SOG think im heading in the right Direction

I am trying to begin a SOG grow using ABF method as my template. I have two feminized seeds now in soil in my clone box maturing once they get large enough I plan on moving them to an area I have set aside for the mother plants. In my mother plant area I have four 4ft twin bulb fluro lights I plan to have on 24hr the are is surrounded by mylar will this be sufficient to keep my two mother plants healthy? My clone box is working great so im not concerned about it. Once I get my mother plants large enough and cut some clones and get them rooted I plan on using this ebb and flow hydro system How to Build the 11 Plant Hydroponic Garden - 11 Plant Start with a 400w HPS light. I think I have everything going in the right direction (hopefully but any input would be great) but I am still confussed on nutes and grow media. I plan on rooting the clones in rockwool cubes. I was thinking that clay peeples would work well in ebb abd flow system? Also since this is SOG and the clones will be going right into 12/12 can I just run a nute like bloosom booster or do I need something else with it? I was going to use advanced nutrients Jumo Start on the clones to get them rooted faster. Also any suggestions on a good nute I could feed the mother plants that are in soil to make them recover faster from the clone cuttings and to help them to mature fast now so that I can take some cuttings? I was also wondering how often people flood using the clay peeples as I have read they like to dry out rather quickly. Any info would be greatly appericated. Thanks for all the help this site has already given me!!!

And I know the res looks small in the picture of the system but I built mine using a 40 gal container so I figure that shoud be ample for 11 SOG sites, hopefully?

Hey jn..... looks like your one your way.. some ways of useing pots is more of a personal choice than one is better than the other .. i also sog grow and have had excelent luck folowing Als technique ... I personally use , 1gal pot , line bottom with landscape fabric, throw 1 hand full of rock wool flock on that , top with perlite . rock wool cube 40 mm for the clones goes straight in on top , hand water for first few days till roots knit in , flood & drain

You should also read als clones in rockwooll. he advises not using nutes for clones.. but everyone tries something diff.. I get good strikes in 40 mm cubes..

jneely said:

In my mother plant area I have four 4ft twin bulb fluro lights I plan to have on 24hr the are is surrounded by mylar will this be sufficient to keep my two mother plants healthy?
Yes, but you think 4ft tube might be too long for 2 mothers? You might do better with CFLs

My clone box is working great so im not concerned about it. Once I get my mother plants large enough and cut some clones and get them rooted I plan on using this ebb and flow hydro system How to Build the 11 Plant Hydroponic Garden - 11 Plant Start with a 400w HPS light.
The 400w hps can cover an eight foot square foot footprint, now in the SOG you can cram 4 plants in a square foot (6" pots). Hypetheticly that means you could have 32 plants under that 400w hps. I think 11 plants in a SOG, under a 400w could be a bit of waste of light and potential bud. I'm not saying don't do as you are doing, i'd like to maximise my yield.

I think I have everything going in the right direction (hopefully but any input would be great) but I am still confussed on nutes and grow media. I plan on rooting the clones in rockwool cubes. I was thinking that clay peeples would work well in ebb abd flow system?
Yep, thats what i'm doing, only in DWC

Also since this is SOG and the clones will be going right into 12/12 can I just run a nute like bloosom booster or do I need something else with it?
Someone else may answer that i don't use bloosom booster.

I was going to use advanced nutrients Jumo Start on the clones to get them rooted faster. Also any suggestions on a good nute I could feed the mother plants that are in soil to make them recover faster from the clone cuttings and to help them to mature fast now so that I can take some cuttings?
I just used BioBizz when i grew in soil

I was also wondering how often people flood using the clay peeples as I have read they like to dry out rather quickly.
You can flood every other hour as long as you don't soak the rockwool. But every 2.5 to 3.5 hour will do

Click to expand...

Hope that helps

Thanks for all the input! Yes i know I could fit more plants under the 400w HPS than 11 but I want to start small and get the hang of things, get a good schedule going then I plan on getting a 4x4 flood table. Thats also the reason I have the 4 4ft floro tubes in the mother area, in the future I plan to have 4 to 5 mother plants donating enough clones to fill the 4x4 table. Again thanks for the input. I think im going to listen to ABF and not run any nutes on the clones and ill just hit the folks up at the hydro store for some advice on nutes, although I question their experience and knowledge from time to time.

jneely said:

I am trying to begin a SOG grow using ABF method as my template. I have two feminized seeds now in soil in my clone box maturing once they get large enough I plan on moving them to an area I have set aside for the mother plants. In my mother plant area I have four 4ft twin bulb fluro lights I plan to have on 24hr the are is surrounded by mylar will this be sufficient to keep my two mother plants healthy?

Click to expand...

Fluoros will maintain your mums sorta OK but when you get the system cranked up and you need cuttings every 2 wks, you may find they are not quite enough. They tend not to make mums with nice thick stems. A 150 HPS or a 175MH will do much better for you and save a bit of $ on power (4x 4' (40W) fluoros = 160W + ballast losses = ~190-200W). Fitzy's suggestion for CFLs is sensible for just 2 mums, but you'll still need several of them. Better just to get some small HID light over them.

I plan on using this ebb and flow hydro system How to Build the 11 Plant Hydroponic Garden - 11 Plant Start with a 400w HPS light.

Click to expand...

Skip that complex and difficult to clean thing and use a much simpler tray-based flood sys. Tray based systems are easy to clean, can't clog and plant numbers are flexible. In SoG, you want to pack in as many plants as possible, a system which only permits 11 plants won't suit you. A 4'x4' tray is a bit too large for a 400, but will give you room for future expansion. A 400 in a horizontal fixture will cover a rectangular space about 2.5'x3.5'.

I think I have everything going in the right direction (hopefully but any input would be great) but I am still confussed on nutes and grow media. I plan on rooting the clones in rockwool cubes. I was thinking that clay peeples would work well in ebb abd flow system?

Click to expand...

Clay pellets are great for flood systems. When planting clones started in RW cubes in pellets, make sure that your RW cube is 1/2" ABOVE the flood level.

Also since this is SOG and the clones will be going right into 12/12 can I just run a nute like bloosom booster or do I need something else with it?

Click to expand...

'Bloom booster' (hopefully a P&K additive, you haven't told us what's in it) is not a complete nutrient and cannot be used alone. Use a standard flowering nute for wks 1-5 @ 1400ppm & use the P&K additive for 1 wk only in wk6. Reduce the flowering nute strength in wk 6 to about 1100 for use with the P&K additive. You can return to 1400ppm flowering nutes in wk 8 or just run plain pH 5.8 adjusted water. Plants store about 2 wks worth of nutes, so they won't mind the plain water for the final week.

I was going to use advanced nutrients Jumo Start on the clones to get them rooted faster.

Click to expand...

Skip that, it's 'a magic sauce' and not necessary. All you need is rooting powder.

Also any suggestions on a good nute I could feed the mother plants that are in soil to make them recover faster from the clone cuttings and to help them to mature fast now so that I can take some cuttings?

Click to expand...

It's just as easy to raise mums in a flood sys as soil and they'll grow much faster, important when you need cuttings often. Set up a very small flood sys and run them on standard hydroponic veg nutes of your choice, 1400-1800ppm.

I was also wondering how often people flood using the clay peeples as I have read they like to dry out rather quickly.

Click to expand...

Pellets can be fooded rather frequently because they hold next to no water, beginning with about 5x per lights-on in flowering, every 2h in veg. Again, make certain your RW cubes are 1/2" ABOVE the flood level and not being saturated.

jneely said:

ill just hit the folks up at the hydro store for some advice on nutes, although I question their experience and knowledge from time to time.

Click to expand...

You're quite right to question their judgment. If they were proficient growers, they'd be growing, not tending a counter at a hydro shop for min wage.

Thanks a ton for all the info! I have read through so much stuff on this site that I just started to get confused. I feel much more confident now that I have had all my questions tended to by people whose judgment I trust.

no wucking furries, mate