First tent: 2x2 or 4x2?

[Saxer]

Hey y’all! This will be my second grow; grew a couple Blue Dream autos on my balcony this summer/fall. Learned a bunch (especially what NOT to do!)

My next grow will be Jack Herer autos from IGLM. I’m not sure if I should stick to one plant in a 2x2.5 or make the leap to a 4x2 and grow 2 plants.

Growing in super soil (stonington blend from coast of Maine). Tent will be from Gorilla and using an HLG light (rspec 100 or 300 depending on tent size)

What would you suggest for a newbie? I want to get my environment dialed in and practice simple LST first. However, I do want to try some of the more stuff in the future like topping and perhaps a scrog.

Thank you! Glad to be part of this amazing community.

 

[GreenBean]

I would recommend the biggest tent that you can reasonably fit. If you’re limited to the two choices you’re asking about then go for the 4x2. I also highly recommend a tent that allows you to have side access on both sides. And has straight zippers. Depends on your budget. Gorilla standard tent is pricey and beefy. Gorilla shorty with the free extension is less pricey and just as beefy. Gorilla Lite Line is built more like a tent you would find on Amazon but has mostly the same features as the standard/shorty tents, and is much less pricey.

 

[Boomer80]

I’d go with the 2x4. That way you Will have the ability to expand if you want instead of trying to cram more into less space.

 

[Saxer]

Thank you both! Looks like I’m going with the 2x4. I’d love to go bigger but my space is limited.

 

[Olderfart]

I’d go with the 2x4. That way you Will have the ability to expand if you want instead of trying to cram more into less space.

+1 on the larger tent. I started with 2x4 and after two grows, I have expanded it to 4x4. Being able to do a couple plants might reduce the risk of an oddball plant discouraging you on your first grow. I'd go with two strains rather than one for the same reason.

Good luck with it.

 

[GreenBean]

Yeah, I have advised a couple buddies to go with the biggest tent that they can fit. Been there, done that. Some have listened. And the others? They’ve upgraded 2-3 times now. So I always preach as big as you can do and side access.

I use a 4x2 inside and it’s a great size.

 

[Saxer]

+1 on the larger tent. I started with 2x4 and after two grows, I have expanded it to 4x4. Being able to do a couple plants might reduce the risk of an oddball plant discouraging you on your first grow. I'd go with two strains rather than one for the same reason.

Good luck with it.

Thanks friend! I didn’t think about doing two strains. It would be interesting to see how each develops. When would you advise playing around with topping and other fun things? Maybe my third or fourth grow? Or just dive on in?

 

[Saxer]

Yeah, I have advised a couple buddies to go with the biggest tent that they can fit. Been there, done that. Some have listened. And the others? They’ve upgraded 2-3 times now. So I always preach as big as you can do and side access.

I use a 4x2 inside and it’s a great size.

Thank you again for your help, Greenbean! How many plants do you grow in your tent?

And definitely taking your advice about side and back access. I think that’s why I was already leaning toward the bigger size with extra features.

 

[GreenBean]

Thank you again for your help, Greenbean! How many plants do you grow in your tent?

And definitely taking your advice about side and back access. I think that’s why I was already leaning toward the bigger size with extra features.

My 4x2 sort of serves as a “staging tent” lately. Meaning that I get the plants to a certain size, nice and strong, then move them out to the 4x4 in the garage where the climate can be a little less than ideal. Plus it’s a gorilla shorty, and I don’t have the extension installed as I want to keep it a little more lower profile since I do have the larger tent already. It’s sort of strain, and grower, and pot size dependent. But you could probably do around 3 plants in 3 gallon pots. 2 in 5 or 7 gallon pots. And one in a 10 gallon. IMHO/ YMMV, etc.

As far as the topping, LST, I would recommend looking through the indoor grow section of this site. Most of us have grow journals/threads in there where you can glean some knowledge.

 

[Olderfart]

Thanks friend! I didn’t think about doing two strains. It would be interesting to see how each develops. When would you advise playing around with topping and other fun things? Maybe my third or fourth grow? Or just dive on in?

You can do whatever turns your crank. Having said that, keeping your first grow as simple as possible might help a bit. When I did my first indoor grow, I just dove in, topped the biggest strain, and left the two plants that were likely to be small. The topped one did just as well as the other two. Some strains are a lot fussier about how they are treated than others are, so it might help to check out completed grows of the strain if you can find them. Seeing how other growers fared with a strain may provide useful information about how best to deal with it.

Good luck with it.