How do you maintain/prune mother plants?

[punksunn]

Hi everyone...
well...it took 18 months and some $$...BUT...I FINALLY gots it down!
...right down to cloning 4 favorite strains (that I got as clones)...
I vegged them...and at about 5 feet i have 'topped' them a few times and taken some 10"-12" cuttings (which are rooting nicely...gonna veg them 4 weeks-or less-and get them into flowering)...and the mothers are looking like SHRUBS! lol Bushy lush and healthy...now...the question:

A) how long can/should i keep them as mothers (as i know if i start em on flower cycle they will EXPLODE!) ...or keep pruning them keepin em bushy for next crop clones?
B) is there a specific way to prune mothers and keep them under 3-4 feet"?
I would like to keep at LEAST 3 0f the 4 strains going...
As i said I top enuff to keep from light and fan leaves are removes-a couple at a time-and clones when i need em

As always thanks in advance for the AWESOME info I get here!

 

[nibec]

just keep chopping away!

if they start to get root bound, instead of putting in a new pot... lift the root ball out, and cut it, to look like V, then put it back in the pot and fill it back with fresh soil. this will stunt her, but, she will come back.

as long as you leave enough roots to support the amount of vegetation you have, you can keep a pretty small bonsai mother that way.

 

[QueenTokelove]

just keep chopping away!

if they start to get root bound, instead of putting in a new pot... lift the root ball out, and cut it, to look like V, then put it back in the pot and fill it back with fresh soil. this will stunt her, but, she will come back.

as long as you leave enough roots to support the amount of vegetation you have, you can keep a pretty small bonsai mother that way.

You make it sound so simple. I have cut the roots on my plants when they had become root bound. It actually surprised some people. But it did not hurt my plants either. My question is on how to feed them, do you continue to feed as you would any plant in veg or do you increase due to age? My mothers are 2 months old planted on Jan 11th. A little over...And what size pot is best? I have 3 gallon pots, will it be ok to leave them in those? And what does the term bonsai means exactly when it comes to mothers?

 

[nibec]

it gets simple! lol. just have to do it a bunch.. haha.

and nope, you feed them simply all they need. feed them about half of what you would feed the others, and keep them under less light than the others too. This helps keep them from booming with growth, slows them down. (unless you need lots of clones all the time.. but thats not the point of a bonsai mother)

a bonsai mother simply refers to a small mother plant. Some growers require the need of a big mother that can produce hundred of cuttings, while, someone like myself, requires a mother that only needs to produce a few cuttings here and there.

a 3 gallon pot should be fine, if you notice the soil stays wet too long, downsize, and if she gets root bound too quick for your liking, upsize.

before you take a cutting, cut down on the nitrogen you feed them, then after you take the cutting you can resume normal feeding. the lower nitrogen slows down growth, which allows your clones to focus more on rooting than growing, which typically speeds up your rooting process, and increases success rates.

orrr... just feed normal all the time, and cut your losses

 

[QueenTokelove]

Hmmm, well I have them under cfls. Really downsize? I thought they would need bigger pots for more room for roots? I know the 3 gallon should work but I was considering putting them in a 5 gallon one day.

As for cloning, once I move into a new place, I would like to take as many clippings as I possibly can. I would like to have a perpetual grow. At least that is my hope. But I would also like to have about 8 mothers in the near future.

 

[punksunn]

nibec...
...you ol sonova gun! MY HERO!!! lol
...i shoulda figured you would speak up! Bonsai Mothers? lmsao!
yeah...was thinkin on chopppin away, keep em short....since i am in hydro, the root trimming was a perfect touch...lol....wasnt sure about THAT...

1 of my 4 i think i'm just gonna flower it...since its been chopped several times, it should just EXPLODE w/flowers...and i dont gotta worry about it getting too close to lamps.

P.S. on another note...i used the budder recipe (1.25 oz sweet leaf trimmin to 1 pound butter)...i think the medicinal CBD count per cookie (about 3.1g budder per cookie) is a nice medicinal level for pain...but, i am hearing of some peeps doin 1/4 pound per pound of butter...this sounds TOO much...any comments?
Thank again my friend...
AS ALWAYS....PEACE OUT

 

[nibec]

when it comes to making "budder" 1/4 pound of trimmings isnt too much.

i normally use an ounce of good bud to make a pound of it. but... that kicks like a horse.

i make mine in a double boiler, add a pound of butter, and about a liter of water into the pot, and stir in the ounce of bud, all ground up

let it simmer for 8 hours, then strain out the bud, and pour it into a pyrex or plastic container, cover, and let sit for 3 days.

then take all the butter out (the water will go to the bottom, and butter will be a solid on the top.. the water gathers the last of unwanted gunk in the butter and normally is grey by this time)
then skim the last of the white creamy crap off the top of the water... there will be very little, but, why waste it.. its nice and potent too.

then you can do whatever you want with it.. have some toast... bake with it, etc. powerfull stuff.

Hmmm, well I have them under cfls. Really downsize? I thought they would need bigger pots for more room for roots? I know the 3 gallon should work but I was considering putting them in a 5 gallon one day.

As for cloning, once I move into a new place, I would like to take as many clippings as I possibly can. I would like to have a perpetual grow. At least that is my hope. But I would also like to have about 8 mothers in the near future.

well, when it comes to wanting lots of clones, then put her in that big pot, and let her grow.

the whole point of a bonsai mother, is to keep giving the roots a trim, and keep chopping branches as she grows to keep her small like a "bonsai tree"

if you want a big high producing mom.. dont cut the roots, and always transplant into bigger pots.

bonsai ones, only need a root system big enough to support how big you are going to let her get... hence the root trimming... you dont need a huge 5 gal root ball on a foot tall plant


however, punk, you might not have to worry about root trimming in hydro, as it shouldnt get root bound. unless you have it in a small bucket/container. it wont hurt, but, you shouldnt really have to.
not positive though, as i'v never had a hydro mom or read much at all on that topic.

 

[punksunn]

Heloooo nibec...

yup, hydro is interesting in the tech about it (simple tho, really) and that it gives TOTAL control of grow. I can be costly, BUT, once in place, simple system maintenance is it. Too many variables in soil grow...seems to me anyway...

And, as usual...lol...you are correct about hydro roots...they seem nice and whiteish and happy at about 3.5 foot tall (after hack/trim)...lol...i have 5 gal bucket-in-bucket set up...individual units per plant. I dont use a central reservoir method, rather, self contained units (if anything does happen, i.e., nute burn/defenciency, etc, it can be corrected and not effect other units/plants), powered by a 6-port air pump.

As you know, it took me 18 months to get where i am at, lots of good peeps here with advice...me thimks me gots it! ...just wanna fine tune stuff!

And to QUEENIE...keep on keepin on hun! Listen to nibec...nebic is good...nebic is wise... Unless ya gots a personal horticultural guru...its trial and error. HOWEVER...this site has a BUNCH of good people who will be glad to help ya! I havent foud another site with such reliable info...really!

...actually, i got hooked up w/this site looking for budder recipies...lol
...so like a good lil student, i followed recipe...the water/butter ratio is good...i got about 3/4 pound budder...even squeezed as much as i could...
...and i used 1.25oz grnd trim...to butter. I notice that a cookie batch of 36 to 1/4 pound budder came out good...it seemed VERY high in CBD effect too (a really cool thing)...increasing budder-per-cookie at 4.7g/cookie! THAT should kik em up a notch! ...um....i had 2 of the 3.1g cookies (6.2g budder) and...um...it kinda scared me! never felt anything like that with smoking/vaping...or just 1 cookie before!

So..using the 'nibec method'...i could at very least go 2oz/trm to 1#butter for 8 hours (???)...then strain/cool as usual...kicks like a horse, huh?

Thanks again my friend
...and the quote "the only dumb question is the one that is not asked" is spot on! ...been using that for years...yup, author still unknown

 

[nibec]

you really give me more praise than i deserve in my opinion... the knowledge i have has just been picked up by trial and error, or the copious amounts of reading i do on forums, its not really mine to claim more or less just rediscoveries that people have found way before my time.

none the less, i enjoy helping others, and seem to find myself dedicating almost all my spare time to doing so..

anyways, the 2oz trim to a pound of butter should turn out great. if you like the 1.25 oz to a pound, the 2oz trim should give it that little extra kick.

like i said, i use bud to make butter... normally take an ounce from harvest and turn it into butter, then use the trim to make some BHO. ... ohhh how i love my bho...

 

[vernf1990]

does anyone know how much fox farm to give and which nuts??
thanx

 

[punksunn]

you really give me more praise than i deserve in my opinion... the knowledge i have has just been picked up by trial and error, or the copious amounts of reading i do on forums, its not really mine to claim more or less just rediscoveries that people have found way before my time.

none the less, i enjoy helping others, and seem to find myself dedicating almost all my spare time to doing so..

anyways, the 2oz trim to a pound of butter should turn out great. if you like the 1.25 oz to a pound, the 2oz trim should give it that little extra kick.

like i said, i use bud to make butter... normally take an ounce from harvest and turn it into butter, then use the trim to make some BHO. ... ohhh how i love my bho...

"BHO"????? here it comes...lol...what is BHO? thx

 

[nibec]

lol, butane honey oil.

 

[punksunn]

lol, butane honey oil.

oh sure...lmsao...

...you say THAT but do NOT say HOW to make this sacred elixer! lol

(((((((i did find an extractor on good ol ebay...with what is discussed here, lol, the end results of BHO for me....prolly put me in a coma...IF i knew how to do it...)))))))

...and as far as "your praise"...lol...when it comes to th grow...
...i feel like Al Bundy facing Donald Trump! ha ha ha haaaa

...yup...love this PurpleHaze...heh heh heh

and whilst we are on the suject...what the heck does 'nibec' stand for? lmsao...

 

[nibec]

oh! sorry.

its probably easier for you to lookup "diy" honey oil

but the way i do it..

poke a bunch of holes in the cap of a 355ml pop bottle, then poke one hole in the back of it big enough to fit the tip of a butane can.

then put a mesh screen in the cap of your bottle..

grind up all your trim, and put it in the bottle...

put the cap on, aim the cap onto a piece of glass, or something easier to scrap oil off of, and push the tip of the butane can into the hole on the back of the bottle.

the butane will flow through the bottle, picking up all the thc off the trim and fall out the cap onto the glass, then the butane will evap off, and leave you with a super sticky pure oil.. that kicks the crap out of iso oil..

then just scrape it up with a box cutter blade, or something like that.

i just recommend doing outside, as you dont want to dump a bottle of butane into the air of your house

 

[punksunn]

does anyone know how much fox farm to give and which nuts??
thanx

sounds like a 2 part nutes...so, there should be one specifally marked VEG or GROW...same for BLOOM or FLOWER...read labels...then...

a good rule of thumb i found works well...is to start veg/flower cycle with 1/3 dose nutes than directions on labels, after a week or so, increasing nutes by 1/3 til moving up to 2/3 dose nutes. checking your ph levels, etc.

also, full hydro systems like what i use, tend to be easier to control nutes and ph.

soil/mix may lose ph (or gain) depending on nutes you use.

a nice cleansing 4-5 day 'flush' is recommended every 2 weeks both in veg and flower cycles. and a solid week of clear water flush prior to harvest...depending on strain you have, when TRICHS START to 'turn color' its time to rinse....

 

[QueenTokelove]

And to QUEENIE...keep on keepin on hun! Listen to nibec...nebic is good...nebic is wise... Unless ya gots a personal horticultural guru...its trial and error. HOWEVER...this site has a BUNCH of good people who will be glad to help ya! I havent foud another site with such reliable info...really!

Actually, I listen to all advice given to me. I don't think one's advice is better than anyone else's just that depending on your situation or finance one may work better than the other for the individual. I totally agree about the site and the people, that is one of my many mantras...lol...

Thanks again my friend
...and the quote "the only dumb question is the one that is not asked" is spot on! ...been using that for years..

No problem. I am here to help, it's what I do. I am not sure where I heard the saying from but it has just stuck with me. Before that, I had one by Marilyn Monroe.

 

[HeadMed]

I have seen built a bho extractor from stainless steel wine/brew kettle parts. works good... obtaining a very clean t solvent is the hardest part now. look up the extractors and how they work, then source parts.

but annnyway....

I am interested in more best practices for keeping bonsai mothers in hydro. I am in flood and drain tables, using 6x6 rockwool cubes. I have used 10X10" net pots in the past. And have had problems with pests the older the cubes/media got if that makes sense. How far in can you cut the roots? Any Suggestions? Happy moms make happy babies...

 

[punksunn]

hey mister med...
using rockwool for other than sprouts/cloning may be problematic...

The way i see it and do it, is w/individual hydro units...the clay pellets are ph neutral and bug resistant. i only had a very small spider mite trouble...once...when i was first starting. Not sayin youre a novice...lol...

Trimming roots is possible by trimming a "V" shape...i would suggest 1/4 of roots to start...see how the plant responds...

I was told (here...lol) that since i have a hydro system, root trimming isnt needed. I havent needed to do it yet...yes, the bottom of my buckets has a old man whitish berd...lol...and looks good. Should ever suspect trouble in those toots, say turning brown or green...a few drops of hydrogen peroxide will work wonders.

@Queenie...lol...you are spot on! "Necessity is the mother of invention"...so when ya cant go "macho" ya go "humble" in the grow world...lol...and me is mighty humble...lmsao...

 

[QueenTokelove]

@Queenie...lol...you are spot on! "Necessity is the mother of invention"...so when ya cant go "macho" ya go "humble" in the grow world...lol...and me is mighty humble...lmsao...

You ain't never lied. And I can get creative in a pinch.

Sent from my LG-P505 using Forum Runner

 

[punksunn]

laffin my ass off...hey nibec..."bonsai mothers" my ass! LOL...i been hackin away at these things and the stalks are freekin hugh...i hack em down a foot, they bush up a foot...looks like a damn jungle in there...but i thinned it out...ha ha ha haaaa

...was thinkin, make one or two of em flower...
...i have 8 ready to go clones big enuff for veg...(2 AWESOME strains, WonderWoman and "ChristmasBud" (lol...my guru forgot the 'name of th strain' but it is AWESOME pure indica...lol)
...maybe take a couple clones and make them "bonsai"...lol

So...any suggestions?