My Personal Peeps know who they are and know what this thread is for. All others can disregard this thread or feel free to try it out yourself and see the results with your own eyes!
No need to buy any expensive lights at the grow shop when we can have Closet EconoMOMs! They cost you less than $20 per build and you can put them where ever you want and how many you want for your specific needs:
RDWC is what we do because we want those amazing yields in short periods of VEG time with low plant numbers. Less than 99 plants is always a must. Because we only have to use a maximum of 12 plants for every 2,000 Watt's of Hortilux HPS, we don't need hydroponic MOMs that grow too fast for our needs. Because of this we use our Fox Farm Ocean Forest Soil and small CFL lights.
Transplant the rooted clones in 5"x5"x6" square containers for 2-3 weeks, then 1 gallon pot for 2-3 weeks and finish in 4-5 gallon pots.
You have to become used to hand weighing pots. It will be hard at first but if you want a fool proof method, get yourself a good scale. The minute that you transplant a plant into any cup or container of FFOF, weigh the container on a scale. When the container weighs that weight, it needs to be watered. One day you will become use to the hand weights and then you won't need a scale but get a scale that weighs in grams. Trust me on that one. Also add 1 part perlite to 3 parts FFOF so you get more air in there and mix it really well. FFOF doesn't come with enough perlite in it. Once a plant goes into FFOF, you don't need to add any feed at all for 2-3 weeks after it is in it's final pot. Once you start feeding, don't feed again for at least 2 weeks. Less is more.
Only use 7.0 pH'd water. When you do have to feed, pH your feed solution to 6.8 pH and feed after every 2nd watering, after it has been transplanted into it's final pot. Water with 7.0 pH. When you have problems, check the pH of your Run Off. Make sure it's between 6.0 - 6.8. The formula of feed that you will be using is:
6 mL General Hydroponic Flora Series Micro
9 mL General Hydroponic Flora Series Bloom
1 Gram of General Hydroponic Kool Bloom Powder
All these measurements are for 1 Gallon
The ocean forest in the bag is 6.4 usually which is good. After a while plants seem to go down hill because the Ph tends to drop over time with my methods. Plants that are sensitive to PH swings show problems when this occurs. I pulled out hairs for months trying to figure out a way to fix this and tried many things. My PH would go down to the mid 5's and plants would be totally yellow. After trying various things, I tried this method and my pH was perfect once I did it and plants returned back to green. Ever since then, I do it to get my Ph back in line. People will talk shit about it but it has really helped me.
Now here's the trick I figured out with FFOF when the pH of your soil goes below 6.0 and your leaves start turning yellow. After you are in your biggest pot and have fed the above formula for about 4-6 weeks, you will notice your Run Off going lower over time. This will have to be fixed. What I do is take the container to the bath tub one at a time, and I make a 4 Gallon Solution of the above formula but I pH this formula to 6.8. I slowly pour the whole solution through the pot using 3 steps to do it. I wait 10 minutes to perform each stem So basically I pour 1.33 Gallons of this solution into the pot and wait 10 minutes and repeat that 2 more times. Don't let the pot sit in your run off. At the end when the final liquid is coming out of the pot, check your Run Off and make sure it's back up to at least 6.4. If your Run Off is not back up to 6.4, keep repeating these steps until it is. I tried everything and this is the only thing that worked for me. I've brought plants back from the dead this way, for real. I can't tell you why it works but it works amazing for me when my run off is lost. I call it, "Charging Your Medium". Only perform this technique with the above formula. If you are smart you will do this before you start to see problems with your plants. You will get a feel of how often you will need to do this after having personal experience.
I don't like to keep MOMs for more than 3 months because they start to get too big and bushy and harder to maintain as well, and it is more easy for those ones to go down hill genetically over time. Because of this, after about 10 weeks, I take new cuttings from the best mother plants and once they are in small containers and healthily established, I flower the older / bigger mothers and use the new ones in the same steps above. I do this over and over until infinity. I always pay close attention to the new cuttings that will be the next generation of MOMS. I only choose the healthiest and most vigorous rooted cuttings to replace my older MOMS. I try my best to protect my strains from possible genetic mutations from environmental stresses. Good luck!
Snype’s Guide To Keeping MOMS For Infinite Years!
Warning, All MOMS that you have will be different than mine so the periods of time can change. Some strains will grow slower than others and there are other factors involved. Take this as a basic technique that I use with all of my MOMS used in Current Production / Near Future Crops.
Keeping healthy MOMS for many years without risk of losing them to Decreased Vigor, Loss of Potency, Smaller Bud Size, Decreased Trichome and Various Genetic Mutations, can be overlooked by many growers who don’t keep their MOMs in full health 365 days a year or the growers who pay more attention to their flowering room more than the VEG room. IMO Mother Rooms are even more important than Flowering rooms because without healthy MOMS, flowering rooms just won’t be the same. To be sure that your MOM stays the same that it was when you first ran her, you will need to keep her at full health 365 days per year to be certain that you don’t lose her to some type of degradation . That is not always an easy task for most growers in general because you would have to be around them to take care of them all of the time.
I’ve seen specific examples of some of my past MOMS going down hill over many years from not keeping them healthy all of the time. The MOM looked fine but her flowering clones from the MOM was never the same after that and lost a lot of the examples above. At those times, my MOMs were hydroponic but now I’m a bigger believer in keeping soil MOMs even if my entire grow is hydroponic. Soil has the biggest buffer against potential problems than any other medium and I believe that you have a higher odds of success keeping MOMS in soil without the risk of some of the problems associated with hydroponics . I can see having some MOMS in soil and then some Back Up Hydroponic MOMs if you need a lot of cuts but I can get around 30 cuttings from a 2 month soil MOM.
Soil MOMs grow slower than hydroponic MOMs so depending on your situation, you may need more cuts than I need. I keep my MOMs for 3 month periods and then the next run of MOMs replaces them. Before those MOMs are replaced, they went from 6 MOMs down to 3 MOMs under a 220 Watt CFL on for 24 hours per day. By the time my FFOF MOM from rooted clone is at 5-6 weeks old, each one can produce at least 20 cuttings but you can also obtain over 30 cuttings from each plant. Each plant is pruned with sterile utensils every 2-3 weeks and reshaped to keep her healthy. 5 days before I need cuts or need to prune, I make sure to feed the plant with my “Charge” method stated here:
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=268343
Some MOMS in my experience want to be grown with organic nutrients so on those ones I take special measures that don’t include my Charge Method.
After 2 – 2.5 months when the MOM is a pretty good size bush is when I take my new cuttings that will replace the MOMs. It is easier to healthily grow a MOM for 3 months and replace, than to properly prune and take care of a plant for years. Any cutting that is going to replace a MOM, is always the first to root and the most vigorous growing clones. Because of this, I take many more cuttings than I will need to choose only the best ones of the group.
All clones from existing MOMS of the same pheno, are labeled accordingly to represent each as it’s own just in case a genetic mutation occurs I will be able to get rid of that stock and replace her with another one without delaying my flowering rooms. I will usually keep 3 sets of MOMS to label as 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, 3-1, 3-2. If any stand out more than the others, I include a star symbol on the Sticky Note for that plant and she gets first priority for taking cuttings for the next crop.
You will want to inspect your MOMS regularly for mites, root problems and also assess her current health so you can keep your MOM healthy and show her the least amount of stress possible. Just like cancer in humans from genetic mutations, various stresses in a plants life can also lead to genetic mutations and potentially cause your MOM to never be the same as it was. Even if you do keep your MOMS in full health all of the time doesn’t mean that you can’t still lose your MOMS features but it puts the odds off success more likely.
No need to buy any expensive lights at the grow shop when we can have Closet EconoMOMs! They cost you less than $20 per build and you can put them where ever you want and how many you want for your specific needs:
RDWC is what we do because we want those amazing yields in short periods of VEG time with low plant numbers. Less than 99 plants is always a must. Because we only have to use a maximum of 12 plants for every 2,000 Watt's of Hortilux HPS, we don't need hydroponic MOMs that grow too fast for our needs. Because of this we use our Fox Farm Ocean Forest Soil and small CFL lights.
Transplant the rooted clones in 5"x5"x6" square containers for 2-3 weeks, then 1 gallon pot for 2-3 weeks and finish in 4-5 gallon pots.
You have to become used to hand weighing pots. It will be hard at first but if you want a fool proof method, get yourself a good scale. The minute that you transplant a plant into any cup or container of FFOF, weigh the container on a scale. When the container weighs that weight, it needs to be watered. One day you will become use to the hand weights and then you won't need a scale but get a scale that weighs in grams. Trust me on that one. Also add 1 part perlite to 3 parts FFOF so you get more air in there and mix it really well. FFOF doesn't come with enough perlite in it. Once a plant goes into FFOF, you don't need to add any feed at all for 2-3 weeks after it is in it's final pot. Once you start feeding, don't feed again for at least 2 weeks. Less is more.
Only use 7.0 pH'd water. When you do have to feed, pH your feed solution to 6.8 pH and feed after every 2nd watering, after it has been transplanted into it's final pot. Water with 7.0 pH. When you have problems, check the pH of your Run Off. Make sure it's between 6.0 - 6.8. The formula of feed that you will be using is:
6 mL General Hydroponic Flora Series Micro
9 mL General Hydroponic Flora Series Bloom
1 Gram of General Hydroponic Kool Bloom Powder
All these measurements are for 1 Gallon
The ocean forest in the bag is 6.4 usually which is good. After a while plants seem to go down hill because the Ph tends to drop over time with my methods. Plants that are sensitive to PH swings show problems when this occurs. I pulled out hairs for months trying to figure out a way to fix this and tried many things. My PH would go down to the mid 5's and plants would be totally yellow. After trying various things, I tried this method and my pH was perfect once I did it and plants returned back to green. Ever since then, I do it to get my Ph back in line. People will talk shit about it but it has really helped me.
Now here's the trick I figured out with FFOF when the pH of your soil goes below 6.0 and your leaves start turning yellow. After you are in your biggest pot and have fed the above formula for about 4-6 weeks, you will notice your Run Off going lower over time. This will have to be fixed. What I do is take the container to the bath tub one at a time, and I make a 4 Gallon Solution of the above formula but I pH this formula to 6.8. I slowly pour the whole solution through the pot using 3 steps to do it. I wait 10 minutes to perform each stem So basically I pour 1.33 Gallons of this solution into the pot and wait 10 minutes and repeat that 2 more times. Don't let the pot sit in your run off. At the end when the final liquid is coming out of the pot, check your Run Off and make sure it's back up to at least 6.4. If your Run Off is not back up to 6.4, keep repeating these steps until it is. I tried everything and this is the only thing that worked for me. I've brought plants back from the dead this way, for real. I can't tell you why it works but it works amazing for me when my run off is lost. I call it, "Charging Your Medium". Only perform this technique with the above formula. If you are smart you will do this before you start to see problems with your plants. You will get a feel of how often you will need to do this after having personal experience.
I don't like to keep MOMs for more than 3 months because they start to get too big and bushy and harder to maintain as well, and it is more easy for those ones to go down hill genetically over time. Because of this, after about 10 weeks, I take new cuttings from the best mother plants and once they are in small containers and healthily established, I flower the older / bigger mothers and use the new ones in the same steps above. I do this over and over until infinity. I always pay close attention to the new cuttings that will be the next generation of MOMS. I only choose the healthiest and most vigorous rooted cuttings to replace my older MOMS. I try my best to protect my strains from possible genetic mutations from environmental stresses. Good luck!
Snype’s Guide To Keeping MOMS For Infinite Years!
Warning, All MOMS that you have will be different than mine so the periods of time can change. Some strains will grow slower than others and there are other factors involved. Take this as a basic technique that I use with all of my MOMS used in Current Production / Near Future Crops.
Keeping healthy MOMS for many years without risk of losing them to Decreased Vigor, Loss of Potency, Smaller Bud Size, Decreased Trichome and Various Genetic Mutations, can be overlooked by many growers who don’t keep their MOMs in full health 365 days a year or the growers who pay more attention to their flowering room more than the VEG room. IMO Mother Rooms are even more important than Flowering rooms because without healthy MOMS, flowering rooms just won’t be the same. To be sure that your MOM stays the same that it was when you first ran her, you will need to keep her at full health 365 days per year to be certain that you don’t lose her to some type of degradation . That is not always an easy task for most growers in general because you would have to be around them to take care of them all of the time.
I’ve seen specific examples of some of my past MOMS going down hill over many years from not keeping them healthy all of the time. The MOM looked fine but her flowering clones from the MOM was never the same after that and lost a lot of the examples above. At those times, my MOMs were hydroponic but now I’m a bigger believer in keeping soil MOMs even if my entire grow is hydroponic. Soil has the biggest buffer against potential problems than any other medium and I believe that you have a higher odds of success keeping MOMS in soil without the risk of some of the problems associated with hydroponics . I can see having some MOMS in soil and then some Back Up Hydroponic MOMs if you need a lot of cuts but I can get around 30 cuttings from a 2 month soil MOM.
Soil MOMs grow slower than hydroponic MOMs so depending on your situation, you may need more cuts than I need. I keep my MOMs for 3 month periods and then the next run of MOMs replaces them. Before those MOMs are replaced, they went from 6 MOMs down to 3 MOMs under a 220 Watt CFL on for 24 hours per day. By the time my FFOF MOM from rooted clone is at 5-6 weeks old, each one can produce at least 20 cuttings but you can also obtain over 30 cuttings from each plant. Each plant is pruned with sterile utensils every 2-3 weeks and reshaped to keep her healthy. 5 days before I need cuts or need to prune, I make sure to feed the plant with my “Charge” method stated here:
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=268343
Some MOMS in my experience want to be grown with organic nutrients so on those ones I take special measures that don’t include my Charge Method.
After 2 – 2.5 months when the MOM is a pretty good size bush is when I take my new cuttings that will replace the MOMs. It is easier to healthily grow a MOM for 3 months and replace, than to properly prune and take care of a plant for years. Any cutting that is going to replace a MOM, is always the first to root and the most vigorous growing clones. Because of this, I take many more cuttings than I will need to choose only the best ones of the group.
All clones from existing MOMS of the same pheno, are labeled accordingly to represent each as it’s own just in case a genetic mutation occurs I will be able to get rid of that stock and replace her with another one without delaying my flowering rooms. I will usually keep 3 sets of MOMS to label as 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, 2-2, 3-1, 3-2. If any stand out more than the others, I include a star symbol on the Sticky Note for that plant and she gets first priority for taking cuttings for the next crop.
You will want to inspect your MOMS regularly for mites, root problems and also assess her current health so you can keep your MOM healthy and show her the least amount of stress possible. Just like cancer in humans from genetic mutations, various stresses in a plants life can also lead to genetic mutations and potentially cause your MOM to never be the same as it was. Even if you do keep your MOMS in full health all of the time doesn’t mean that you can’t still lose your MOMS features but it puts the odds off success more likely.
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