Perpetual SOG — Theory to Execution?

[Boogab]

I am purchasing a new house, and will be able to utilize up to two bedrooms for my hobby, a considerable upgrade from the walk in closet I'm using now.

My objective is to create a perpetual setup, harvesting approximately every two weeks. Basically something very similar to this:

Credit for the diagram goes to tintala, who posted it here back in 2009.

Logistically and financially I am confident that I will be able to build the 4-light flowering room shown above (one of my new bedrooms) without any problems. What I am unsure on is basically everything before they get to flowering. I have only started from seeds before, so a setup relying on mothers and clones will be new territory for me. Some of my questions include:

My plan is to also have a separate, smaller veg room (2nd bedroom/work-area) where the clones can grow to ~ 18" (maybe less?) before being put in the flowering cycle. So essentially, it will look more like this:

Relatively, how large will this room have to be to support the flowering room every 2 weeks, as shown in the diagram? I also figured this is the same room I would house the mothers and clones, as they can all be on the same light schedule. Having never cloned before, how many mothers will I need to support this setup?

I do not have clones available to me right now, so I will initially be starting everything from seeds. I will buy enough fem seeds to cover starting the mother plants and the first batch of girls in the veg room.

I post here asking these questions but also seeking any advice or suggestions at all. I am going from a single-light grow to this, so this is quite a big step for me, and I am sure there are several things I am overlooking that you guys may be able to point out for me. Thanks and looking forward to getting this started with yall's help!

 

[jaamzhow]

A new house; ambitious! That's not merely a grow; it looks like a cannabiz factory. Good luck.

 

[Don Draper]

Hey, OP! I grow exactly like the way you're describing in F&D, except I don't veg (well, rarely). I learned my stuff from Al b. Fuct, that's where I first encountered the diagrams you are using. I'm still small time in my apartment, I turned my small office (8x6.5x8ft ceilings). I run four 3x2 trays, each tray contains 22 plants, and I have a 600w hps over each two tray set up. I keep 12 moms and clone in the same flowering room in a double-lined panda tent I copied from Al, works like a charm. I harvest 22 plants every two weeks, and 22 more potted clones go in as soon as the harvest plants come out. I use an aero cloner with 36 sites, and I take the best 22 clones to flower, the others I use for new moms (I only keep moms for about 3 months), and as back ups in case something goes wrong. I cut large clones, about 7-9 inches, this helps in the final height as there is no veg time. I get anywhere from 5-8 large clones off each mom, and the only pots I use are black, square 5.5 inch pots, 4 per square foot. My moms are in 2.5x2 tray, and my cloner is underneath that table (I do all F&D, but come from an RDWC background). I harvest anywhere from 8-11 oz. per tray, and my custies are a small group of friends. I was able to quit working three years ago and make close to 100k per year off my small op, so you're going to be sitting really pretty! I can't wait to get a house and expand my grow to double or triple what I'm doing now. If you'd like links to the info I learned from, pm me. I'm going to start a grow journal here soon, so I'll have a lot of pics to show my setup and how I do things. I'll be watching this thread, I hope it takes off. Good luck!

 

[Don Draper]

Here's a view older pics -

 

[jaamzhow]

Who's Al b; and what's F&D. If you take the 22 best to flower then take the remaining for mothers, aren't you in effect using "not the best ones" to be the mothers of the next gen of clones. In evolutionary terms, you're selecting for the smallest or weakest.

 

[babyhuey1]

Hi Don, I'm very interested to hear advice you have, I'm in the process of doing a perpetual grow SOG. My space is a little smaller, but the concept will be the same. waiting for seedlings to mature so I can clone and sex for my mothers, and then start the factory.

Babyhuey

 

[Don Draper]

Who's Al b; and what's F&D. If you take the 22 best to flower then take the remaining for mothers, aren't you in effect using "not the best ones" to be the mothers of the next gen of clones. In evolutionary terms, you're selecting for the smallest or weakest.

Hey jaamzhow. No, cloning doesn't work like that. All of the clones cut from the same mom are exact genetic copies, neither inferior or superior. When I say I take the best 22, I mean the tallest I've cut with the thickest stems. As long as the smaller clones have more time to catch up, they'll reach the same potential as the bigger clones. Since the flowering plants are priority and the moms have lots of time to develop, it all works out. I hope this makes sense...

P.S. Al, my mentor, is from another forum. PM me for details...

P.P.S. F&D = Flood and Drain, or Ebb and Flow...

 

[Don Draper]

Hi Don, I'm very interested to hear advice you have, I'm in the process of doing a perpetual grow SOG. My space is a little smaller, but the concept will be the same. waiting for seedlings to mature so I can clone and sex for my mothers, and then start the factory.

Babyhuey

Hey Babyhuey! Awesome, that's an exciting time! Sounds like you're doing everything right so far. It's truly amazing that after all the initial PITA set up stuff, your op will be a little bud-making factory. It's still magic to me that after you take the time and money to purchase, grow out and choose these kick-ass phenos for moms, you simply chop off their limbs, stick them in a machine for a ten days, and you have brand new, separate, identical plants! You can literally crack beans one time, then grow for the rest of your life I don't want to hijack this thread, but I'll help in any way I can...

 

[Th3L0s3r]

Here's a view older pics -

Awesome pictures. I've been reading Al B Fuct's threads for over 6 months now. I feel I'm ready to take what I've learned and put it into action. I'm going to start on a much smaller scale and master my craft, but I eventually hope to be where you are. It's awesome to see someone else who is using the method Al laid out. Even more awesome to see someone in a recent thread having success using that method. You're the inspiration I needed to see.