Dean Moriarty

I purchased a cabinet from Wally's to use as a grow cab. It's about 6 ft tall and divided into two 3' sections (one nonremovable shelf) and about 2' wide. I'm using a bubbler with a 10 gal rubbermade tote as the resevoir, with the lid cut to accomodate 3 5" netpots.

I didn't take the size of my big (I don't have them handy but they are >100w) CFLs into account.

When all is said and done, with the height of the res and the lights, there is only about 10"-12" of vertical space in which the plans can grow.

Should I ScrOG it? Or focus on sidelighting?

Of my 3 babies one randomly died and two are lovely and extending roots from their pots. Two big CFLs are hanging over the survivors, an 18" plant/aquarium tube is in the back of the plants resting on the res and a strip of four 26w cfls (2 soft 2 bright) is resting on the front of the res.

All 3 were bag seeds that need to be sexed, but with one premature death my odds of at least one female dropped from 87.5% to 75%. with a 25% chance of failure and the apparent success of my first hydro setup, I planted a fem NL seed in a perfect start and began to soak an AK48 seed, both feminized. At least one should germ and result in a guaranteed female plant.

However, I digress - what is the best route to take here? Currently the bottom shelf is my hydro setup and the top is for germination with my mini greenhouse/humidity dome under one 26w cfl with a seedling heat mat. I will probably take cuttings from the bottom plants and after using the top shelf for cloning, make the top shelf flowering and keep the mother plants in perpetual veg...or possibly harvest the bagseeds plants and grow out 2 clones of one of my feminized "premium strains" to have a regular source of high end clones.

What do you guys think? I may also get a second cab but space is an issue. I'm also going to be starting a soiless garden in the open in my house and yard for fresh veggies year round. I've got a background in biology and have been rather excited to apply it so my family is fine with the unfortunately bright and noisy "propagation cabinet" in my room.

farmergiles

They do know what you're up to? Be careful with your family's home.

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Dean Moriarty

Yes, thank you for your concern

any suggestions on the height issue?

farmergiles

Yes height is going to be an issue.
A screen will be your only hope of keeping them that short. You might want to choose the least stretchy female as a mom.
You're going to use flouro's all the way? That will produce less heat than HID lighting so you'll be able to keep the lights up close.
If you can reconfigure the set up for more height I would recommend it.

Re cloning- you don't have to keep mothers in perpetual veg- it's often easier to take clones of a plant, flower that plant, veg the clones, take clones of the clones, flower the clones, veg the clones of the clones and so on. The effective age of the plants is just the same as if you had kept the first mother.

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fenderbender

im assuming you have the same type of large cfl as i do...

IDK about the hydro setup, but the light shouldn't be a space issue really.
Construct a little reflector and hang them horizontally... not vertically where they take up like a foot of space.

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fenderbender

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=69713


Check this out...


i might make a separate thread just to link this thread, CAUSE ITS THAT AWESOME

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AlteredStateGrl

i don't know if this is helpful at all, but when my girls get a little taller than i'd like, i pinch some of the very tippy tops off. they get bushy though. mine are also all outdoor.

i ♥ my girls.

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fenderbender

also, SCROG doesnt work well unless your dealing with clones, and i dont think you are to at least start off with.


Id just keep LSTing the bitch over and over, and make sure your lights are useing up as little space as possible. The plants can get within like an inch or less of those big cfls and not get burnt when they are more mature. As seedlings though they will burn up if too close cause the bigger cfls are pretty strong.


LST the hell out of your first plants, keep one as a mother, harvest another, do w.e with the rest.

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Dean Moriarty

Thanks for the advice everyone! What I'm suggesting is a combination of what everyone has said:

CFLs will be used the entire time and mounted sideways

as soon as the plants are large enough, I'll take clones from them, ideally 3-4, preferably without killing the mothers. The mothers will be allowed to recooperate under 18/6 while the clones spend a couple of weeks rooting in my humidity dome. Once rooted, the clones will be put directly into 12/12 flowering. The clones will be cut to relatively uniform height and arranged into a ScrOG once sexed.

I then have the option of flowering the mothers (and culling anything that gave me males) or keeping them in veg. Since these are bagseeds I will probably flower any surviving females after clones have been taken; I have no attachment to the strain, it's unnamed and potent but by no means the best I've ever smoked - it is excellent cooking cannabis, though!

I have an AK48-Fem and Northern Lights-Fem that I am waiting on to sprout; once these are up and running and I have 3 females in my box, would it be feasible to go in stages, taking clones from a different plant every 3-6 weeks while the other two recover?

farmergiles

Clone away, as long as you arn't removing like 1/2 the plant I wouldn't worry too much especially if you cut from the bottom.

In any case a week should be sufficient for the plant to recover from stress.

Edit how many clones do you want and how often?

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Dean Moriarty

Thanks...multiple cuttings at once won't over-stress the plant, will it?

stoneric

Someone was on here awhile back talking about reasons not to clone from fem seed mothers. I don't recall any specifics, something about hermies I believe.

Dean Moriarty

Well fem seeds come from parents that were forced to herm through stress and cutting is a stressor. So it's possible that stress of any kind can cause it to herm, it's a matter of the plants genotypic succeptiility.