A couple questions

[Supernaut]

I am doing my first grow and starting from seed. They are not feminized seeds. Since you can't tell sex until inducing flowering, I don't know what I have (obviously). Jorge Cervantes says he starts flowering when plants are a foot tall. That seems small to me, but he's the man right? Anyway, before I go 12-12 in my other room I want to cut clones off these ones. So here are a couple questions.

1. Is 12" tall enough to clone?

2. What do you guys think about using a clone as a mother?

3. How tall do you typically induce flowering? (I have read everything from 12 inches to 30+ inches, I'd guess it's strain dependent to a degree)

4. 2x48"x40w flouros vs 2x42w CFL (150w equivalent). What are your thoughts on that? The 48" flouros have more lumen output but the CFL bulbs I use are much more focused. (My plants grow towards the CFL bulbs.)

Thanks for any input you guys may have!

 

[Twelve12]

Hey Supernaut! Welcome to 420 Magazine.

Most plants will reached maturity after 3rd week of veg. By then they'll be around 1ft little more or less. Flowering your plants early is fine but the yield will be less than a plant that had 2 months veg time. Due to limited of space, height, and time. Flower your plants early or do 12/12 from seed is the best option.

1. When taking clones from the main stem try to wait till the plant has at least 5 nodes. Some plant stretch while others are more compact so 12" vary. That way you'll give the plants some nodes to grow out new branch.

2. Yes you can use the clone as mothers and flower out the original mother. Take a few to increase the survival of its genetics. Never know some clones are stressed and might not make it. If you are using aero cloner it has 99.9% success rate, fast rooting time.

3. Right now I'm doing rooted clone straight to flowering so they are only around 4-6 inches tall and the roots length mirrors the plant. They'll start to flower a week after 12/12. That's because the mother is well matured, over 2 months in veg. Even for clones they had the same veg time so they shared same level of maturity, not height. With that in mind bud sites will form a week later in bloom.

4. Go with the CFL.

Good luck!

 

[Supernaut]

Most plants will reached maturity after 3rd week of veg.

In saying the 3rd week of veg, is that going 3 weeks from the time the seedling breaks the surface of the soil? I began germinating my seeds on 9/6/11 and sowed in soil after 2-4 days when taproots were poking out and right now (12 days after initial germination) I have seedlings that are between 4 and 7 inches tall, most have 1 set of true leaves about 1-1.5 inches in length with a second set maybe 1/4 inch in length. I do have a few with 2 sets of true leaves and a 3rd set starting. Should these be larger by now? Should I start introducing nutes yet? (I have the foxfarm 3 pack of Big Bloom, Grow Big and Tiger Bloom.)

Thanks again!

 

[Twelve12]

Yes, you can start nute after 3 nodes. Go with 1/3 strength then work your way up to 1/2 a few week later.

 

[iminadaze]

Hey Supernaut,

You seem to have a real good idea of how to grow. Looks like you just want some confirmation so you don't screw it up. I like that. Keeps you one step ahead instead of one step behind.

Welcome to 420 Magazine.... Happy Growing!