Setting Up a Perpetual Grow

bigsteve

Well-Known Member
I've had a number of inquiries about setting up a perpetual grow. Here's a few things that should help someone serious about maintaining a perp'.

I use 1 3/4 rooms for my growing. Two domes for cloning (1/4 room in a closet), half of my laundry room with a 400W bulb for vegging and an 8 X 8 room for flowering with a 1000W bulb. I've seen guys draping blankets in a room and other methods to conserve space, but using dedicated space works best for me.

I try to harvest 2 plants a week. When I remove those 2 plants from the flower room I need 2 veggers to replace them. After replacing those two I then have 2 holes in my veg room. Means I need 2 seedlings/rooted clones to move from the domes to the veg room. As you can see a perpetual grow is all about timing your various rooms so you have the replacement plants when you need them. Rather than work backwards I'll follow a plant through my system.

80+% of my finishing plants start as clones. I take my cuttings from plants that have been in dirt at least 5 weeks. Also, you can take clones from the flowering room if they have been at 12/12 less than 7 days. I usually take 2 cuttings from 2 plants each so I keep about 4 in my dome at any time. You need extra clones rooting in case of a problem popping up later. The rooted clones go to veg at 24/0 for about 5 weeks or until they get 20-24 inches tall. My veg room has 10-14 plants all in various stages of development. Remember, I need 2 plants a week to graduate to the next room.

The flowering room also has a dozen or so plants that entered the flowering room in stages, usually 2 at a time. I use a blackboard in the flowering room that shows when each plant went 12/12. At 6 weeks flowering I start to check that plant(s) for maturity and harvest when the tris are milky. Usually 7-8 weeks.

Most important insight I got while developing my system is that a perpetual grow needs lots of planning and choreography. It's easy to plan a grow and harvest everything at one time. It's not easy to harvest 2 plants today and have 2 more ready to harvest a week later. You can see that planning and consistency are paramount. So I use clones from plants that I know will root in 10 days or so to keep the line moving.

I would start a perpetual set-up by trying to clone more plants than you can use. Good to build up experience cloning and gives you a chance to judge various strains. I use short bushy indicas because they are fast and clone more consistently. When you are confident about being able to produce enough seedlings/clones for a perpetual grow you are well on your way to success. Move the oldest rooted clones into the veg area.

Count on needing about 4 times the floor space for flowering as for vegging. My indicas stretch about 100% while flowering so you have to keep in mind how much room you have between the top colas and the flowering bulb. I'm set up so that after 7-8 weeks the flowering gals are about 12 inches under my bulb. Right where I want them. Close enough to suck up the lumens but far enough to keep from getting crispy. I usually harvest one plant at a time and do 2 a week.

Good luck, BigSteve.
 

cocojo3

Active Member
To simplify for those with a max plant count i.e. 12. You split them into 3 phases: clones, veg, bloom. That's 4 plants in each phase for those who are bad at basic math. Once you have 4 of each phase going, you do the following:
Harvest 4 plants in bloom area.
Move 4 veg plants to bloom area.
Move 4 clones to veg area.
Make 4 (or more) clones off plants you moved into bloom area.

This way you'll have 4 plants harvested every 2 months. If your plant count is 24, then you'll have 4 plants harvested every month.
 

bigsteve

Well-Known Member
"This way you'll have 4 plants harvested every 2 months. If your plant count is 24, then you'll have 4 plants harvested every month."

You're forgetting an important factor cocojo3. Plants don't spend equal times in each mode as they go from seedling to vegger to flowering. Clones spend 10-12 days in the dome, 35 days vegging and 55 days flowering (all times generic to my strains). I average 4 in the clone domes, 10 vegging and 12-14 flowering on any given day. I'm harvesting 2 plants a week. Why would anyone want to harvest one plant every 2 weeks instead of 2 plants every week? Trust the OG on this one,eh?

Good luck and keep improving your cloning skills. That is the single most important factor towards consistency. Get them young gals to act right and then you can worry about all the little bumps in the road later.

BigSteve.
 

cocojo3

Active Member
BigSteve good point but I was just giving a general guideline simplified then people can change it to fit their needs. for instance, mine bloom for 60 days average and i will veg anywhere from a month to 3 months depending on the strains. I'm working with a larger plant count so I have 2 veg areas so i will basically pick the next batch to harvest and the rest of the veg groups i will either top, supercrop or lst them to keep them manageable sizes for when they're ready for the next changeover. everyone's perpetual system will vary.
 

bigsteve

Well-Known Member
BigSteve good point but I was just giving a general guideline simplified then people can change it to fit their needs. for instance, mine bloom for 60 days average and i will veg anywhere from a month to 3 months depending on the strains. I'm working with a larger plant count so I have 2 veg areas so i will basically pick the next batch to harvest and the rest of the veg groups i will either top, supercrop or lst them to keep them manageable sizes for when they're ready for the next changeover. everyone's perpetual system will vary.
Sounds to me like you are taking the steps to tailor the program you want. Keep up the good work!
BigSteve.
 

Richard Drysift

Well-Known Member
Nice write up big Steve. I run my perpetual much the same way and it's a challenge to keep feeding the bloom area with a steady supply of plants like clockwork. I may have weeks where I don't harvest any plants and some weeks I need to harvest multiple plants; like you say it's all in the timing. Can't imagine trimming 2 plants a week; sometimes ill cut the whole plant and run it as hash instead of waiting to cure it. Problem is they don't always finish when you think they will which makes timing difficult
 

FoxFarm J

New Member
I've had a number of inquiries about setting up a perpetual grow. Here's a few things that should help someone serious about maintaining a perp'.

I use 1 3/4 rooms for my growing. Two domes for cloning (1/4 room in a closet), half of my laundry room with a 400W bulb for vegging and an 8 X 8 room for flowering with a 1000W bulb. I've seen guys draping blankets in a room and other methods to conserve space, but using dedicated space works best for me.

I try to harvest 2 plants a week. When I remove those 2 plants from the flower room I need 2 veggers to replace them. After replacing those two I then have 2 holes in my veg room. Means I need 2 seedlings/rooted clones to move from the domes to the veg room. As you can see a perpetual grow is all about timing your various rooms so you have the replacement plants when you need them. Rather than work backwards I'll follow a plant through my system.

80+% of my finishing plants start as clones. I take my cuttings from plants that have been in dirt at least 5 weeks. Also, you can take clones from the flowering room if they have been at 12/12 less than 7 days. I usually take 2 cuttings from 2 plants each so I keep about 4 in my dome at any time. You need extra clones rooting in case of a problem popping up later. The rooted clones go to veg at 24/0 for about 5 weeks or until they get 20-24 inches tall. My veg room has 10-14 plants all in various stages of development. Remember, I need 2 plants a week to graduate to the next room.

The flowering room also has a dozen or so plants that entered the flowering room in stages, usually 2 at a time. I use a blackboard in the flowering room that shows when each plant went 12/12. At 6 weeks flowering I start to check that plant(s) for maturity and harvest when the tris are milky. Usually 7-8 weeks.

Most important insight I got while developing my system is that a perpetual grow needs lots of planning and choreography. It's easy to plan a grow and harvest everything at one time. It's not easy to harvest 2 plants today and have 2 more ready to harvest a week later. You can see that planning and consistency are paramount. So I use clones from plants that I know will root in 10 days or so to keep the line moving.

I would start a perpetual set-up by trying to clone more plants than you can use. Good to build up experience cloning and gives you a chance to judge various strains. I use short bushy indicas because they are fast and clone more consistently. When you are confident about being able to produce enough seedlings/clones for a perpetual grow you are well on your way to success. Move the oldest rooted clones into the veg area.

Count on needing about 4 times the floor space for flowering as for vegging. My indicas stretch about 100% while flowering so you have to keep in mind how much room you have between the top colas and the flowering bulb. I'm set up so that after 7-8 weeks the flowering gals are about 12 inches under my bulb. Right where I want them. Close enough to suck up the lumens but far enough to keep from getting crispy. I usually harvest one plant at a time and do 2 a week.

Good luck, BigSteve.
You need more than a thousand watt bulb for an 8 by 8
 

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
Hell, 4....

I run 1 K's on 6' centers = overlapping foot prints and that is non-stop plants for 24 ft (minus the foot or so open on the ends). 2 sides of the room.

Semi perpetual......You want some breaks in there. Daily harvesting gets to be a real drag. And NO, I won't go automated trimming either.
Breaks help change strains in rotations, Plenty of seed starts in the spring and summer for the extended veg. Helps make space for vacations. So does using BluMats...
I fired one helper last year. He was smoking in the grow and left a butt on the floor of the veg room....BOOM GONE!
Son's are off to college so no help there.

The laws are getting where their going to be enforcing much closer. Here,,NO ONE is allowed in the grow except the grower (Medical caregiver growing). Not even the patient. They come over to another building and help trim the harvested plants though.
 

lokie

Well-Known Member
~snip~ Here,,NO ONE is allowed in the grow except the grower (Medical caregiver growing). Not even the patient.
What is the idea behind this regulation?

It is understandable if only qualified people are permitted into a sterile environment or
or prevented from entering a hazardous environment.

I see no logic behind only the gardener being allowed into the garden.:confused:
 

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
What is the idea behind this regulation?

It is understandable if only qualified people are permitted into a sterile environment or
or prevented from entering a hazardous environment.

I see no logic behind only the gardener being allowed into the garden.:confused:
Hey, it's our fucked up state laws man.... I don't understand it either but, it's their deal.

As the law goes. It's basically a "possession" thing. "Only those who can legally "possess" the growing plants. Are allowed into the growing area." Not even the patient you "possess" them for is allowed in.

I end around that by processing in another building. Patients come and work (those that are able) for a further discount.

I interpret it as,,,,"Just another hook, to able to charge you fucking pot heads with a crime." law. :wall:
 

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
Worst laws ever....!

They are great laws! I’m allowed to grow 12 plants. I’m not complaining.

They are designed to keep us from profiting from our plants. And originally written by pot virgin politicians with an agenda.

We just beat the system like always.
 

Kingrow1

Well-Known Member
They are great laws! I’m allowed to grow 12 plants. I’m not complaining.

They are designed to keep us from profiting from our plants. And originally written by pot virgin politicians with an agenda.

We just beat the system like always.
Nope thats just the speil restrictred growers and smokers from legal states regurgitate.

Youve not freed the weed or the dream youve just commercialized it, the dream is to run naked through a forest of weed not a 12 count tent like some chump. Grow enough bud to bath in it not ask permission first.

Please Mr Goverment can we grow some more.....
 

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
Nope thats just the speil restrictred growers and smokers from legal states regurgitate.

Youve not freed the weed or the dream youve just commercialized it, the dream is to run naked through a forest of weed not a 12 count tent like some chump. Grow enough bud to bath in it not ask permission first.

Please Mr Goverment can we grow some more.....

That’s just hippy nonsense.

There was never going to be anything but regulations. This is the real world I’m growing in.

I have been saying this would be the outcome of legal weed since I was a silly hippy kid in the 80’s.
 

Kingrow1

Well-Known Member
That’s just hippy nonsense.

There was never going to be anything but regulations. This is the real world I’m growing in.

I have been saying this would be the outcome of legal weed since I was a silly hippy kid in the 80’s.


These rules do not go down well with my beliefs and love of weed, at some point you all changed from free love to rule regulating sellouts.

Go smoke a fat spliff and ask how any rule fits into that high....
 
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