Southern Soil, here is my suggestion for your scenario: you need a buddy system. Between you and a friend or two (you were a crew of three far as I recall except if that was somebody else), you need to keep a fast, potent mother. Or two or three I mean it doesn't matter. Not everybody needs a big mum at first, the mum can be at one house, a mum at all, two, whatever. So lets say you have to go do your prac, now you pack up and spend three months away. Four weeks before you get back, your buddy makes fresh cuts, roots them and sets aside under a t5 or whatever. You get back, fork over a few bucks for his effort, case of beer, however you guys work. Clones come home and go straight to flower in your freshly cleaned rig. A good Indy and six to eight weeks later you are cropping. One cut gets grown out to a mother so now your buddy can take a holiday knowing when he gets back the favor is returned. Most fellas are not in a position to function without a buddy system, lots of people here have set up their entire existence around growing medical weed. So guys like StOw are capable of holding on to lines and keeping a good rhythm without interfering with their daily existence, and as a matter of fact enhancing it. Where for ninety percent of us, this is not possible, a buddy system is the only road forward. The Americans have got buddy systems down to such an art they are called 'Co operatives and similar official sounding names, and they can get very big and a lot of knowledge does the rounds. We need the balls to follow that example, our grower community is totally split and isolated ATM. EDIT: NO MATTER THE SIZE A RIG IS NOT A RIG WITHOUT A VEG AREA even if it is just four t5's.
I keep laughing my ass off at the South African method of veg, flower and pack up. Commit for a year or two at LEAST, get your cloning game up, seperate veg area, choose some mothers and make cuts almost daily. Keep your favorites and flower. I throw away a lot of clones that are not on par, and I can do this because I am busy every day making sure there is something fresh to flower. I can run single cola SOG style right next to Christmas trees. It is all about the rhythm. You are lucky to pay for your gear off a first run. Perpetual flow. Treating indoor like outdoor will end up being a bit overboard yes.
