Mother, clones and seedling lighting

[Bear777]

I remember reading that 100 watt is sufficient for mother plants, I was throwing around the idea of keeping a mother or 2 in a tent dedicated for clones and seedlings. Do you think clones and/or seedlings on shelving inside the same tent would receive enough light indirectly from a 100 watt light that's supplying a mother or will they need a dedicated source?

I really would like to get it setup where I can have shelves for clones/seedlings in the same tent as mothers, just figuring out the options to start with, then I could improve the setup as I go.
What type of similar setups are there that work well.

 

[Old fox]

I remember reading that 100 watt is sufficient for mother plants, I was throwing around the idea of keeping a mother or 2 in a tent dedicated for clones and seedlings. Do you think clones and/or seedlings on shelving inside the same tent would receive enough light indirectly from a 100 watt light that's supplying a mother or will they need a dedicated source?

I really would like to get it setup where I can have shelves for clones/seedlings in the same tent as mothers, just figuring out the options to start with, then I could improve the setup as I go.
What type of similar setups are there that work well.

100 watts is plenty for a mother. Might be bit too much light for fresh clones, so maintain a decent distance from any new cuttings

 

[Bear777]

100 watts is plenty for a mother. Might be bit too much light for fresh clones, so maintain a decent distance from any new cuttings

That's good know, would the other side of a 4x4 be far enough for new cuttings

 

[Old fox]

That's good know, would the other side of a 4x4 be far enough for new cuttings

Not sure what "other side of 4x4" means? Is that cuttings in same room as flower room?

 

[Bear777]

Sorry I wasn't clear, in a 4x4 dedicated mother and clones tent, 18/6 light schedule, if the fresh cuts were on a shelf on one side of that size tent and a 100 watt light over a mother on the the other side of tent, would that be a decent of distance

 

[Bear777]

I am just sorting out how many areas I would need for a perpetual grow with a more frequent harvest by using less veg time and and more plants.

 

[med180]

100w whilst plenty enough for a mother and cuttings, its light will not cover a 4x4 sufficiently and would be more suited to a space closer to 70x70 or a little more. 4x4 is quite large for a mum/veg space and would happily supply a 8x4 flowering space.

 

[Bear777]

100w whilst plenty enough for a mother and cuttings, its light will not cover a 4x4 sufficiently and would be more suited to a space closer to 70x70 or a little more. 4x4 is quite large for a mum/veg space and would happily supply a 8x4 flowering space.

Would a 4x4 mum/veg space supply (2) 5x5 flowering spaces , or would you need more space(s)

 

[med180]

Would a 4x4 mum/veg space supply (2) 5x5 flowering spaces , or would you need more space(s)

I think it would be able to but it would need a larger lamp and there would need to be a week or two of veg time in each to fill the space properly, some longer flowering strains with lots of stretch may get by without any.

 

[Bear777]

well that

I think it would be able to but it would need a larger lamp and there would need to be a week or two of veg time in each to fill the space properly, some longer flowering strains with lots of stretch may get by without any.

Well that sounds promising. I wasn't sure if I was going to need more area than a 4x4 to supply (2) 5x5 tents, but I knew I couldn't afford to buy it all at once, so I was going do it up in stages, which meant freeing up my 5x5s from any mother/propogations to start that, which is what brought me to thinking about buying a light that could keep a mother and some clones going if I removed them from one of the 5x5s. Then, like you said I would need more light for that size area, so I would have to buy something more for that purpose as I can. I was just thinking short term, keep a mom/ clones happy in another space with a relatively inexpensive light and thought maybe a 4x4 could house them for the mean time as I thought I would need something like a 4x4 size to supply the 5x5s but I wasn't sure on a couple of things, like whether the 4x4 with sufficient lighting down the track would be able to do that or if I would still need more space. Something just came to mind that I hadn't thought about as far as space and setup inside a tent...I have been probably not planning the utilization of the vertical space in a veg space properly as I kept thinking all the veg plants would be on floor using up space just before they go into the 5x5s, but correct me if I am wrong, since they are not in veg long they could be all on shelves as well to maximize the utilization of the space. I am going to have to rethink the layout of that space as I wasn't planning it efficiently enough because I forgot that these plants will still be relatively small. I will have to do some maths and figure it out.

I also was thinking roughly around a week/maybe 2 of veg time, and then transplanting 25, 1 per square ft, into one of the 5x5s roughly once a month.

 

[Love to grow]

I

well that

Well that sounds promising. I wasn't sure if I was going to need more area than a 4x4 to supply (2) 5x5 tents, but I knew I couldn't afford to buy it all at once, so I was going do it up in stages, which meant freeing up my 5x5s from any mother/propogations to start that, which is what brought me to thinking about buying a light that could keep a mother and some clones going if I removed them from one of the 5x5s. Then, like you said I would need more light for that size area, so I would have to buy something more for that purpose as I can. I was just thinking short term, keep a mom/ clones happy in another space with a relatively inexpensive light and thought maybe a 4x4 could house them for the mean time as I thought I would need something like a 4x4 size to supply the 5x5s but I wasn't sure on a couple of things, like whether the 4x4 with sufficient lighting down the track would be able to do that or if I would still need more space. Something just came to mind that I hadn't thought about as far as space and setup inside a tent...I have been probably not planning the utilization of the vertical space in a veg space properly as I kept thinking all the veg plants would be on floor using up space just before they go into the 5x5s, but correct me if I am wrong, since they are not in veg long they could be all on shelves as well to maximize the utilization of the space. I am going to have to rethink the layout of that space as I wasn't planning it efficiently enough because I forgot that these plants will still be relatively small. I will have to do some maths and figure it out.

I also was thinking roughly around a week/maybe 2 of veg time, and then transplanting 25, 1 per square ft, into one of the 5x5s roughly once a month.

I get the feeling u overthinking it to much just wack some seeds in and get her growing mate

 

[med180]

When using my 4x4 i have a 450w lamp running at about 300w to get even coverage. 25 per 5x5 plus 25 rooting and 25 just cut and a mother puts you up over 100 plants on constant turn over plus harvest work, that's a full time job!

 

[Indy]

I was thinking along the same lines as you a year ago, @Bear777, and this is what i came up with. A 240w combo consisting of a 240w Mean Well Driver, 2x 120w Quantum Boards and heatsinks to match. Created a chassis to stick it all on. First intial test had proven my spacing between the two QB's is a bit too much because there is a bit of a drop-off in intensity in the gap between the two. I'll have to alter it so they're a bit closer together..



So yeah, I built this one in mind for Mother's, Clone's and seedlings. And even a micro grow if i ever feel the need to scale back my hobby.

After making it, i'd advise to probably go with something around the same wattage range because this one dials right down to a dim light, and at 100% it 's dropping about 35 DLI at a height around 40cm's. 35DLI should be able to cover a grow from start to finish.

All the best with whatever you decide to settle on.

 

[Bear777]

When using my 4x4 i have a 450w lamp running at about 300w to get even coverage. 25 per 5x5 plus 25 rooting and 25 just cut and a mother puts you up over 100 plants on constant turn over plus harvest work, that's a full time job!

I was actually thinking it might cut down on the work eventually, or to word it better, that the work that I would be doing would be end up more efficient. I feel that this type of grow would more suit me. I was thinking of doing a large no till bed in each 5x5 so that will simplify things for me significantly, I believe, in those tents instead of all these individual pots. I've found a way that works good for me as far as getting cuttings to root and take, so extra of those I could do efficiently. I honestly dont know what it will take to tend to, but I am already spending an avg of a couple hours a day inefficiently tending to it (not including time researching online) so I myswell give it a go and see if I can manage the process better.

 

[med180]

I was actually thinking it might cut down on the work eventually, or to word it better, that the work that I would be doing would be end up more efficient. I feel that this type of grow would more suit me. I was thinking of doing a large no till bed in each 5x5 so that will simplify things for me significantly, I believe, in those tents instead of all these individual pots. I've found a way that works good for me as far as getting cuttings to root and take, so extra of those I could do efficiently. I honestly dont know what it will take to tend to, but I am already spending an avg of a couple hours a day inefficiently tending to it (not including time researching online) so I myswell give it a go and see if I can manage the process better.

Go for it. Strain choice will definitely make a big difference on veg times and harvest work, strains with a decent stretch fill spaces quickly in flower and heads that take minimal trimming, making monthly harvests more manageable. Goodluck

 

[Bear777]

I was thinking along the same lines as you a year ago, @Bear777, and this is what i came up with. A 240w combo consisting of a 240w Mean Well Driver, 2x 120w Quantum Boards and heatsinks to match. Created a chassis to stick it all on. First intial test had proven my spacing between the two QB's is a bit too much because there is a bit of a drop-off in intensity in the gap between the two. I'll have to alter it so they're a bit closer together..

View attachment 43632

So yeah, I built this one in mind for Mother's, Clone's and seedlings. And even a micro grow if i ever feel the need to scale back my hobby.

After making it, i'd advise to probably go with something around the same wattage range because this one dials right down to a dim light, and at 100% it 's dropping about 35 DLI at a height around 40cm's. 35DLI should be able to cover a grow from start to finish.

All the best with whatever you decide to settle on.

That's good to know that 240watt is sufficient for a 4x4, and med180 was around 300w, I might hold off on the 100 watt for now and get more wattage. Thank you for all the replies, got a few things to decide.

 

[Indy]

That's good to know that 240watt is sufficient for a 4x4, and med180 was around 300w, I might hold off on the 100 watt for now and get more wattage. Thank you for all the replies, got a few things to decide.

Ahh ok. I forgot to mention that i built this light to be suitable for a 2x4 tent/cabinet with the intention to have good light saturation over that sized footprint. But yeah, if you're talking 4x4, then follow med180 lead (of 300w), it'd be better suited for that size.

 

[Old fox]

Sorry I wasn't clear, in a 4x4 dedicated mother and clones tent, 18/6 light schedule, if the fresh cuts were on a shelf on one side of that size tent and a 100 watt light over a mother on the the other side of tent, would that be a decent of distance

1 mother and clones( unrooted) in the corner in a 4 x 4 will be fine. I only use a 20 watt T5 for new clones.