When it’s time to harvest cannabis, the main goal is to fill the jars to the top with big buds. Too many or too few plants will hurt your harvest.
So, how many auto-flowering weed seeds can you grow in a space that is one square meter? This question has more than one part, and the answer depends on several things. Such as
- The right size of pot for the roots and extension for the growth of the whole plant
- Distribution of light that covers the entire crop
- All plants need good airflow over the growing medium and on their leaves.
- Regular maintenance.
The easy answer is to grow between one to eight seed plants per square meter. This will give the plants enough necessary factors and help them grow: or try using this table.
Pot size and plant number per m2
- 3 L (0.6 gals) – 9 plants
- 5 L (1.3 gals) – 6 plants
- 11 L (2.9 gals) – 3 plants
- 15 L (3.9 gals) – 2 plants
Growing Space Size
The number of containers to use will depend on the space available. Depending on how you grow, this could be a bunch of small containers if you’re using SOG or a few large pots for larger plants using ScrOG or DWC, which by definition take up space.
Crop Style
Depending on how you’re going to grow the plants, they’ll need different amounts of space:
- Plants that are left to grow on their own get taller and more prominent.
- When plants are trained, they take up less height but more area.
- The SOG method requires less height but uses less space per plant.
- The ScrOG method needs more space per plant but less height per plant.
- The techniques of topping, FIM, and LST take up less height but more space.
Size And Type Of Container To Use For Cannabis
After thinking about the lighting, you must consider the pot’s size. The size of the pot affects the size of the root zone, which affects the size of the plants. Small plants need small pots for SOG growth, while fewer but bigger plants need larger pots.
Here is a general size guide for hand-watered plants:
Height (cm) – Container Size (liters) – Diameter (cm)
- 30 cm/ 7-11 liters/ 25-28 cm
- 60 cm/ 11-15 liters/ 28-33 cm
- 90 cm/ 15-25 liters/ 33-38.5 cm
- 120 cm/ 25-40 liters/ 38.5-50 cm
- 150 cm/ 40+ liters/ 50+ cm
Containers that are too small can stunt the growth of plants and cause nutrition problems.
Ways to increase productivity and desired harvest
There are some techniques to get the most out of space and light for autoflowers. The maintenance practices are different for each method, but each can increase productivity.
- SOG METHOD (SEA OF GREEN)
The SOG method aims to reduce cannabis plant growth as much as possible while increasing productivity and making better use of space. The goal is to grow many small plants instead of just a few big ones.
You will need small pots, no bigger than 11 liters. They should be square and tall for better efficiency, not round and shallow. This lets you get the most plants per square meter, usually between 8 and 16.
The SOG method is excellent for small spaces like closets. With a mother plant and a separate place for plants to grow, the next batch of plants can bloom simultaneously as the current crop is being picked.
- SCROG METHOD (SCREEN OF GREEN)
The ScrOG or “screen of green” method is another way to grow plants that makes the most of your growing space. The ScrOG is excellent if you don’t have a lot of room because it trains a whole plant to grow into a flat green sheet, which limits its height.
This method uses more miniature plants and gives them more time to grow than the SOG method. When the plant is young, it helps to practice topping and LST. Plants are pruned, and the new branches are trained to grow sideways instead of being left to grow independently.
During the flowering phase, the plant grows longer, and new branches and extra length lie under the screen. As the flowers grow, there is no dominant cola at the top of the flower. But you’ll see a small field of lines that are all the same size. The leaves and undeveloped buds that form under the crown’s canopy are cut back so that the plant’s energy goes to the buds that are in the light. This also gives enough space for air to move around.
Per square meter, you should use one or two tall plants, like a Haze, or four short plants, like an OG Double Bubble.
- LST (LOW-STRESS TRAINING)
Low-stress training is another way to get more light to the plants and get the best growth and flower size per square meter. Instead of high-stress methods like topping and pruning, LST works with the whole plant to make it grow better.
The LST is a compromise between patience and space. It will have fewer plants per square meter than the SOG but more than the ScrOG.
On a square meter, you should be able to grow one or two large Sativa plants, like Super Silver Haze, or four to six large Indica plants, like Gorilla Glue. Just make sure that they all get enough light and air. You can check out the Herbies head shop for all kinds of quality cannabis seeds.
Calculation Of Cannabis Grow Time
A single plant may need eight weeks of growth before it starts to flower. If you switch to flowering earlier, it won’t fill enough space, and the crop won’t produce as much as it could.
Less growth time means fewer resources would be used, but you’d need to do more work. So, as the plants grow, you cut down on the total time they spend in the vegetative phase and make better use of the space. You switch to the flowering stage sooner, which means plants will be ready to harvest sooner, but caring for more plants takes more time.
Conclusions
It’s not as hard as it seems. Find out what works for you in the Herbies Seeds shop by testing their auto-flowering cannabis seeds. However, note that your growing space will have a different microenvironment from fields on the other side of the world. So, you should not expect the same result as other growers from different climes. Take heed to instructions, and you’ll do just fine.
