Overcrowded tent suggestions?

[ms48130]

I posted some semblance of this as an adjunct to a previous post (under a different title) and didn't get any input. This morning, I fed the girls and thought this needed a new request. Being my first grow, I'm not really sure whether things are good, or if I'm headed to trouble, or if anyone can suggest some remedies.

I have 4 plants in this tent - 2 bigger girls (Girl Scout Cookies Auto and White Widow Auto). another Jack Herer Auto, and finally a JillyBean photoperiod which I flipped to flower about 10 days ago. The bigger plants are in Week 3 of flower (~68 days from seed).

As one can see from the photos, these bigger plants are jammed in my 2.5' wide x 2' deep tent. They are also within 3"-6" from the 150W VisparSpectra XS1500 LED.

Because they are jammed to the back and sides, I try and rotate the plants about a 1/4 turn each day. However, they often have leaves drying out, crisping up, and falling off during the rotation. Here are pics of that:


I also get some "normal" leaves fall off, probably due to the friction of the branches rubbing one another during the turn.

Full shots with a better view of the plant crowding...


I can Monday-Morning-quarterback just fine, but what about for the situation right now? I'm wondering if I should do some heavy(er) defoliation and pruning to remove more sucker branches, and try to increase airflow within the interior of the plant(s).

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[karlkutta]

They looks tight. I would probably defoliate.
My tent is full too, but not as dense. You might get better results taking off little, lower, useless sucker branches and as a result get a little more air and light penetration while the plant can focus on producing quality buds.

 

[ms48130]

They looks tight. I would probably defoliate.
My tent is full too, but not as dense. You might get better results taking off little, lower, useless sucker branches and as a result get a little more air and light penetration while the plant can focus on producing quality buds.

Thanks. Focus on the suckers and inner leaves, presumably?

 

[Arthur]

4 sq feet and 4 plants... that's about 3 too many plants. That needs some heavy canopy management done. Suckers at a minimum.

Photos.... jellybean is a stretcher at 10 days from flip she's just getting moving. She will end up 200 to 300 % of the size she was when you flipped the lights, so you'll need to take that into consideration.

4 square feet of canopy is pretty normal for one large auto. And even when I cut veg way short on photos, almost 12/12 fr from start, photos will come close to 3 to 4 sq feet.

I think you have some very heavy pruning in your future.

 

[ms48130]

4 sq feet and 4 plants... that's about 3 too many plants. That needs some heavy canopy management done. Suckers at a minimum.

Photos.... jellybean is a stretcher at 10 days from flip she's just getting moving. She will end up 200 to 300 % of the size she was when you flipped the lights, so you'll need to take that into consideration.

4 square feet of canopy is pretty normal for one large auto. And even when I cut veg way short on photos, almost 12/12 fr from start, photos will come close to 3 to 4 sq feet.

I think you have some very heavy pruning in your future.

Yeah, I know, I know... my first grow, I didn't know any better!

Fortunately for the Jillybean, I manifolded this one (and not very well at that). It's probably only 10" high right now, in it's 2nd week of flower. My hope is to get the 2 big girls thru harvest before the jillybean explodes. The Jack Herer Auto is about 20" now and has stopped stretching. So, I'm really just struggling to get through the big girls' harvests...

Jack Herer Auto

JillyBean

 

[Arthur]

Yeah, I know, I know... my first grow, I didn't know any better!

Fortunately for the Jillybean, I manifolded this one (and not very well at that). It's probably only 10" high right now, in it's 2nd week of flower. My hope is to get the 2 big girls thru harvest before the jillybean explodes. The Jack Herer Auto is about 20" now and has stopped stretching. So, I'm really just struggling to get through the big girls' harvests...

Jack Herer Auto
View attachment 1239447
JillyBean
View attachment 1239446

Sorry... looking at your girls... that's not gonna work! Your autos aren't far enough along yet... not sure where you are, how the weather outside? Possible move? A friend that grows that could take one off your hands?

Fortunately you can always hack plants back to fit, am sure you've seen picks of lollipoped plants... start with what will be nurfle and low light poor quality nug, and move on from there. Everything in there is so tight it's really light restrictive to the lower stuff.

 

[ms48130]

Sorry... looking at your girls... that's not gonna work! Your autos aren't far enough along yet... not sure where you are, how the weather outside? Possible move? A friend that grows that could take one off your hands?

Fortunately you can always hack plants back to fit, am sure you've seen picks of lollipoped plants... start with what will be nurfle and low light poor quality nug, and move on from there. Everything in there is so tight it's really light restrictive to the lower stuff.

NO possibility of moving outside, and don't know anyone locally that grows. Pretty much what you see is what I've got! I figured the big autos are probably 3-ish to 4 weeks away from harvest, agree? One _possible_ option is that my tent has a "height extension" section that can be added, but that means taking over our guest BR and wife was against this grow in the first place not the _best_ option, but an option nonetheless. That provides some HEIGHT room, but still nothing more for side-to-side to front-to-back.

 

[Arthur]

I'd say 4 weeks minimum for the autos. As to adding height... that really doesn't help too much as it just thickens the canopy. Under top notch lighting about 8" of penetration is all that you'll get. Nug below that will be nurfle. To increase a yeild, sq footage is unfortunately the answer. 4 sq feet is capable of about 4 to 6 oz of quality "marketable" weed.

The unfortunate part about all this is...
You won't learn your lesson and you'll do it again...and again... and again.

Been at this quite a while and I still do it occasionally... but I've learned enough to have alternative places for a plant or two to land if needed.

 

[ms48130]

I'd say 4 weeks minimum for the autos. As to adding height... that really doesn't help too much as it just thickens the canopy. Under top notch lighting about 8" of penetration is all that you'll get. Nug below that will be nurfle. To increase a yeild, sq footage is unfortunately the answer. 4 sq feet is capable of about 4 to 6 oz of quality "marketable" weed.

The unfortunate part about all this is...
You won't learn your lesson and you'll do it again...and again... and again.

Been at this quite a while and I still do it occasionally... but I've learned enough to have alternative places for a plant or two to land if needed.

>>You won't learn your lesson and you'll do it again...and again... and again.
well, I'm an engineer (so sorry to everyone!), so I DO actually apply learned experiences!

If/when I do another grow, I'll for sure do a) smaller pots, b) LST, c) topping, d) fewer plants altogether! Maybe solo cups (I know, better for experienced growers, but I do like a challenge)

Perhaps the elections will affect more states' position on rec use...

 

[Builder0101]

4 plants work in a 5x5. Tight but manageable. I think a 5x5 and 2 of Mars new SP3000 (i think that is the model #) would be an ideal setup. So $1k. LOL but you can probably get 200 bucks for your current light and tent. Pissing off the wife is not a good idea. Not worth it. Better to buy bud and stay married.