YieldMax -- Striving for Maximum Single-Plant Yield in a Micro Space.

Hi all,

I've decided to suspend any work on the tent until I get back from visiting my girlfriend and her family for a couple weeks starting about a week from now. The plant in my PC case will be fine for that time (I have a plan), but the tent still needs a bit more work. Unfortunately, about 48 hours after I installed the two seedlings into the tent, they had flopped over and died. I immediately figured out what the problem was -- in my attempt to make the math easier, I didn't quite fill my reservoir to the optimal level about a quarter inch below the bottom of the net pots. Oh well. I still have to get another identical container anyway.

In other news, I finally installed the carbon filters on the back of my PC case. They work wonderfully! They are mounted with duct tape and don't restrict airflow at all. My room had been getting pretty smelly (as Easy Ryder does), but the day after the carbon filters were installed you couldn't smell a thing. Huzzah!

Here is today's update.

Numbers:

pH: 5.4
PPM: 1200

I did a full nute flush today and refilled with full strength flowering nutes. Let's watch this baby go!


Here is a picture just after I started defoliating after flushing, and another after defoliation was complete. Also a shot from below.


Also, I think it's safe to say that good ol' Miss Rotty Stem definitively destroyed her arch-nemesis, stem rot.


Look at the size of that thing!

I'm not going to be doing any more training from now on. I'll keep going with the defoliation until I leave, and then when I get back for the last couple weeks of flowering. I can definitely tell that it has helped produce a lot more branching and developed bud sites lower on the plant, but I'm not sure if it slowed growth too much to be effective on autoflowers. Perhaps this was just a different phenotype from last time (not as aggressive stretch) or perhaps the stretch was slowed by other factors (stem rot, defoliation, etc.). This is a technique I will continue practicing and incorporating into every grow. I'm excited to get some clones of a good LSD plant going in the tent so I can really refine the system.

I hope you all are having a happy and safe new year!

Hey aggreenvin

And Happy new year buddy!

gutted about the seeds mate but im glad to see miss rottys doin well with that stem of hers wow ive been lookin bk at your last grow an comparin theres deff more bud sites this time round ann you had loads a under growth before..... keep up the good work bud!

im updatin my own grow later mate ive brought the 600w in an switched to 12/12 shes lookin great drop in an let me no what ya think!

peace

i dont know bout that defoliation stuff, i like a girl with some meat on them bones myself. to each their own though!!

gumball said:

i dont know bout that defoliation stuff, i like a girl with some meat on them bones myself. to each their own though!!

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Im kinda with you gumball on the defoliation stuff i dont like choppin a lot off mine maybe jus a little at the bottom of the plant but im interested in seein what results we see!

peace

PUKKA BUD said:

Hey aggreenvin

And Happy new year buddy!

gutted about the seeds mate but im glad to see miss rottys doin well with that stem of hers wow ive been lookin bk at your last grow an comparin theres deff more bud sites this time round ann you had loads a under growth before..... keep up the good work bud!

im updatin my own grow later mate ive brought the 600w in an switched to 12/12 shes lookin great drop in an let me no what ya think!

peace

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And a happy new year to you! Wow, that's great news man! I can't wait until I have enough room for more light . I'm looking forward to checking out your updates.

I'm slightly disappointed that everything with the tent didn't go quite as smoothly as expected, but I'm optimistic moving forward that my system is pretty good. I just need to wait until I have a few days of free time when I get back to make sure everything is set up correctly before I get going again. I consider last week a sort of failed "test drive."

gumball said:

i dont know bout that defoliation stuff, i like a girl with some meat on them bones myself. to each their own though!!

Click to expand...

PUKKA BUD said:

Im kinda with you gumball on the defoliation stuff i dont like choppin a lot off mine maybe jus a little at the bottom of the plant but im interested in seein what results we see!

peace

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We'll see! I'm definitely convinced it's an effective technique when used on photoperiod plants, but I haven't really seen anyone try it with autos. I'll be continuing with it as long as it seems feasible. I'd like to do at least one more Easy Ryder grow with defoliation so I can get a good idea of the type of yield I'll see.

Here is my update from last night.

Numbers:

pH: 5.3 (and rising)
PPM: 1300

I'm pushing my TDS levels a bit to see how she reacts before I leave. I'll be mixing up some solution (probably 2/3 or 3/4 strength flowering nutes) which my cousin will use to top off my reservoir while I'm gone. She is drinking about half a liter a day, and based on my previous grow this is likely to keep up until the flush. I'll be gone for ten days, so I will prepare about 6L of solution in advance to be safe. I've heard bad things about mixing solution in advance, but those are mostly in regards to contamination. I plan on mixing the solution today so it stabilizes before I leave and then I'll leave it in the fridge while I'm gone. Easy peasy.

Here are some pictures. As you can see I'm starting to get some nice early trichome development around the larger colas.


Enjoy!

EDIT: In a few of the pictures you may notice some white-colored flecks on some fan leaves. This isn't part of the plant, it's just a little mineral dust that has settled on the leaves due to the humidifier I have running basically directly into the case. Have no fear! Miss Rotty Stem is as healthy as ever.

Are you still in flower or are you trying to reveg?

oOBe RyeOo said:

Are you still in flower or are you trying to reveg?

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Flowering all the way through. I probably have about a month left before harvest.

you think it's getting enough light with out the fan leafs?

oOBe RyeOo said:

you think it's getting enough light with out the fan leafs?

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K33ftr33z over at icmag wrote a long post on Defoliation in May of last year. He puts the "defoliator's" position on this topic best: "[Three] decades of experience with this technique reveal that bud growth benefits more from light exposure than whether the corresponding fan leaf is present." After all, we're trying to produce dense buds, not leaves! Defoliation keeps plants short with tight internodes, promotes TONS of branching (and tons of new leaf growth, by the way) and lets light penetrate to lower buds much more readily than if a bunch of fan leaves were mucking up the place.

Check out the rest of the thread via this link.

aggreenvln said:

K33ftr33z over at icmag wrote a long post on Defoliation in May of last year. He puts the "defoliator's" position on this topic best: "[Three] decades of experience with this technique reveal that bud growth benefits more from light exposure than whether the corresponding fan leaf is present." After all, we're trying to produce dense buds, not leaves! Defoliation keeps plants short with tight internodes, promotes TONS of branching (and tons of new leaf growth, by the way) and lets light penetrate to lower buds much more readily than if a bunch of fan leaves were mucking up the place.

Check out the rest of the thread via this link.

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That's pretty cool idea. I'm glad I'll be able to see how it does for you... might have to try it.

alright mate. ive watched both ur grows so far man, shit hot! im trying in my pc for the second time round, i done a bit of defoliation after reading ur link. i only really removed leaves heavily in the earlier stages , not as brave as u but it did let Alot more light into areas that had none creating a nice level canopy with lst. just hope i get some buds this time. keep it up man.

oOBe RyeOo said:

That's pretty cool idea. I'm glad I'll be able to see how it does for you... might have to try it.

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Yeah, man! After reading all about it on that thread I couldn't resist giving it a try. I enjoy staying actively involved in my grows (as opposed to just letting the plants do their thing); defoliation gives me the perfect excuse!

garageflower said:

alright mate. ive watched both ur grows so far man, shit hot! im trying in my pc for the second time round, i done a bit of defoliation after reading ur link. i only really removed leaves heavily in the earlier stages , not as brave as u but it did let Alot more light into areas that had none creating a nice level canopy with lst. just hope i get some buds this time. keep it up man.

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Sounds like you're on the right track, garageflower! I'll be checking out your thread very soon. I think using defoliation selectively during veg is a fine idea, especially if you're growing photoperiod plants. Keep it up!

I don't have much to say today, and probably won't for the next week or so. I'll be with my girlfriend until Saturday the fifteenth. Until then, I've left Miss Rotty Stem in the custody of one of my roommates who so kindly agreed to top off my reservoir with pre-mixed nutes every couple days. I did a flush before leaving and I'm done training into my screen, so I'm confident the plant will be just fine. I mixed the nutes just slightly weaker than I normally would at this stage because I don't want to have any TDS problems while I'm gone. It should stay relatively stable at ~1200.

Here is a picture from four days ago (Day 39). Sorry for not getting it up sooner! (Also, that's what she said.)


As usual, updates incoming as soon as I have them! Thanks for stopping by, and happy growing.

Hey aggreenvin

She's lookin great bro... hope she's cool till your back!

How long do you think you have left till harvest? im thinkin 42g easy on this even with the fucked stem lol

Also if you havent gone yet bud check my grow out ive updated an then you can let me know what you think when you get back see if theres a load of difference!

peace

looking good, that stem looks huge

PUKKA BUD said:

Hey aggreenvin

She's lookin great bro... hope she's cool till your back!

How long do you think you have left till harvest? im thinkin 42g easy on this even with the fucked stem lol

Also if you havent gone yet bud check my grow out ive updated an then you can let me know what you think when you get back see if theres a load of difference!

peace

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Hey PUKKA BUD, thanks! I'm looking forward to getting home and seeing what kind of progress she has made.

I expect to harvest between Saturday, January 29 (9 weeks from seed) and Saturday, February 19 (12 weeks from seed). I'd be able to offer a slightly more accurate estimate if I was sure of Miss Rotty Stem's phenotype. Here are a couple pictures comparing my first plant's day 39 (left) with Miss Rotty Stem's day 39 (right):

MRS is definitely smaller than my last plant, but it could be for any number of reasons besides phenotype (most notably defoliation and stem rot). If she does turn out to be the smaller phenotype, she'll be ready sooner rather than later.

I'm really not sure what to expect from this one in terms of yield. The plant is smaller, but I am counting just about as many flowering sites. Plus, due to defoliation each flowering site is getting a LOT more light; see how cluttered my last plant was at this stage? Also, I roughly halved the distance between buds and light, and I stopped training at a much more optimal time. On my previous grow, I think I may have choked a few buds due to a couple excess training sessions as the stretch was slowing/stopping. Not so with Miss Rotty Stem! Finally, I don't plan on harvesting early this time. I'll be able to give her all the attention she needs right up until the chop. I expect all of these factors will combine to produce much larger, denser and more resinous buds. Say goodbye to popcorn. Who knows, 42g might not be too far off!

gumball said:

looking good, that stem looks huge

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Yeah man! In a period of about three or four days before I left, it just about doubled in size. No joke. The bottom two or three inches of the stem is probably about the size of my thumb. Miss Rotty Stem sure showed that fungus who's boss!

The difference because of the stem is crazy! How much did you yield off that first one?

oOBe RyeOo said:

The difference because of the stem is crazy! How much did you yield off that first one?

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The first one yielded 36g on day 71 from seed. I made some choices that forced me to harvest a week or two early though, so I think given that extra time to fatten up it could have been really great. We'll see how this one goes! I plan on letting her finish completely this time. (Going for 30% amber trichomes)

That's pretty impressive getting that much from a pc case.

Hey aggreenvin

I think she's maybe like a week behind due to rot when it 1st come......i reckon she'l catch up with your previous grow and with the light closer an less trainin late on..... you could hit 42g if it runs smooth like your last grow an with the extra time i deff think you can do it buddy good luck!

peace

oOBe RyeOo said:

That's pretty impressive getting that much from a pc case.

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Thanks, BR! I'd be willing to offer up a conservative estimate of two zips as a maximum yield out of my case. I plan on experimenting and pushing every limit I can until I get it really dialed in, so within the next year or so we should have a pretty good idea of what to expect. I'm always on the lookout for different ways to increase yield, but I'm hesitant to change more than one or two variables between each grow. In fact, I plan on doing pretty much the exact same grow next time to see what we can get without stem rot. I get all tingly just thinking about it .

PUKKA BUD said:

Hey aggreenvin

I think she's maybe like a week behind due to rot when it 1st come......i reckon she'l catch up with your previous grow and with the light closer an less trainin late on..... you could hit 42g if it runs smooth like your last grow an with the extra time i deff think you can do it buddy good luck!

peace

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That sounds about right, PUKKA BUD. The rot definitely hindered progress as she was just starting to flower, so the first week of the stretch was almost solely a recovery period. I'm super excited for the next grow -- we'll see just what she does with that extra week of stretching! If I can increase my flowering sites by ~25%+ and get them spread out a bit more evenly next time, I think I'll have something really special to share with you.

I do believe I've found my life's passion inside of a computer... just not quite in the way I expected . The future is bright, indeed (...and not just in terms of extra lumen output)!