Noob Grower, New Grow Space, going deep w/ COBs

Hi all,

First I'd like to start by thanking everyone that has been contributing to this ever-flowing fountain of knowledge you all call a forum. I got tipped off to COBs and eventually this forum totally by fluke and have been thoroughly impressed with their performance; now that I'm looking to expand my grow this would be the perfect time to give them a shot.

I will have concluded my 3rd complete grow cycle in about 1 week, in a tent in a spare bedroom in my house. Nothing impressive or noteworthy to report - I made my share of mistakes but have learned lots in the meantime.
After some rearranging I am going to be able to utilize the entire room to grow, with 1 problem: I am legally limited to growing 12 plants, any age. I'd like to solve this problem by growing massive plants (efficiently).

This is what I have planned so far:
Plot: 2'x4'
Light: (8 ) cxb3590 @ 1050ma

My biggest question is: if each plant takes up (1) 2x2' plot, will this be enough light for each plant to get huge in a typical grow cycle? My goal is 1lb per plant.
I feel like this layout will give me ample space to work and each plant plenty of elbow room while being partition-able and somewhat modular.

I'm most interested in hearing some first thoughts from COB vets, but all criticisms and comments are welcome. I really want to get this right the first time. Thanks again, I look forward to your replies!

You want a pound, per 2x2? Or 4oz a square foot?

Have you grown before? That's a hefty goal for the most experienced of growers.

1200g/m2

Atulip said:

You want a pound, per 2x2? Or 4oz a square foot?

Have you grown before? That's a hefty goal for the most experienced of growers.

1200g/m2

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Its a long-term goal I don't expect those kind of results off the bat, but I would like to be there someday. Sooner rather than later, of course.

Half pound per 2x2 would be a more realistic goal.

Well I'd probably go with 50w over each square foot. 1.4A through each cob. Then maybe add some under lighting and side lighting then maybe cross your fingers for 2 pounds

Mathematix said:

My biggest question is: if each plant takes up (1) 2x2' plot, will this be enough light for each plant to get huge in a typical grow cycle? My goal is 1lb per plant.
I feel like this layout will give me ample space to work and each plant plenty of elbow room while being partition-able and somewhat modular.

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If you still need tents and like the 2x4s, check out the 2x4 at HTG supply, it's 28"x54". 10sq/ft total. Seems like it might be useful in your case.

Atulip said:

Well I'd probably go with 50w over each square foot. 1.4A through each cob. Then maybe add some under lighting and side lighting then maybe cross your fingers for 2 pounds

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What do you think about something like this? Its a little more expensive up front but I get tons more light.

You can run your cobs a little harder to cut down on startup(and keep ROI within a reasonable amount of time.) Then dim your cobs if you wanted to add more chips to run more efficiently. But yeah that's a good bit of light. Ppfd of ~1100.

If you don't mind planting deep you could run a 5'x10' on that one right wall. That's 8 plants 2.5'x2.5' each and more space than 6 2'x4' tents(50sq ft vs 4 and still leaves room for the other 2 left tents (66sq ft total)

At 1100 ppfd and a relatively new grower you better plan to be in there every day.. any deficiencies or other issues will run fast... at 1100ppfd you should def get some co2 in there

personally id go with the first setup (or run the second setup at 700 mA). more light is not always the answer

That's a lot of zippers!!
Any reason you don't just do 1 large area?

^that

id do a single 5x9 in the lower right corner of the room

BOBBY_G said:

^that

id do a single 5x9 in the lower right corner of the room

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Absolutely agree. Just run a 12 site rdwc

BOBBY_G said:

At 1100 ppfd and a relatively new grower you better plan to be in there every day.. any deficiencies or other issues will run fast... at 1100ppfd you should def get some co2 in there

personally id go with the first setup (or run the second setup at 700 mA). more light is not always the answer

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I'm ready to commit myself! This is in a bedroom in my home so being in there every day isn't an issue. I don't want light to be a limiting factor. I've been reading up on co2 and getting a system installed is definitely feasible; at this point I'd say its more likely than not.

@Atulip @BOBBY_G @OneHitDone I would REALLY prefer not to plant deep, but its really just personal preference. Would placing them all together be preferable? Keep in mind my 12 plant limit and size goal. I'm not growing in tents, these will be up against a mylar-sheathed wall on one side and have open space on the other.

@Airwalker16 Your mention of RWDC is the first I've heard of it. After looking around it seems like something I'd be interested in. Got any good resources that you could link me? What are the drawbacks if any?

Planting deep just allows for more space. It is a hassle sometimes(I have a 4'x8' SOG and I'm crawling in there once a week lol) but a single 5'x10' space is more grow area that all those tents combined.

Couple 4'x4' on each side of the room with a pair of 3'x3' at the bottom probably maxes the space pretty well (80sq ft total)

More space is easier to hit the bigger yields. But with the space I described and a pound a plant that's still 700g/m2+

Otherwise side lighting/under lighting is probably the better way to maximize yield in a small space.

Mathematix said:

I'm ready to commit myself! This is in a bedroom in my home so being in there every day isn't an issue. I don't want light to be a limiting factor. I've been reading up on co2 and getting a system installed is definitely feasible; at this point I'd say its more likely than not.

@Atulip @BOBBY_G @OneHitDone I would REALLY prefer not to plant deep, but its really just personal preference. Would placing them all together be preferable? Keep in mind my 12 plant limit and size goal. I'm not growing in tents, these will be up against a mylar-sheathed wall on one side and have open space on the other.

@Airwalker16 Your mention of RWDC is the first I've heard of it. After looking around it seems like something I'd be interested in. Got any good resources that you could link me? What are the drawbacks if any?

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I think you would capture a lot of "crossover" light by planting in a larger square area.
Having one side beaming light to the center of an empty room vs capturing it with a reflective material is just wasting a lot of your light energy

Do 3 rows of 4 plants with a 2ft isle between each row if access is your issue. But capture all of your light within one space

I guess one thing that was never addressed was if you had planned to partition some of this so some plants are in veg and some in flower or are all 12 plants going to be on the same schedule?

[QUOTE/]

@Airwalker16 Your mention of RWDC is the first I've heard of it. After looking around it seems like something I'd be interested in. Got any good resources that you could link me? What are the drawbacks if any?[/QUOTE]
It's very easy. You buy your own buckets, grommets and fittings. It uses RO water, and nutes of your choice. I do flora series trio from General Hydro. This is my 6 site now and then the 9 site I'll be doing later. It's important to use a water chiller though but it's so low maintenance it's crazy. I literally could not go on my room for a week if I wanted, until water needed to be changed. (Weekly)

Here's the latest update, I like this setup a lot. Thanks to @OneHitDone!

OneHitDone said:

I guess one thing that was never addressed was if you had planned to partition some of this so some plants are in veg and some in flower or are all 12 plants going to be on the same schedule?

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I don't do it currently, but I would like to have the option in the future. This setup allows for that, which is awesome.

@Airwalker16 I am intrigued, that looks good. I'm going to keep looking into it.