Mother plant setup help

[BB0420]

Hello all,

I grow in RDWC Hydro but I am looking to set up another tent for just my mothers. I’d prefer to do something simple so I doubt that’ll involve hydro. What do you guys all do for your mothers? I’m not sure if I should go soil, coco or what.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Remystemple]

Hello all,

I grow in RDWC Hydro but I am looking to set up another tent for just my mothers. I’d prefer to do something simple so I doubt that’ll involve hydro. What do you guys all do for your mothers? I’m not sure if I should go soil, coco or what.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

I grow in coco , but keep my mothers in soil just so i don't have to feed them every day. also it's nice in miracle grow ( they're gonna kill me LMAO ) because i haven't had to use any nutes in about 4 months now. just water at pH 6.1-6.5 once a week when the pots are scary light lol.

 

[BB0420]

i was thinking of something along the lines of this. Just want something with little maintenance. But soil is a very unfamiliar road for me.

 

[Virgin Ground]

Soil in one gallons. Trim the roots and repot in 3-4 months. I feed them light on some Mega Crop. I keep them under 24 watt smds. I trim heavily every week to two weeks.

 

[CrimsonEcho]

Have you thought about bonsai? You can fit 40 in a 2x2. 7cm square pots. You can keep them healthy for years. Just flower the original bonsai and take clones.

Just prune the tops as they grow and prune the roots every 2-3 months and transplant into the same pot with fresh soil. Other than that nothing much. Just plain water and little light. Like 28w for this 2x2.

 

[multiVortex]

Bonsai Mothers

This article was originally written by OG member Oldtimer1, I take no credit for this, except for finding and sharing the information with you guys. Part 1 MAKING, MAINTAINING, AND RENOVATING BONSAI MOMS This Article was originally published on 27/6/2000. Revised and archived 20/10/03 by...

www.420magazine.com

 

[BB0420]

Thanks for the comments guys. I see bonsai is really the way. Doing some further research into it now. Definitely going to proceed as space right now only allows me to add a 2x2 tent for my mother’s. I will be replying with questions I’m sure!

 

[TurboBucket]

I also use soil 1 gallon squares according to oldtimer1

 

[multiVortex]

I also use soil 1 gallon squares according to oldtimer1

I've started digging into using smart/air/fabric pots instead. Haven't got very far, but I'm curious whether it would work long term. Closest pots I've found were either 2gal round pots (8" wide, 8" deep) or 3gal square (9x9x9).

Not sure if it would work, but I "think" the reason for pulling out and chopping sides/bottom off is for the roots. Well, that's what a fabric pot does on its own. So maybe worst case is once a year you pull out and trim like the original? I dunno, I'm still researching on it.

 

[TurboBucket]

It's such a pain to pull plants from fabric pots I wouldn't want to do it. They do make some smaller 1 and 2 gallon fabric transplant pots that have a Velcro side so you can open the pot up a bit and pull the root ball out.

It's a good thought I think you would be able to go longer before you had to prune the roots with a pot that aerates better like that than you can with plastic.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Not sure if it would work, but I "think" the reason for pulling out and chopping sides/bottom off is for the roots.

It's so you can replace a big chunk of the old soil with new soil. It's just somewhat difficult to remove that much soil from a small container that's had a plant growing in it long term without removing roots, too, lol. Were this not the case, one could simply "swap out" the soil and not have to remove some of the greenery (above-ground portion of the plant) in order to maintain the proper root system to plant balance. But it is, so just slice away a sizable percentage of the root/soil mix, trim the plant, pour fresh soil into the bottom of the pot, reinstall plant, backfill the voids around the perimeter, water everything in, and Bob's yer uncle.

 

[multiVortex]

It's so you can replace a big chunk of the old soil with new soil. It's just somewhat difficult to remove that much soil from a small container that's had a plant growing in it long term without removing roots, too, lol. Were this not the case, one could simply "swap out" the soil and not have to remove some of the greenery (above-ground portion of the plant) in order to maintain the proper root system to plant balance. But it is, so just slice away a sizable percentage of the root/soil mix, trim the plant, pour fresh soil into the bottom of the pot, reinstall plant, backfill the voids around the perimeter, water everything in, and Bob's yer uncle.

Interesting. Soil replacement makes sense, as buildup and such, but I still wonder if similar results, but maybe with a tick less frequency could be achieved with a fabric pot. Mainly from the air pruning of roots, thus an increase in branching vice spiraling around the pot. Although I'm not sure what that in turn would do with the height, as my understanding thus far is trying to keep it a bit bound up as to discourage a gain in height.

I've had an interest in bonsai as a whole, just have never had the time to explore it and get into the hobby. However, being able to combine its principles with this hobby.... cha-ching!

I'm not sure where I'm going with the mother aspect yet, but thanks to this method and being able to keep many in a small space has pushed the possibility into potential reality. Looking into a grow space for it, and thinking about building out my own. I haven't really found a specific tent setup that I like that I could use as a multi-purpose space, so DIY seems to be the way. Well, I take that back. I did find a secret jardin tent, but it was around $500. No thanks.

Effectively I want to end up with a 7' wide, 3' deep, 7' tall footprint, which is a foot bigger in all three dimensions (give or take) than I would get with a tent. This would allow for a 4.5'x3' main grow, plus a 2.5'x3' second grow. The second grow would be split into 2 levels, each about 3.5' in height. I would also possibly add the option to split the main grow space into 2 levels, but haven't really thought that through yet.

I'm guessing about $125-$150 in lumber, screws, and 6mil reflective material to do it. Then lights on top of that, but that's a wash as lights are needed either way.

What that would do for me is:

a) replace my 4x2 tent that I run auto's and my outdoor veggie garden stuff in.

b) allow for a sprouting area for veggies, clones, etc.

c) allow for an area for about 6 bonsai mothers.


Now it wouldn't be overly "pretty" like a custom built cabinet, but I couldn't care less on that part.

Was thinking of using 2x6 or 2x8's at the bottom of the frame, as when they're on end to create the floor there is a bigger gap than with a 2x4. That being the case, I could put in floor drains as well as use that space as a passive ventilation draw since it would be sitting on basement concrete. Run ducting underneath in as long of a stretch as possible, and poof. Cool air city.

A small gap between the main and secondary spaces would allow for air to be pulled into the bottom and top secondary spaces, without having to pull air through the bottom and then into the top.

Maybe I should think about going for 8' wide to allow for a 6" gap on the end of the main, and in between the two. Hmmmm... have to sketch this out a bit more, but you can see where I'm going with it I think.

Plywood walls, sealed with killz on all sides and edges. That heavier 6mil reflective material on the inside, then paint the outside. Should keep the wood sealed, and less reactive to humidity. Thus less movement, etc.

Or I suppose I could just keep the 4x2 tent in rotation, get another one, plus a 2x2/3x2 one, or just build a 2x3 cabinet. Doesn't sound like as much fun though.