Selecting a Mother

[Italiano715]

I don't subscribe to that 1'/gal theory, unless you are growing in a soil with organic material and nutrients built in.

IMHO if you are using liquid nutes, in a medium devoid of nutrients (like pro-mix), the size of the pot does not really matter. As long as the plant gets what it needs to grow, it will grow as big as you let it. I've grown and flowered 4'-5' plants in 4" square pots and if you looked at them from stem up, you could not tell they where in itty-bitty pots.

Now I don't really reccomend that big in such a small pot because it causes other problems. Like needing a watering at least once a day or more and when they get that big they want to fall over 'cause their feet are so small, get very top heavy you know.

(I can hear nashing of teeth, and an angry mob headed to thier keyboards)

I can totally relate with that. I had a plant growing in a 3 gallon pot and another in a 4 gallon pot. Needless to say the 3 gallon potted plant gave me the bigger yield. So, I guess it's all on your feeding them more so then how big they are.

Italiano715 Reviewed by Italiano715 on 07-05-2009. Selecting a Mother Thought I'd share something here about the need to grow out a fair number of plants from seed, in order to select the best plant(s) for future use as a mother. I constantly see folks here with plant problems that are simply the result of growing one or two seeds, and getting what you got and then looking for help because; 1) too short, doesn't seem to grow "like my friends" plant or 2) my plant has lots of stretch and is lanky or 3) I grew this plant and it was nice and bushy but this strain is Rating: 5

[headshake]

i gotcha oldmac. makes perfect sense.

i guess i'm just trying to establish a good routine, for convenience's sake.


-shake

[crabbyback]

I don't subscribe to that 1'/gal theory, unless you are growing in a soil with organic material and nutrients built in.

IMHO if you are using liquid nutes, in a medium devoid of nutrients (like pro-mix), the size of the pot does not really matter. As long as the plant gets what it needs to grow, it will grow as big as you let it. I've grown and flowered 4'-5' plants in 4" square pots and if you looked at them from stem up, you could not tell they where in itty-bitty pots.

Now I don't really reccomend that big in such a small pot because it causes other problems. Like needing a watering at least once a day or more and when they get that big they want to fall over 'cause their feet are so small, get very top heavy you know.

(I can hear nashing of teeth, and an angry mob headed to thier keyboards)

I agree about pot size. I keep my mothers in 1 gal. pots in a peat/perlite based soil mix. I root trim and repot once a year, flush about every 8 weeks. Sure I would like them in larger pots but increasing pot size causes my back to get crabby-er.

Blooming plants go into 1.5 gal hempy containers, in perlite and vermiculite, with regular nutes. When the containers are dry, they weigh almost nothing.

My very first grow was soil based, in 3 gal. containers, and I grew way too many plants at once. I swore if I ever got through that I would never do it again. The containers were almost impossible for me to lift or even move when wet.

I've toyed with doing a thread on the topic for others that may be falling apart like me ... I may get inspired, who knows.

You have quite the operation there mac. Hats off to you.

[oldmac]

Actually the pics you see from my partnered grow show it is really a crude operation. I'm growing in containers, with p-mix, and doing slightly larger plants then I do in my personal grow. We are using this method because that is what my partner knows and was comfortable with. I hadn't grown this way in about ten years, and I now remember why I went in another direction. He has come around on a lot of things tho, including LEDs which he did not want to use when we started 10 months ago and now wants 6 more TI pro blooms.

He's also seen me prove thru actual growing, that alot of things that are common held beliefs (he had them too) are just plain wrong. Such as size of containers, length of time needed to veg, various photoperiod manipulations, that many small plants stuffed into an area will out produce a few large plants in the same space, etc, etc.

At some point I'll be putting at least one of the aero/fog ponic trays I've built into production and then we'll move to growing with no media at all. Something you might want to consider some day. No dirt or p-mix, no hydrtron, no damn RW, just 2" net pots and neoprene collars to hold the stem. Requires no strength to lift anything heavy, just the gallon jugs that nutes come in. In fact some of the trays I've built for others will grow from cuttings to flower in the same machine, and in one case the same light (well a small T5 actinic white during rooting of the cuttings is used instead of the main light)

That's my dream and my deal with my partner, state of the art growing (LED + fog) and a system that he can run efficently so I can retire my grow. He then starts supplying the groups I work with medicine so that when I pass on someone keeps doing what I've been at for many years. I'd like to think I can go on forever but I'm on borrowed timme now. I only hope we can get it all done soon, but problems have set the project back.

[Horsemanrocks]

You have me worried friend....I hope all is well.

Namaste
Horsemanrocks.

[oldmac]

You have me worried friend....I hope all is well.

Namaste
Horsemanrocks.

I'm doing fine, at this time, but I have battled artiral disease since I was in my 50's. I have 1 carotid artery comepletely closed and the other 1 is 60% closed plus had a heart attack this past fall from a 100% clog in the LV distal. They stented it and it's fine but now have about 35% heart function, they talked about putting in a pacemaker (really a built in defibulator) and I balked at that. Figure I got a chance to die clean and not suffer too much with another attack or could now get lucky and die in my sleep. I've feared having a masive stroke and being paralized partialy and then lingering for years like my older brother did. While I'm being so upbead....

....earlier tonight I was with a frined and patient who was in hospice care, and he past away peacefully with his family and a few friends with him. Not only passed in his own home with some dignity, but he died in the same bedroom he was born in 86 years ago. Somehow I thought that was pretty great. Sort of a portal type of thing.

Yeah so while I have no plans to go yet, I am practical about it, I know it's coming. I have a slight eastern philosiphy about it all, and tonight I saw the portal of birth and death; your last breath is no different then your first breath.

I also stopped by the grow and things look good with the shiva skunks that are in flower. We gave them a new 1000w bulb a few days ago, and even tho the old one was in 9 months (I figure about 3500hrs use) and the bulb has a supposed life of 20,000hrs you can see an improvement in the plants. When they rate HPS bulbs with "initial" lumens they really mean initial.

[crabbyback]

Not here :sadcrying.

I certainly understand your logic and agree with you 100%. The powers willing, we will all go in our sleep or without suffering too much, like your friend.

I know how you feel about living on borrowed time. My genetic profile doesn't look real good for longevity (dad @ 44, mom @ 55).

But I say, fuckit, we ain't dead today!

In the meantime, I'm hoping you are able to retire and relax here on cancom with us until you are 103. I've become awfully attached to you, dammit.

[phatsesh101]

the portal of birth and death? is that a movie?


NEW BULBS FRICKIN KICKASS for like a week:stoned:

[oldmac]

Hey Crabby,

Don't nobody ever feel bad for oldmac, like Frank sang, "I did it my way". I have had such a wealthy life maybe not in money but in every other way. I didn't mean to get so serious about my health, it was the effect of sleep deprevation (I'm a lunatic and effected by the full moon) being really vaped and toasted plus I still have a couple of jugs of 'shine left from my July 4th still run. I really should not be allowed to operate a keyboard.

Sorry abt your genetics, my dad pasted young. Some parents leave thier children money or stocks and bonds maybe even a business or farm....my dad left his two sons with arterial disease. Gotta keep in mind that people and pot plants are very much alike, how well and when you finish is based on genetics.

[Weezard]

I'd like to repeat that.
For those of us on meds.

"Gotta keep in mind that people and pot plants are very much alike, how well and when you finish is based on genetics. " -Old Mac


Mahalo!

Weeze