Main factors of growing dense weed - please share your secrets!

So I'm on my fourth grow and its getting better everytime! last grow had a bunch of hash nugs which i am trying to completely avoid this time around. I also had a clacium def. that i had fixed but may have been the reason for semi fluffy nugs. I also realized that I can prevent hash nugs from growing by trimming them as they keep coming back. My goal this round is to have an even canopy of buds that are ROCK SOLID. So, my main question is what are the main factors of growing dense nugs?

Here's my setup.
4x4 mylar grow tent
120w inline fan
400w air cooled hps
2, 3 gallon pots
Roots Organics soil
LST'd purple og kush
Using fox farms nutes minus open sesame + cal mag

Thanks in advance

Big light = dense buds

400HPS will grow some great pot, but it wont be as big as a 600 or 1000 can grow

okay well lets say i have 2 plants under a 400w compared to 5 under a 1000w using just water on both of them. each plant is absorbing the same amount of light. am i wrong?

It doesn't work like that, it's not a math equation. A 1000 HPS puts out 2-3 times the light a 400 HPS does. Each plant under the 1000 will yield more, much more, than the comparable plant under the 400 HPS, all things being equal.

+ 1 what smokinrav said, also try not to point fans directy at the buds....makes for airy buds.

Growing dense buds top to bottom.

I am sure there are several ways to accomplish this, and then several more. Here is mine.

I went multiple lights, not one or two in each corner, I use multiple lights to get every single leaf on the plant lit up.

10 x 400 watt discharge bulbs on top, four spectrums all with reflectors edge to edge for a high density skyfull of light.

32 x 32 watt T8's for sidelights, also four spectrums, creating an afternoon sun on all sides.

Inside lower buds run 1-2 grams, cola's run 15-20 grams. Total per plant depends on container, tray plants have less branching than budding clone mothers in their own pot.

I have seen dense plants many times with other methods, but I personally don't know the details.

That space needs a 600 imo.
Personally, I would scrog too. More buds but smaller.
I think correct, even temps are the biggest factor in tight buds.
Also, mollasses and epsom salts. (same as bud-boosters and cal-mag but WAY cheaper)

Yes, as what cues said, temps have a pretty big impact on the density. All things being equal, buds in a warmer temp will be fluffier, and buds in cooler temps will be denser. All withen the good temp ranges of course.

I try with 600w and 1000w , the diference is huge ! , 1000w = more dense and bigger yield !

and yes temp. is very important !

Its not absolute number of watts that matters. Its the photosynthetically useful number of lumens ("PAR") per square foot of plant. (So yes, math matters, but the math is a lot more complicated than watts/# of plants).

As a "Devil's advocate" example, take a 1000 watt light, raise it 6 feet off the ground, and put 20 plants under it, and now each plant is getting roughly the output of 50 watts of light. Take one of those same plants and put it under its own 70 watt bulb, with a perfectly tailored reflector 5 inches off the plant top, and it might do better than being under the 1000 watter.

Things that can affect the useful light yield include wattage (of course), but also type/brand of bulb; AGE of the bulb (bulbs lose intensity with time); how FAR the bulb is from the plant; CLEANLINESS of the bulb (small amounts of grime on the bulb can significantly decrease functional output); shape and quality of the reflector, including reflective surfaces on walls. Small improvement in each of those things can daisy-chain together into pretty significant differences in total available light.

To answer the original question, the two biggest factors in creating bud density are strain type and light intensity. Strain type is probably the most important thing. Some strains just put out thin airy buds, and there isn't much you can do about it. Other strains just want to put out dense buds that bend over the stems. We've mentioned light intensity already. You want maximum light going to the plant, not just the top, but all around if you can get it. Last thing would be growing conditions, including temperature, and nutrient levels.

1. Room environment: temperature, humidity, and air circulation must all be perfect so that the plants don't get stressed out. The happier they are, the better they'll do.
2. Light intensity: a 1000w will do better than a 600w. If you have 15 plants under a 1000w and 15 plants under a 600w, the 1000w won't produce more buds but it will produce heavier and bigger buds.
4. Pruning: always allow every bud and its bud-leaves to be exposed to the direct light.
3. Drop your temp a few degress one week before harvesting and the cooler air should tighten up the buds.

Jogro said:

Take one of those same plants and put it under its own 70 watt bulb, with a perfectly tailored reflector 5 inches off the plant top, and it might do better than being under the 1000 watter.

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umm ok, you're not going to grow very much bud under a 70 watt light lol.

he´s right though on the strain being a Key factor in getting Dense buds.


light comes second.

sure, you will get bigger buds with larger lights, but some strains just dont have dense buds.

ive got this sativa (throwback in this strain im breeding out)

who´s buds just get taller, not thicker. (2-3 seed pods and a hair per node and the stem just keeps on growing up adding new nodes, even in full flower)

then ive got this chunky indica that has 3 times the density of my other strains (leaning more towards the sativa side)

its the indicas that have the dense buds.

the more indica and more couchlock the more dense buds (though some hybrids manage othervise )