# Keeping a mom



## Stoneage (Apr 26, 2011)

Does anyone have a mom, using Dwc? I tried taking some cuttings from this grow that I have going on now, but they did not take. I have a nice looking Morning Glory from either the Flying Dutch, or Barney's Farm, in veg. Anywho, I was thinking of keeping it for a mom, so I can try to dial in cloning. Can I just keep it in the bucket in veg, until I decide to flower it? If that is the case, do I just keep a normal feeding/light schedule? Thanks.


----------



## Dr.Dank (Apr 26, 2011)

I keep my mothers in 5 gallon DWC buckets. I use house and garden for my hydro and nute it like its in veg. i make sure to test the ph and ec of the base nute then put in any additives as they will fluctuate ph then stabilize. right now I have a big buddha cheese and a DnA chocolope for moms. they are both great companies. hows the barney's farm? good luck.


----------



## Dr.Dank (Apr 26, 2011)

what kind of cloning method do you use? I have an aero cloner its 100% the best way to clone


----------



## woodydude (Apr 26, 2011)

I had problems with clones a while back but for the past 3 months or so I have taken over 200 clones and not lost any. All have rootetd in 7/10 days with the old rockwool cube, propagator and bottle of water sprayer. NorCalHal's cloning method works extremely well for me with a couple of little amendments http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33009 such as clipping the tips of the fan leaves off and I sit the freshly cut clone in clonex for 30 sec before placing in rockwool. If you have any problems, pm me.

As for keeping a mum, I used to but find it is just taking up space in my veg room. I now have a routine where I take cuttings, root them, veg them for around 6/8 weeks then flower. 
2 weeks before I am planning to flower them, I take some cuttings. This makes sure that if the cuttings dont root, I have time to take more before flowering, which ensures I can keep the pheno. (I have taken cuttings in flower too and they work great, just a week extra to switch back to 24 from 12/12).
What I would say is grow moms just as you would a veg plant, same light, feed etc. I have heard (from the guy in my local hydro store) that DWC is not the best for keeping a mother plant however I have nothing to back this up with and can't think of any reasons why it shouldnt work.

Green mojo. W


----------



## my my (Apr 26, 2011)

A local Grower i met recently.    rocks DWC. But he says he keeps his mom's in dirt.. the reason he does that he said is becouse they become huge in DWC.

i'm not sure wich way i will do it when i get to that point.

My My


----------



## OGKushman (Apr 26, 2011)

You should search for a thread called "Show Me Your Mom" 

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=55437

DWC only for moms. I do flood n drain from clones.


----------



## StoneyBud (Apr 26, 2011)

my my said:
			
		

> A local Grower i met recently. rocks DWC. But he says he keeps his mom's in dirt.. the reason he does that he said is because they become huge in DWC.
> 
> I'm not sure which way i will do it when i get to that point.
> 
> My My


 
It's a matter of trimming. With a really productive "Mother" or "Host Plant", daily trimming can be necessary.

I keep my two Host Plants at about 30 inches tall and each has about 20 tops. I throw out about 50 cuts for every 20 I keep. I have no use for them, and if I don't trim every day or two, the plant will get too large to be practical.

Both, btw, are P98BK that I grew from cuts that I got from a very good friend in the leftern USA.


----------



## Dr.Dank (Apr 26, 2011)

when mine get too huge ill roll another strain or new mother from clone. also I trim the heck out of them and have a decent sized 24hr clone/ area. As for cloning clones its ok for a bunch of generations but it does degrade quality and increase hermaphrodite tendencies eventually. It does with all plants. Many major seed companys  run thier mothers in DWC. i hope i didnt post 2 pics lol...


----------



## Dr.Dank (Apr 26, 2011)

thats one of the clones off her 2 weeks into flower


----------



## OGKushman (Apr 26, 2011)

dr dank u got some serious issues wih those budding plants...??


----------



## Dr.Dank (Apr 27, 2011)

lol theyre half chopped in that pic theyre done now. but yeah they look pretty jonesin. heres a pic of em down & defanned..  or do you mean the ones on the left? they're a STG media ebb n' grow expirement nightmare with nirvana swiss cheese and are also gone lol. I think they got drowned from the STG sucking up the water under the inserts since they were always soaked with one flooding a day. didnt think they were in the pic  I always had much better results with growrocks   but such a pain to rinse/use. I really like the DWC buckets cause im now going for a little larger and less and I pour the waste down the drain.


----------



## Hushpuppy (Apr 27, 2011)

In this pic, to the right of the clone tank is the mother who is almost a year old. She looks a bit skraggly as we had just taken all the clones in the tank from her (about 3 wks ago). I keep her next to the clone tank under the 2 T5 fixtures (24/7light) that yu can see in the pic. I also back off her nutes to about half when we aren't lookin for new clones, and she grows slow n steady. It seems to be a good balance for this mom.
I actually have the mom in a standard planter pot, in coco media, like having it in soil.


----------



## Snickerdoodle (Apr 27, 2011)

Stoneage said:
			
		

> Does anyone have a mom, using Dwc? I tried taking some cuttings from this grow that I have going on now, but they did not take. I have a nice looking Morning Glory from either the Flying Dutch, or Barney's Farm, in veg. Anywho, I was thinking of keeping it for a mom, so I can try to dial in cloning. Can I just keep it in the bucket in veg, until I decide to flower it? If that is the case, do I just keep a normal feeding/light schedule? Thanks.


 
I don't have any experience keeping a mother long term, but based on my experience with micro-growing, I'd recommend that you try the Lucas Method because it tends to reduce rapid growth, yet maintains very healthy foliage.  I'd try Flora Nova Bloom (8ml/gal) with ph 6.0 and 2ml/gal Cal-Mag.

PS: Try fresh honey instead of rooting agent if your clones aren't working out.  Do an experiment and see if they root in a large ziploc bag with an inch or so of hydroton on the bottom.


----------



## Stoneage (Apr 29, 2011)

Thanks for all the reply's! I have been vegging with a t-5 for my second grow, and it seems to work great. I have about four more weeks b4 I harvest. I switched to Dutch Master for nutes, and they are amazing! I think I am going to order another t-5, so I can have more room for the mom(s) and keep the other for my veg. I have enough room for at least 2 moms, so hopefully I can get the clone biz dialed in. I sprouted some bag seed just to get a germ technique figured out, without killing them. I don't think I am going to run them, I have enough going on at the moment. I follwed Nor Cal's method, but I did not have any luck. I am wondering if I am taking the cuttings from the right spot... Lots to learn Thanks again.


----------



## Dr.Dank (Apr 29, 2011)

your probably going to have to trim extras and toss em so you can choose the most choice ones(stem not too woody but decent sized) usually from the top but on a new mom I'll take from the bottom as they're more established. make sure to peel the outer layer of the stem back and score it a little before dipping and holding for 15 seconds in the rooting compound.


----------

