m trying to get closer to .5. Thanks in advance for your help. – Duke

Dear Duke,

The first thing you should consider when adding to the amount of plants in your garden is any legal concerns. In most states, the more plants you have, the higher the penalties and federal plant limits are also always a concern. So please do the research and find out how many plants you can legally grow or what the penalties are for your desired amount of illegally grown plants. Norml.org is a great resource to find out the laws for cultivation in your state.

Secondly, you should know that the less plants you grow, the longer your vegetative time will be to get the plants larger in order to fill up your space. When growing more plants that are smaller, you will have a shorter vegetative time and thus be able to harvest sooner. You also will have less time for something to go wrong along the way such as issues with overfeeding or pest infestations.

The best thing you can do to increase your grams per watt is to keep your environment totally controlled so that there aren’t fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Adding CO2 gas injection also boosts yields. Avoid using Plant Growth Regulators (PGR’s) as they are not meant for plants that we consume and contain chemicals that have been deemed unsafe.

Have a grow question? Ask away at deardanko@hightimes.com

(photo by @dannydankoht)