12/12 cfl grow from seed question

[Virtualhamst]

I'm going to be growing Purple Kush, Master Kush and Rockstar (along with some random bagseed) in 2lt pop bottles. They are going to be 12/12 from seed and i'm going to be using 8 x 23watt cfl bulbs. I had planned on using the LST method as soon as they were big enough, but what i'm trying to figure out is if the bottles are going to be too small to bend them around or will it be ok? I plan on trimming on day 21 and day 45. More or less i'm just trying to figure out if i should LST or just let them grow straight up. Any ideas/comments/questions definitely welcome!

 

[JB42]

If your going to LST them your going to have to do that during veg or it will cause stress during flower, so 12/12 from beginning is not recommended IMO. If you want to LST them put the in 3 gallon pots unless they autoflowers, which in that case the small bottles fine.

 

[CannaVince]

I agree for LSTing the 12/12 method is out....I would just veg them for 4-6 weeks in 18/6 and then turn them loose into 12/12...bent and ready for action...autos will be fine in those bottles.....word

 

[Mr.M]

Not a good idea, from what I have read going 12/12 straight from sprout doesn't work very well. A plant needs to reach it's maturity point before being able to produce buds. What I've got going is a mother plant. This mother is fully mature, alternating nodes and lush foliage. From this mother I take clones, which coming from a mature plant makes these clones mature and ready to bud. So I take the clones, root em, then plant em in 2 liter bottles. Veg for a few days, maybe a week, then pop em into 12/12.

 

[JB42]

Not sure about auto as I haven't grown them, but I've been told on here that they don't require 12/12 like most plants to bud as they are auto and you can do an 18/6 the whole time.

 

[Virtualhamst]

Thanks for all the info guys, much appreciated. Sorry I didn't mention in my first post that they aren't autos. Glad I'm going to save myself a bunch of work on not LSTing. I'm thinking of vegging for maybe a week or two as I only have so much room since I'm growing on a closet and the ceiling is funny shaped in there. Is there any kind of 'minimum veg time' that would be recommended? I'd rather not go a full 4 weeks or so, but you gotta do what you gotta do lol. Also does anybody have any experience with any of the mentioned strains, anything I should expect or look out for? Thanks again

 

[Mr.M]

By all means you could veg for 2 or 3 weeks, although the plants most likely won't reach full maturity. Which in the end will affect your final yield.
You could do this if you're trying to do a quickie. . ... ..

but yet it still won't be a quickie. It takes weeks to get prime buds.
If I'm willing to wait 9 weeks for buds they had best be damn good and a fair amount.

Also there are methods of keeping plants short, I use Bush Master by Humboldt. It seems to work wonders. The plant I used it on started growing thick shoots everywhere, and basically stopped growing upwards.

 

[Virtualhamst]

I'm not worried about quantity at all, as far as i'm concerned any bud i get is bud i grew myself and thats good enough for me, i have no problem waiting he 9 or 10 weeks or even longer it may take (hopefully not haha) but again you have to do what you have to do i just want to get the best quality i can under the circumstances haha its pretty difficult to get any decent smoke around where i'm from and knowing i have some pretty bomb stuff for myself and my friends is all i look for

 

[Mr.M]

Would you want to continue growing after your harvest? Have you thought about making the seeds you have now your mothers?

Sprout and veg for 5 or so weeks.
Take some clones, root them and then start flowering them right off the bat.
Then either take the mother you have grown, or take a clone or two and create new mothers and keep these in a separate box with some weak CFLs and a 18/6 light schedule.

Then you can keep taking new clones from the mothers to flower.

If it's hard to get decent buds where you're at I'd suggest getting something along the lines of this going. Have a good cycle to where you won't run out. You could even take clones every three weeks or so and move those into the flowering room. Keep that going and you could harvest a little bit every three weeks after the first initial 9 week stretch,

 

[Virtualhamst]

I was thinking about taking a mother, as i really enjoy the rockstar that i'm going to be growing and definitely thinking that not losing it would be a good idea, just have to figure out if i have the room as i'm very limited for right now. Have to take it up with the better half lol. Also how quick would the mother plant get pretty big? How big of a space should i keep her in?

 

[Mr.M]

Depends. But most definitely under two feet high if you wanted. The main stalks may get too tall but it won't hurt to give em a chop. The cutting would make a prime clone too being the healthiest thriving part of the plant.

What I am going to try is taking my 18 gallon tote. Strapping two 10$ cfl lights from walmart on the lid and placing some clones inside. The lights are weak, and by weak I mean really weak. This will provide the plant with sufficient light to stay alive and will thrive with a small dose of nutrients every once in awhile. Having the lights be small and close but with a lot of coverage will keep the plants short.

If you did this you would be able to clone the Rockstar. Keep the main plant in veg and take clones every so often. Or keep a couple clones for new mothers then flower the ones you've been growing the whole time, while still preserving the strain.

 

[Virtualhamst]

Good point, how long would i need to veg before you could start taking clones?

 

[Mr.M]

Not positive, but in order to take clones you need some branches and nodes on your cuttings. Probably a good 5 weeks. It's more based on size I'd say. A good 12" and you could probably clone the top along with a couple of the branches.

 

[Virtualhamst]

Awesome thanks