What is the best spacing for an aeroponic garden?

I am designing a very high-tech aeroponic fogging system. I have discovered that in a lot of aeroponic systems the plants are very close together. I have been hydroponic for three years now. I keep the plants in vegetative growth for about four weeks. They grow to three feet tall in that period. I have read about people setting their babies back when they are only a foot tall. I can understand that this would save a lot of space but will they still get big yields, setting them back so small? I guess my question is can I get more yield out of 30 dwarf plants or 10 fully developed plants?

Billy Bong
Rainier, Oregon


As you noticed, 30 plants would occupy the space much faster than 10 plants. The 10 are growing linearly to occupy the space, branch after branch. Each of the 30 grows a limited amount because all the plants are growing in parallel.

The 30 plants will wind up covering the canopy more completely and will absorb more of the light energy. This is turned into growth and that results in more bud.