Bonsai Mums In Small Spaces, How Do You Do It?

[MindSoup]

Hello Chums 

 

I've been keeping bonsai mother's for about a year or 2 now and it's proven quite the commitment with plenty of challenges and frustration along the way. So I'm hoping for some input on how to make things a bit easier and less laborious. If your a successful Bonsai Mother keeper then I'd be very appreciative if you could summarise your methodology. Feed strength, environmental parameters, lighting etc etc etc. 

 

I regularly spend time away from home, which can make correct hand watering a real challenge, so ideas about automation would also be really useful to hear. I wonder if anyone uses Blumats or dripper lines? 

 

Those of you that know me will be aware that I'm an organic grower, but if it will make life easier I'm open to the idea of delving into salt based feeds etc. 

 

TIA 

[OldFord]

Following along for info as hope to be in the same position before long.   

 

 

[Joolz]

http://www.cannabase.com/cl/pages/mums/mums.html

[BilgePump]

Im just starting out with self irrigating planters for bonsai mums, the smallest examples made by Elho (once ive got one properly rooted out ill have more to say on the matter) but so far the plants seem happy enough, just feeding chilli focus at 3ml a litre.

Getting a week or so betwixt top ups right now.

 

Also I've been using houseplant focus potting soil for mums for a while now and I really rate it , seems to have a bit more longevity than standard mtp or grow shop compost and the gals love it

 

[Hazeytones]

I just keep mine in 5 inch pots of mpc in a small prop tent. They get minimal lighting, 125w led at about 25% and get fed 1ml per litre fish mix but not every watering. I give them a bit more fed and light a couple of weeks before taking cuttings. 

 

It's definitely not the sort of setup to be left too long so will keep an eye to see how others do it.

 

I did toy with the idea of setting up a no till pot for them but think keeping them in pots gives you a bit more control over their growth rate.

[ipju]

My mum is only a few weeks old. Watering was my main problem in previous attempts. So now I´m experimenting with a wick from an oil lamp for watering.

 

She´s in a 1l fabric pot, sitting on a high tech reservoir with one end of the wick in the water, the other end under the pot.

 

 

The biggest wick is 8mm and keeps the soil very/too wet. The smaller one is 3mm and keeps it too dry.

[ratdog]

Just now, ipju said:

My mum is only a few weeks old.

 

 

have you had a crop from this plant?

[ipju]

The original seed plants are currently in their last weeks. The first set of clones are rooting.

[MindSoup]

@Joolz I've been meaning to re read that today but couldn't find the link in my bookmarks, nice one   

 

@BilgePump that sounds like it could be just the ticket, if they're small enough to fit in my space. I'll give them a look. 

 

@Hazeytones the no till idea is definitely a good one if you have the space for a 50L bed and trim plants  situated in it. You keep the plants in small pots with just the bottoms nestled into the bed, so they don't grow too fast. Then when it's time for a root prune all you do is cut the roots from the holes in the bottom nof the pots and nestled them back down. Hardly need any amendments either because you return all the trimmings back to the soil. If I had more space I'd definitely be doing nit that way. 

 

@ipju I like the whick idea, I could have one big reservoir with different whicks coming out for each plant.  

 

[MindSoup]

Well, after a bit of thought I think I've found the easiest solution to  long term feeding...

 

 

Good old Osmocote! Thanks to @Amarillo slim for sharing some advice on which one would likely be best. 

 

I gave all the mums a trim back and a root prune and then added 4g to each 1L container as I potted them back up. That's probably a bit more than you'd need to just keep them ticking over, but I'm looking to reinvigorate them a bit to get some nice fresh cuts and make new mothers.  

 

Next up is watering, for now I'm going to stick with the classic Blumats that I've been using up till now, I'd prefer on demand drip feeding or SIPs but I can't justify the cost of more tropf Blumats just yet and I'm yet to find Suitably sized SIPs so I'll see how I get on as is for the time being. If anyone knows of a good quality 1-1.5L SIP let me know, I've seen a few so far but they all look a bit chinesium for my liking. The Elho ones look great but they're just a tad too big for my space. 

 

Thanks for all the input guys, I'll try and report back in a few months to share how things are going.

Edited September 19, 2023 by MindSoup

[Amarillo slim]

You using this in ‘soil’ or coco?  

[MindSoup]

Soil mate. Never really played around with Coco.

[Grow lady]

On 05/09/2023 at 8:37 PM, ipju said:

My mum is only a few weeks old. Watering was my main problem in previous attempts. So now I´m experimenting with a wick from an oil lamp for watering.

 

She´s in a 1l fabric pot, sitting on a high tech reservoir with one end of the wick in the water, the other end under the pot.

 

 

The biggest wick is 8mm and keeps the soil very/too wet. The smaller one is 3mm and keeps it too dry.

You said that its a few weeks old yet you said that you have plants from it that's ready for cut so how do you have a mum younger than her cuttings I'm confused? I struggle with mums they always get to big and they have to get flower or have a monster but my veg area is tiny so it's not easy for keeping mums but seeds are so expensive 

[ipju]

@Grow lady the flowered plants are the original seed plants, so older than this "mum". But I did take cutings from this plant that have fully rooted. 

If you you want to learn how to keep small mums, read Oldtimer1´s guide on bonsai mums:

On 5/9/2023 at 7:55 PM, Joolz said:

http://www.cannabase.com/cl/pages/mums/mums.html

 

[GSZZ]

On 19/09/2023 at 2:34 PM, MindSoup said:

I think I've found the easiest solution to  long term feeding...

 

It has no calcium in it? Your soil will only go so far, and if you're in hard water you'll need to acidify the water correctly to neautralise the alkalinity and make available the calcium - but even in terribly hard water, its probably only half of what you'll need.