Ammount of light needed for mother and clone room....

[yota]

What's the minimum amount of light i would need for a mother and clone room. 1 mother plant and 20 or so clones. I want to go small as possible without having a weak mother. Thanks

 

Id prefer using low wattage lights

[grok]

you can keep 20 clones under a single 18 watt cool white fluorescent light...i currently have twelve clones under 18 watts.

 

CFL's around 100 watts are poular for mother plants and clones as well.

 

it is possible to keep a mother plant small and still get a decent amount of cuttings. by small i mean less than 20cm by 20cm.

this is what im experimenting with at the moment..Bonsai mother plants!!...at about 20w/ft...using fluros 'cause they will only be about 15cm high which will still give me sufficent light penetration.

[yota]

Grok, that sounds good, cause my space is limited. Can you show me a pic of your bonsai mother? Do you just keep topping the plant over and over and cutting vertical growth? Tie down? thanks

[Frazz]

Yota and Grok, you will find the following link does comprehensivly cover long-term mother maintenance

 

http://cannabase.com/cl/pages/mums/mums.html

 

[grok]

Can you show me a pic of your bonsai mother?

Do you just keep topping the plant over and over and cutting vertical growth? Tie down? thanks

 

theres a pic of my bonsai mother plant in my grow diary and a link to the diary in my signature.

i have topped the bonsai mother plant............... the size of the plant is kept small by pot size,nute str,light levels,pruning...

 

nearly all the information im using to make bonsai mother plants comes from the same source as Frazzles link in the preceding post....a highly detailed and very informative article on Bonsai mums....(highly reccomended reading)

p.s. thanks for the link Frazzle.

[yota]

That link is great! thanks a lot....im totally making a bonsai mother!

 

Oh, and what kind of nutes do i need to get a mother going. Just standard Veg nutes? At a weak strength?

Edited January 30, 2008 by yota

[yota]

Hey guys.....another question. I want to make a small bonsai and clone room, but i cant really put too much into it. So will i need good ventilation in there or can it just be a standing room? It wont be too hot, but the air flow wont me too good. Could i get away with a small circulating fan as opposed to vent? Or no fan at all?

[Al B. Fuct]

Oh, and what kind of nutes do i need to get a mother going. Just standard Veg nutes? At a weak strength?

 

Yep, veg nutes, but not terribly weak. I run my mums at 1400-1800ppm with a 400HPS over them. If I had to use fluoros, I'd cut that to about 1200-1400ppm. However, if I could only use 100W worth of light for my mums, I'd be using a 100W Ceramic Metal Halide, not fluoros.

 

Could i get away with a small circulating fan as opposed to vent? Or no fan at all?

 

No!

 

You'll need both an exhaust blower capable of changing the room's air volume in 3-5 mins, run on a thermostat set for about 25C, as well as at least one oscillating circulation fan. With no exhaust blower, there will be insufficient CO2 provided to the plants- and temps (and RH) will get a good bit higher than you expect. With no circ fan, powdery mildew will quickly take over.

[yota]

Yep, veg nutes, but not terribly weak. I run my mums at 1400-1800ppm with a 400HPS over them. If I had to use fluoros, I'd cut that to about 1200-1400ppm. However, if I could only use 100W worth of light for my mums, I'd be using a 100W Ceramic Metal Halide, not fluoros.

 

 

 

No!

 

You'll need both an exhaust blower capable of changing the room's air volume in 3-5 mins, run on a thermostat set for about 25C, as well as at least one oscillating circulation fan. With no exhaust blower, there will be insufficient CO2 provided to the plants- and temps (and RH) will get a good bit higher than you expect. With no circ fan, powdery mildew will quickly take over.

 

Hey, do 100w ceramic metal halides need ballasts? And do i have to get a certain light spectrum?