Hi again. You should give them mother in pieces submerged in some of the raw vinegar the mother was grown in. If you start the vinegar now, you can probably get good vinegar by October and then they can have good vinegar in turn by January. Does this help?
I would recommend converting the honey to mead before adding the raw vinegar. It goes faster and cleaner that way. If you keep the crock warm you can possibly get good vinegar by October if you start now. I don't recommend the porch since vinegar attracts fruit flies and if they get in and multiply it's finished. [My porch is inside so this doesn’t apply}
The starter you get should be pretty potent. Also, if you are going to share it to start new batches it doesn't have to be 100% done (though the more done the better).
Dividing it between jars is not a problem though the canning jar surface area in the opening is relatively small and smaller mothers take more time to ferment. The wider the container the faster it will go. Even a relatively shallow dish with a large surface area can speed things up and that is what I recommend.
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Reginald Smith, President
Supreme Vinegar LLC
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