Questions about setting my room up for four mother plants

[SamandMax]

Hi,
I was planning to keep 4 mother plants. 2 strains. So it is two plants per strain. I want maybe 70 to 100 clones of each strain every two months. So that would be 150 to 200 clones every two months. Do you think two motherplants per strain will give me these results? Never had a mother plant before.

I am thinking, about the way to feed nutes to the mother plants. Can I just use a 6" high 4x4 ebb and flow table? I would just put a mother in each corner of the table. Do you think this will be enough space for the motherplants or do I need a bigger table? (I was planning to put the motherplants in rockwool cubes, nothing else).

I am really tempted to connect the table for the moms to the main reservoir with the nutes for the flowering plants. I am planning to do lucas formula and no veg phase. Will it give bad results in clone rooting when I just feed my moms out of the nute reservoir for the flowering plants with lucas formula? So far I did read, that the moms need a special feeding composition because the clones won’t have enough carbohydrates stored when fed to much nitrates/nitrogen. But I am not sure if this will be the case in flowering phase of lucas formula.

Finally I need to know which light I should choose. I saw there are all kind of reflector casings for T5 bulbs. Some cost several hundred bucks. Somehow I have the feeling, that in the case with mother plants I don’t need to choose the high end reflectors or ballasts or whatever… How much T5 bulbs should I choose for my mother plants and what reflector or bulb fitting do you suggest?

[99PerCent]

70 clones every two months off of a single plant?

That seems aggressive.

I think @Scissor-Hanz does big clone sets.

Check out his threads and see if he has any insights for you.

99%

Here’s a spot you could start on.

Scissorbörg Gardens

Couple 2-3 cutting of all the stuff in my lineup. Keeping the moms EXTRA small. [image]

[Scissor-Hanz]

I think your plan sounds just fine.
70-100 clones a month doesn’t take much.
For me, 200 Watts of t5 or t8 would do it.
I don’t really grow 1 or 2 huge mother plants though. I grow higher numbers of short plants (15 or 20 in 2 gal. pot) in a sea of green style so I can keep the T8’s 2’’ from the canopy.

…and your mothers will need a hydroponic fertilizer that is NOT a flowering formula. Look for a “veg” or “grow” cycle fertilizer with more N.
I use DNF Gro 2-part, from Homegrown Hydroponics.

[99PerCent]

Help this dude get huge my man.

99

[Scissor-Hanz]

I only know how to do it for cheap
Veg room is pretty quiet…
I usually just use double-tube t8, but I like t12 and t5 also. That way I can just add as many as I need, and they are relatively cheap ($20 CDN)
4’x4’ is definitely enough space, but I prefer 4x6 because I have lots of room.

Don’t forget, you will also need somewhere to root-up the 200 clones…

@Viva_Mexico has a more hydroponic style for mothers. It’s very cool and definitely worth a search. (around post 25, you will see some mother plants)

One point 21 gigawatt grow setup. ( back to the future reference)

Hey amigos, I am setting up a new spot, so it's the perfect time for a grow diary. here is what i have going on; There are many factors involved setting up a large multi room grow area. Usually the limiting factor is space. Than, electricity. Fortunately my space is big, so I will start with the electricity. Deciding to start with 2 flower rooms, a mom room, and a veg room. the first room will be 27, 1000watt D.E hps. the second room will be 18-21 1000 watt d.e hps with wing refle…

[Viva_Mexico]

@SamandMax

Hi,
I was planning to keep 4 mother plants. 2 strains. So it is two plants per strain. I want maybe 70 to 100 clones of each strain every two months. So that would be 150 to 200 clones every two months. Do you think two motherplants per strain will give me these results?

Hey! Good questions. There are different ways to cut and use clones. You can cut as small as a few inches or almost as long as you want. 50 clones per plant is possible, but, unless you train the mom, the braches will range in size. I personally prefer main large branches. If clone size is not important, yes you can easily get 50 clones off of one mom. you will need to top and prune the mom.

@SamandMax

I am thinking, about the way to feed nutes to the mother plants. Can I just use a 6" high 4x4 ebb and flow table? I would just put a mother in each corner of the table. Do you think this will be enough space for the motherplants or do I need a bigger table? (I was planning to put the motherplants in rockwool cubes, nothing else).

I have 4x2 and 4x8 flood and drain tables with moms. Both in clay pebbles and rockwool. You will want to keep the table as low to the floor as possible so the plants have room.

@SamandMax

I am really tempted to connect the table for the moms to the main reservoir with the nutes for the flowering plants. I am planning to do lucas formula and no veg phase. Will it give bad results in clone rooting when I just feed my moms out of the nute reservoir for the flowering plants with lucas formula? So far I did read, that the moms need a special feeding composition because the clones won’t have enough carbohydrates stored when fed to much nitrates/nitrogen. But I am not sure if this will be the case in flowering phase of lucas formula.

Here is your answer

@Scissor-Hanz

…and your mothers will need a hydroponic fertilizer that is NOT a flowering formula. Look for a “veg” or “grow” cycle fertilizer with more N.
I use DNF Gro 2-part, from Homegrown Hydroponics.

@SamandMax

Finally I need to know which light I should choose. I saw there are all kind of reflector casings for T5 bulbs. Some cost several hundred bucks. Somehow I have the feeling, that in the case with mother plants I don’t need to choose the high end reflectors or ballasts or whatever… How much T5 bulbs should I choose for my mother plants and what reflector or bulb fitting do you suggest?

This comes down to cost. I have had mom’s with all lighting types. Florescent bulbs are ok, but, it might cost more than one Hid. You have to remember that Florescent lights only work when they are close. When your mother gets big, you may have to add additional light which may end up costing more in the long run.

[SamandMax]

Hey guys,
thank you very much for responding and helping here. Sorry for late responding, but in the meantime I was able to set up my room a bit more and think a bit more about what I want to do.

Thanks to your advices I got a 150 liter reservoir for the 4x4 mom tray (so it will be independent from the main reservoir). Also after you told me that HID instead of T5 would also be a variant for the mother plants, I remembered that I still have an unused Lumii Digita 250/400/600 Watt ballast with new single end bulb and reflector. So I will go with that now. (btw I plan to branch the moms a lot. Is that what you mean by training?)

For my clones I got this humidity dome which you can see attached in the picture.

http://www.greenhousesensation.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/700x700/6dcdb3bec3b7d3d8fa2d31ce95a0090e/u/l/ultimate_single_height_vitopod_propagator_with_lights.jpg

It has adjustable heating. So I guess that is pretty good. There are also two t5 lamps (39 Watt and 120 centimeter each). Do you think that will be enough lightning for the clones?

I was thinking also about how to feed the clones and found a laboratory bottle like that. Recommendable way to do or not?

And also concerning the clones I wanted to ask you, what substances (fertilizer and extras) do you give them, so they will root good and get strong?

And finally there is something else that I am really wondering about and I wanted to ask your opinion about that. I have four 4x4 tables. I also have many 4"x4" rockwool cubes. Now if I want to do no veg phase with the clones, how many clones do I need to fill all my four tables? I don’t want to waste space but I also dont want to overcram and waste my time and resources by doing to many clones. In that case I lack the experience to predict something without checking your opinions first. In the internet I found conflicting reports. Also I was a bit concerned when I saw that a guy filled the complete table with the 4"x4" rockwool cubes: (source: https://www.mjguide.com/tutorials/Hydroponics/1273.htm)
https://www.mjguide.com/tutorials/Hydroponics/1273_files/sogs_tbl.jpg

Which would result in my case in over 400 plants. Ok I could do every two weeks 100 hundred clones which would result in 400 clones in 8 weeks (considering harvesting every 8 weeks). But considering I have four moms, I am a unsure if my systems capacity is suited for that or if I need to go upscale the amount of moms and the size of the ebb and flow table for the moms (currently 4x4).

Btw, are you covering the tables to protect the roots from light exposure? I am planning to do it with panda film (Which I hope will not be too thick or heavy). The guy here does it with mylar
(source: https://www.mjguide.com/tutorials/Hydroponics/1273.htm)
https://www.mjguide.com/tutorials/Hydroponics/1273_files/sogs_tbn.jpg

Thank you for the advice guys!

[SamandMax]

Actually the question about the amount of plants is my most important question. If anybody knows to answer it, that would be great:

"
And finally there is something else that I am really wondering about and I wanted to ask your opinion about that. I have four 4x4 tables. I also have many 4"x4" rockwool cubes. Now if I want to do no veg phase with the clones, how many clones do I need to fill all my four tables? I don’t want to waste space but I also dont want to overcram and waste my time and resources by doing to many clones. In that case I lack the experience to predict something without checking your opinions first. In the internet I found conflicting reports. Also I was a bit concerned when I saw that a guy filled the complete table with the 4"x4" rockwool cubes: (source: https://www.mjguide.com/tutorials/Hydroponics/1273.htm)
"