Any pointers to growing 1 lb plants?

I would like to preface this by saying I have never grown cannabis but have been reading on this sight for three years. This will be my first grow. I am aware growing outdoors your plants are very vulnrable to the elements and pests. I am also very aware as a first timer I should not expect much and should not even be focused on yield. Despite this I want to try anyways. I know its impossible to estimate yield as a variety of factors are involved such as humidity, heat, veg time, genetics, strains, training, sunlight, watering schedules etc. With that out of the way...

Would anyone have some pointers to getting me close to or exactly a pound per plant for my first grow?

I have read people getting pound plants in as little as 15 gallon smart pots. I would love to go much bigger (50 gallons) but that is too much $$$ for me at the moment. I will be growing my plants in 20 gallon smart pots. My base mix will be as follows: 1/3 spagnum peat, ewc, and lava rock. I was also told to use mulch or straw to retain water. I will be using glacial rock dust for minerals, as well as spraying roots with myco. I have heard good things about malted barley for increased terpene production. I will be mixing an all purpose fertilizer in with my soil (5-5-5) I was told for simplicities sake as a beginner this soil mix would only require water and no teas/topdressing later on. I should also mention I am not able to veg indoors as I do not have the room in my house to do so. I will have to start from seed outdoors.

I live in the southern US. humidity can be high here and temperatures can average 80-95 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer.

If anyone thinks 20 gallon smart pots with that soil mix could yield close to a pound or more a plant I would greatly appreciate your feedback and any other tips.

Yeah dont grow indica in that humidity go for sativa or hybrids.

I wouldn't worry about a pound just get yer first grow down learn and learn and learn, battle the pests the moulds the heat humidity and get yer harvest in. I didnt start getting dialled in till the end of my second season I'm on 7 and got 15 oz off 1 plant in 35 gal pots a lb is hard to get I'd just focus on quality learn to grow well, to dry well and a great cure and you'll be happy.

i got 11 oz from 7 gal but hey im no newbie

I honestly feel like the only tough part to this equation is growing from seed outdoors. If you could even veg the plants small(1gallon pots or hell even solo cups) it would increase what you get in the end. Giving the plants a head start when they go out side. The bigger they can veg the easier it gets to pull a pound outside. Hell guys pull 10lb+ plants outdoors all the time.

I think 1 ounce per gallon of grow medium is fairly standard if every thing goes properly and you meet all the plants needs.

I always get real close but a lb isn't a easy line to get past for me, I wish it was easy

Massive pot ..... 20 gallon 55 litres or there abouts , scrog it out to a nice even canopy in an area at least 1.2 mt x 1.2 mt more room the better with a 600 watt hps , youd have to average roughly 0.75 per watt which for a novice would be a great effort ... most seasoned growers aim for a gram per watt ... but all depends on strain / feed schedule , ph continuity during the varying stages pest control and most of all PATIENCE !! Patience is usually a first time growers enemy , and last but not least , keep ta mouth shut , tell knowone you know where its at ..... loose lips sink ships .
Start ^^^^ with germination

Pick your best seedlings

Sex your seedlings discard males

Scrog net

Patience
Patience
Patience

Harvest - cure
Smoke
Repeat
Repeat
Repeat
Bought all the advice i can give ... apart from nutrient type etc but am sure youve already got ideas on which companies product your gunna use

Or grow many strains of elite plants and hope for the best amount you get .
Like these .
For me its always quality of quantity

Pa-Nature said:

Or grow many strains of elite plants and hope for the best amount you get .
Like these .
For me its always quality of quantity
View attachment 4272085 View attachment 4272086 View attachment 4272087

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Very nice .... thats the way i go too ..... dont wory to much bout one pound plant etc but just like to fill my space with different varietes so as to not be smoking same gear sll the time

butterchiken said:

Massive pot ..... 20 gallon 55 litres or there abouts

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^^^^ This!
This alone will give you a chance...HUGE pot, good soil, with GREAT drainage capability.....like 40% aeration materials.....

redeyedfrog said:

Yeah dont grow indica in that humidity go for sativa or hybrids.

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Thank you so much man. truly a life saver you are. I had no clue indicas didnt do well in high humid climates. I thought some more on growing sativas and honestly i am a loss of what to do. i can start beans in march or early april, but my climate is super ubpredictable with weather getting cold sometimes as early as septmber other years not until october...as you know sativas take forever to grow. my climate gets cold way too early for sativas. any advice on wtf i should do?

Go for a 50/50 hybrid 8-10 weeks

Be prepared to water everyday in 20 gallon pots, sometimes twice if your summers run 80-95. In your back yard this is easy, if you are guerrilla growing your ability to water will be a major factor.

I would look for a sativa leaning hybrid that is known to start flowering early. Out door, the start of flowering is more important than the overall flower time for the most part.

I would recommend 65 gallon smart pots. Im different though, I have gotten close to a pound in 20#'s but they got all day sun in my backyard and plenty of water.

If your spot does not get all day sun bigger pots help yeild, and hold water longer. I semi guerilla grow in a spot that gets 8 hours light in summer but down to 6-7 hours in fall and they hit about a pound with water every 3-4 days.

Big pot, large as you can go (better yet put in ground) . Skip the smart pots when using them outside (evaporation in the heat). Do not expect a tiny plant to become a monster. If you can put out a two to three foot plant at the beginning of the season it will be tougher and resist the elements better. I pull 2-3 pounds per plant consistently on my outdoor. Starting from seed outdoors is difficult and expect far less yield!

Can't comment on outdoor, but for me it takes scrog technique and coco in 5g smart pots with 5 waterings per day. I veg for a long time, but this is mainly because I run perpetual. 9-12 plants, 1m x 1m net, harvest every two weeks, 2# per month like clockwork. Best ever was LSD in 70 gallons of coco drip fed via blumats. That was a lot of work, but 24oz on one plant was impressive.

Surprisingly, lighting played only a small role in this. From 600 HID to 350 LED, same same. If I don't run into issues typical harvest is 14-18oz.

Rivendell said:

Be prepared to water everyday in 20 gallon pots, sometimes twice if your summers run 80-95. In your back yard this is easy, if you are guerrilla growing your ability to water will be a major factor.

I would look for a sativa leaning hybrid that is known to start flowering early. Out door, the start of flowering is more important than the overall flower time for the most part.

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yea i think i might invest in a 55 gallon drum or two, bury them, fill them as needed every three weeks or however fast the water is used up, i might also learn more about timer watering with drip systems or something similar.

the weather here is very unpredictable, sometimes you can plant in march other times you gotta wait until april, it starts getting cold in either september or until october, with that said is there a way i can make sure they arent going to flower to late and die because it ended up being too cold in september and not october this year? im sorry for the noob question but i am hoping there is a workaround in that scenario.

Coloradoclear said:

Big pot, large as you can go (better yet put in ground) . Skip the smart pots when using them outside (evaporation in the heat). Do not expect a tiny plant to become a monster. If you can put out a two to three foot plant at the beginning of the season it will be tougher and resist the elements better. I pull 2-3 pounds per plant consistently on my outdoor. Starting from seed outdoors is difficult and expect far less yield!

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awesome reply. ive actually been debating pots vs in the ground for years now. ive heard so much mixed replies from people saying not to plant in the ground because once the roots reach the native soil (if its not very good soil) then problems will occur. could you perhaps speak on behalf of this? i just want to know for sure that its better to grow in the ground. if it is then it will save me quite a bit of money on buying smart pots thanks!

SG420 said:

yea i think i might invest in a 55 gallon drum or two, bury them, fill them as needed every three weeks or however fast the water is used up, i might also learn more about timer watering with drip systems or something similar.

the weather here is very unpredictable, sometimes you can plant in march other times you gotta wait until april, it starts getting cold in either september or until october, with that said is there a way i can make sure they arent going to flower to late and die because it ended up being too cold in september and not october this year? im sorry for the noob question but i am hoping there is a workaround in that scenario.

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My plants go out June 1st at the earliest, but I am north of you.

For guerrilla growing there is nothing you can do about flowering onset other than buying a strain noted for early flowering. Keep in mind that early flowering is not the same as when some one says fast flowering. Early denotes how sensitive to light change they are, fast is used to describe the length of the the overall flowering period.

I will also say that in ground is a better option. Water plays a huge role in health/size/yield and in ground lessens the burden on you dramatically. As mentioned earlier, fabric pots dry quick and a big plant can use 5 gallons a day or more.

I don't guerrilla, but have done side by sides of 45 gallon fabric pots vs in ground in a garden since rec went legal here. In ground won hands down. Less watering and much more stability in wind and rain, which is a pretty important aspect to consider with big plants.

Lastly, you might be surprised how much cold they can handle. Being in the south east I cant imagine its really a issue, the north east produces a significant amount of out door every year.

Starting from seed outdoors,

SG420 said:

awesome reply. ive actually been debating pots vs in the ground for years now. ive heard so much mixed replies from people saying not to plant in the ground because once the roots reach the native soil (if its not very good soil) then problems will occur. could you perhaps speak on behalf of this? i just want to know for sure that its better to grow in the ground. if it is then it will save me quite a bit of money on buying smart pots thanks!

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Judge your soil conditions by what is growing in the area, cattails means swampy, etc. Bring a shovel and amend the soil when you plant . . . Remember this is a weed. Do not put a shit ton of fertilizer on your plant . . . Which is the MOST COMMON PROBLEM for growers!