Mothers' Grow Room - Questions

I'm finishing up preparations for my first grow room. It's a closet that will be used for vegging and flowering, but not at the same time.

OK, so I'm about to buy $300 worth of White Widow and AK47 seeds (all feminized). And I'd like to develop 2 mothers (one White Widow, and one AK47) in addition to raising a crop. So I need a "mother's room" of some sort in which to keep my mothers.

So, please tell me what to do. I assume I should grow all plants the same in normal vegging (with MH lighting). And at some point I need to transfer them to the mother's room. So here are my questions:

1. How long should I let the mothers grow in vegging phase under MH lighting until they are ready for the mother's room?

2. Can I use florescent lighting for the mother's room? If so, should I use 4 T5 4 foot bulbs? And if so, would that be too much light for seedlings and cuttings? I'd like to combine seedlings, cuttings, and mothers if possible.

Thanks in advance for your help.

1. They can grow under MH as long as you like.

2. T-5s are great for mothers, cuttings and clones. They do not grow them as fast as the MH but less heat and power consumed.

to be honest, for choosing mother plants you should never use feminized seeds. It will cost much less to buy and grow out a large number of regular seeds and pick out the best females. Cloning is a very stressful process for cuttings and feminized seeds because of how they are made have a much higher tendency to turn hermaphrodite under stress.. just a suggestion.

Little Tommy said:

1. They can grow under MH as long as you like.

2. T-5s are great for mothers, cuttings and clones. They do not grow them as fast as the MH but less heat and power consumed.

Click to expand...

So, can I grow a plant from seedling till "mother status" and beyond indefinitely using only florescent lighting? No HID required?

Thanks.

Yes, you can. I was using flourescent tubes for veg the first 2 years I was growing. They are slower than MH but can work fine if you are not in a hurry. Just remember to keep the lights within a couple inches of the top of the canopy.