SOG? how many plants under my 400W?

Sir Psycho Sexy

Well-Known Member
So i want to try a sog grow and have some questions. most importantly how many single cola plants can i put under a 400W HpS? I bought 12 5x5 square pots which would be a little over 2 plants per square foot (they will be in soil-less mix)but lots of people say you want 1 per square foot. any advice? if i did one per square foot i would want to get bigger pots and top the plants....


also whats a good strain for sea of green? indicas i assume but anyone have good luck with a particular strain?
 

ChemisTree

Active Member
400 Watt HPS is about 3ftx3ft for flowering. So...about 9 plants with SOG if you go for 12 inch centers.

You'll get different answers, but that's what I remember from my readings.
 

choch

Member
What you really want to do is decide on your strain then find what plant spacing works best with it, but it's common to run up to 4 per square foot and some people do more. Your spacing is quite reasonable with an appropriate strain and pruning technique.
 

T.H.Cammo

Well-Known Member
What you really want to do is decide on your strain then find what plant spacing works best with it, but it's common to run up to 4 per square foot and some people do more. Your spacing is quite reasonable with an appropriate strain and pruning technique.
He's right! If you're going to run a SOG you'll probably want 36 plants in a 3' x3' area.

Or 9 normal "indoor" plants.

Or you can grow 1 single "Big Ass Tree" and take 6 monthes, or so, to veg!
 

buggin69

Active Member
how tall are you letting these 36 (or 9) plants get in a 3' X 3' area

and would 2.2' X 4' (or so) work out better since the light spreads in that general shape...
 

choch

Member
4 plants per sq foot just needs well rooted clones or a few days veg in many cases. With one per square foot you have to decide based on your room dimensions and lighting what size you want the plants to finish at.
 

T.H.Cammo

Well-Known Member
how tall are you letting these 36 (or 9) plants get in a 3' X 3' area
The whole idea behind SOG is to get the best possible yield for the space you have and the time it takes. Therefore the best method is to jam in as many clones as you can and flower them as quickly as possible. If you keep them tied down (a little LST) you should be able to get away with 18-24" (from floor to the bottom of the lights).

and would 2.2' X 4' (or so) work out better since the light spreads in that general shape...
Light diminishes at an incredible rate over distance, even small distances. As the distance light has to travel doubles the actual power of the light is reduced to 1/4. So if a plant recieves "X amount" of light @ 12" - it would reiceve "4 x X amount" @ only 6". That's why it is so important to "shave off inches" whenever possible - even the shape of your grow space is impotant! Light energy looses way more to distance than it does to "reflection", so the more efficient shape would be "square" with reflective lined walls in as close as possible. A round growing space would be even better, but harder to construct. Of course this is all asuming that you are using some kind of "bulb", not flourescent tubes.
 

drywall

Active Member
is the number of clones an issue? if not i would say 25 plants in 7" square pots is a good number if you are using soil and 36 if hydro or aero.
 

choch

Member
I'm curious, if the growth rate is slower in soil than in aero, why would you need more plants to fill the canopy in the same time when going aero?
 

buggin69

Active Member
Light diminishes at an incredible rate over distance, even small distances. As the distance light has to travel doubles the actual power of the light is reduced to 1/4. So if a plant recieves "X amount" of light @ 12" - it would reiceve "4 x X amount" @ only 6". That's why it is so important to "shave off inches" whenever possible - even the shape of your grow space is impotant! Light energy looses way more to distance than it does to "reflection", so the more efficient shape would be "square" with reflective lined walls in as close as possible. A round growing space would be even better, but harder to construct. Of course this is all asuming that you are using some kind of "bulb", not flourescent tubes.
my point is that the lights are long and the reflectors rectangular... so the light is cast off more elongated than a true square... yes i'm talking about HPS still.. that's kinda what this thread was about i thought

check it with a light meter
 

razoredge

Well-Known Member
well I put 36 in 3 gallons on 4 x 8 flood tables with two 8 bulb T-5' above each table with no problem. Each of the T-5 setup is suppose to be like a 400 or 600 watt set up but only pulls 1.8 amps on 208-240 volt
 

Sir Psycho Sexy

Well-Known Member
cool thanks everyone. i'm still looking for some input on what strain to use. All i want is 1 fatty ass cola on each plant.. i think i can get my hands on some lowryder from a friend should work well.. any thoughts?
 

43%burnt

Member
Starting a sog under 400 watts as well but I want a perpetual crop.. I can fit 36 cuts in 2 litre bottles in my space, so plan is to harvest 4 a week with a 9 week flowering cycle. It might take time for you to find a strain that works best for your setup but I was very happy with the qleaner I just ran. Fat solid top colas and the perfect taste/high for me. Find something that doesn't stretch much and trim off the side branches so you can pack all those single colas together. I am not a fan of lowryder strains but they do trick for some people... Good luck and start a journal! :bigjoint:
 

KeemGod

Well-Known Member
Starting a sog under 400 watts as well but I want a perpetual crop.. I can fit 36 cuts in 2 litre bottles in my space, so plan is to harvest 4 a week with a 9 week flowering cycle. It might take time for you to find a strain that works best for your setup but I was very happy with the qleaner I just ran. Fat solid top colas and the perfect taste/high for me. Find something that doesn't stretch much and trim off the side branches so you can pack all those single colas together. I am not a fan of lowryder strains but they do trick for some people... Good luck and start a journal! :bigjoint:
How long do u let them veg 4? And i thought that when u trim the side branches the plant goes into shock.? If not, when exactly do u trim them?
 

KeemGod

Well-Known Member
I'm tryna start a SOG with the same light setup. I was thinkin about using the Big Buddah Cheese or Serious Seeds White Russian. Any input on these 2 strains? Any1 of u ever tried that Yumbolt 47?
 
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