How to Grow the Best Marijuana Yield

Every marijuana grower wants to know how they can get the best marijuana yield possible. After all, we grow not only for the love of growing but also for that sweet bud at the end of the grow season.

It’s also in many people’s best interests to be able to weigh the cost and return of growing before they spend a dime. In other words, they want to see if they’re going to get their money’s worth. Let’s take a look at what you can expect and what you can do to maximize your yields.

Best marijuana yield indoors

When you’re growing indoors, light is the name of the game. If your plants receive the proper amount of light, they can grow to their fullest extent. In theory, the math is simple. 400 watts of an HPS grow light could lead to 400 grams (14 ounces) of weed at the end of the day. 1200 watts would lead to 1.2 kilos (42 ounces) of marijuana, etc. But lights are just one part of it. When growing indoors, it is essential to ensure that every plant has the space it needs to grow and thrive.

It’s also important to remember that soil setups can vary greatly (in terms of yield expectations) from hydroponics setups. Soil growing has a lower potential yield, but the process is easier overall, so the chances of maximizing your yield are higher.

If you’re an experienced hydro grower, of course, then you’re likely to get a giant yield from your hydro setup. In fact, hydro setups generally can lead to a 20% increase in yield — but there’s little to no room for error. Hydro growers could expect yields on the higher end to be around 1.2 grams per watt (or 720 grams of weed per 600 watts from an HPS lamp).

Calculating yields

There are a number of ways to calculate what you can expect to yield. An easy way is to use a yield calculator, which you can find on Yield O Rama, for example. The type of light, lumens of light (how intense the light is), amount of experience growing marijuana, and the type of growing medium are all elements used to calculate the predicted yield.

It won’t be perfect, of course, as it doesn’t include some other important factors such as genetics or growing outdoors. But it can provide an idea of expectation for the upcoming harvest.

Maximizing Cannabis Yield

There are numerous ways to get the most yield. Every grower has his or her own preferences for doing so, but you can use trial and error or the advice of other growers to help you decide which is best for you.

Scrogging

Using the Screen of Green (SCROG) method works great for maximizing yields. It helps utilize every bit of light that your lamps are putting out, meaning your plants will get the most exposure and the best growth possible. It evens out the tops of the plants, so no plant receives more or less than the other.

To try this method, put a screen or net over the tops of the plants, then after a branch has poked through by 4 inches, you horizontally tie it to the screen. You keep doing this until it forms a blanket of green. All the buds you get from this technique should be firm and juicy.

HPS Lights and CO2

If you’re using an HPS light, you should remember that more watts don’t necessarily lead to higher yields. Plants can only utilize that extra light if they are also supplied with extra carbon dioxide. Ideally, plants should have good air ventilation from the outside (which has plenty of CO2 to resupply the grow room after the plants use the CO2 already there).

The same goes for the other way around: if you have extra CO2, the plants need extra light to compensate. So, using a 1000-watt HPS light instead of a 600-watt HPS light only makes sense if you’re also supplying the carbon dioxide — and both can really increase yields.

LED Lights

LED lights receive a lot of hype, but so far not so much payoff. Plenty of anecdotal evidence shows that LED lights may underperform compared to what they “should” be doing. Even commercial tomato growers don’t use LED lights, showing that there’s no real economic or yield benefit. (Note: we often hear growers say tomato plants have very similar growing needs to marijuana plants.)

Grow Fewer Cannabis Plants

If you have just one plant to focus on, and you do a good job of maximizing its environment, then you should get a much higher yield per plant — maybe even your best marijuana yield yet. Try growing one plant or just a few plants to help you get more bang for your buck. It will take less effort overall and require less electricity.

Getting the best cannabis yield from your plants takes research, practice and planning. Check out the growing forums on I Love Growing Marijuana for more tips.