Keeping mothers in veg through winter, a new challenge

[PacificNorthWest]

Hi guys,

Pacific Northwest here. I've got a great grow going on right now and I can't wait to see these 3 outdoor indica's get cut down and smoked! Check it out in the journal forums.

So I took clones from each of them, with the intention of keeping the clones as mothers through the winter months (save me from planting more 10 dollar seeds next summer right?).

Anyway, here are my unique challenges:

- The nature of my job requires me to be abroad at times... so I have to leave my wife will be in charge of all things growing marijuana from Aug - Dec 2019... I'm missing harvest

- I have a 4x4 grow tent in the basement with a 315...but I'm afraid she'll forget about it at least once in 4 months....long enough to starve these girls...it will only take once right? And 315 watts for 18 hours a day is overkill imo to keep a few mums.

My best plan so far is: 3 mothers tucked into the corner of our dining room with tons of other plants...and put a few regular lamps (retaining wifes style in the dining room is important) with high watt CFL's on timer from like 12:00am to 10:00am (that would provide 10 hours of CFL light at night, then when the sun rises at like 9:30am and sets at 4pm...that would provide the other 6-8).

I'm planning on putting them in bigger pots (3-5 gal.) Not because I want them to get big, but so my wife can water less frequently (promix btw).

I'm guessing she'll have to trim/prune twice a month? And probably not worry about taking too much off until the latter months when I'm going to want to clone again shortly.

How does this all sound?

Anyone have any tips, tricks, suggestions? As I'm typing this I'm thinking I might just reply and say: " Yeah...just plant 3 new seeds when you get back in december".

Ah challenge is fun. Looking forward to some unique tips.

PNW.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Yeah, that'll work. If you're just trying to keep them alive, and "stasis" will do (as opposed to active growth), then...

I once kept three little cannabis plants alive for quite a while (a few months past their birthday) before I got bored with the exercise. I simply placed them in small Styrofoam coffee cups, parked them on top of the medicine cabinet in my half bath, and left the two-light fixture directly above them turned on at all times. I think the wattages of the two bulbs were 14 watts each, LMFAO.

They stayed really small (~10"). They got watered... er... once in a great while, and fed two or three times, IIRC. There was some leaf drop, but you'll have that. Started as half a lark and half "I'm going to find a use for these real soon now." Then, after about, IDK, five or six months, I started wondering how long I could push it. Then they ended up sort of becoming part of the background scenery and ignored. Once in a while I'd get in a hurry and slam the medicine cabinet, and one or the other of the two on the outside edges would start to fall because they were bone freaking dry, so I'd catch it, put it back, pour a little water into each - and forget about them again.

Again, "stasis," not actively growing and producing cuttings/clones. For that, they'd have had to have more to eat than I ever bothered to give them. And... you know... more than a total of 28 watts of CFL light .

You can grow cannabis plants as houseplants if you want to. Keep the lights on 16+ hours per day and they aren't going to flower. The occasional "preflower," but that's no biggie. If you push it into the second year and/or abuse/neglect them terribly, it probably wouldn't hurt to glance at them occasionally to make sure one of them doesn't produce an opposite-sex flower or two, but it's more out of caution than expectation, so to speak.