wanting to learn how to clone, using grow blocks

Hey just wondering if there are any guides out there for cloneing, i looked around on the forum but couldnt find anything.. im planning on using grow blocks when i do this i dont know if that matters or not..

thanks!

I have a couple of books, look in Hightimes. lol But you really don't need them. Cloning is easy. Quick pointers: 1st sometimes it takes awhile to see new growth, so wait! If the plant is not dying then it is rooting so just wait it out, and you will see growth. Can take up to a few weeks (or more - I have cloned outdoors and it took forever for them to catch and start to grow again - BUT THEY WILL). 2nd Use root tone! That stuff kicks ass and it works. I cut the plant at a 45 degree angle below usually 2 nodes, and I have virtually a 100% success rate. (and the few that die are because of my neglect). I use 2 6 inch circular flourescent bulbs that are mounted onto the same little fixture. It is in a 2 by 2 little section of a closet (the height is about 2 1/2 ft I think). I also have a 150 HPS in the same closet (it is a storebought one with different spacers), so it is always warm in there (it is sitting in my bedroom on the carpeted floor). That is important - warmth. Warmer is defintely better than cooler. I don't even use a sealed tray anymore - I just mist them every so often. I keep the light a bit off the tops the first day then it is very close. The light helps as long as it doesn't burn them (I have cloned under a 400 HPS before - I just kept them far from the light, and as I said outdoors in the shade - I usually put them in a big huge box, and tape a big piece of clear plastic over it for the first few days. Then as they get stronger I take the plastic off, and slowly put them back in the direct sun - it is easier in spring to pull it off).

So to repeat:
get new sharp scissors,
root tone,
little rockwool cubes (or those little expandable round peat moss things, even just new plain dirt - I have heard a glass of water works, but I never tried it),
wash your hands,
and everything the little plants will be around (the room, containers, even the light itself - disease will kill them),
take the mommy and find your shoot - take it down at least 2 nodes, and cut it below that at a 45, dip in the rooting solution, put into the medium you are going to use (if dirt spread the soil apart with a finger first so the plant can slide in nicely),
if you are going to use a tray put it in there (good to keep moisture but not needed if you mist periodically),
put under light (perferably flourescent tube types - that is what I like anyways), keep it a bit aways at first until they get used to it, then gradually let the light get closer until they can handle the most intense light,
if you don't think they are growing - don't freak out! they are, it may be slower than you like but if they are not drooping and falling they are ok,
let the roots dry a bit, so the roots will try to reach out, and again and again give them time! - that is the biggest problem for 1st time cloners (it was for me anyways),
after you see little roots sticking out the bottom of the cubes or cups, you can move them to the next part of the cycle,
I would tranplant and move them to a vegging room,
It may seem hard, or strange but once you do it once or twice, cloning is just another part of the cycle, same as the rest,
there is nothing to be afraid of and as long as you dont over/under water, or touch them all the time and hurt them somehow (from being paranoid that they are dying), you will be successful,
it is a weed after all and does grow like one, if you love them and take good care of them you can get almost 100% success rates cloning.

Haha i love how excited you sound in that whole mini tourial !!

im getting super excited to get this going, i got a couple of quick questions but for the most part i think i got everything you said DOWN!

ok first off... i am getting a 400w hps so how high above the plants should i have that light? ill mist them every day to keep moisture up but im used to that..
second, could you help me out with a bit more detail on cutting and putting the clones in the blocks? im not sure i understand where i should cut the plants and what kind of solution i should use to put on the stem.. aaaaand is there anything i should do to the grow blocks? (are grow blocks all the same? or the same as rockwool?) like should i soak the blocks? and should i poke a hole in the block or just shove the stem in?
and when they are growing should i flood the tank thats holding the blocks at all? you said to keep them dry at first to they come looking for water so should i presoak the blocks or something and then leave it to dry till i see roots comming out?

should i be useing grow chemicals or should i hold off till the plants start actually growing?

and ive never done this before so i dont know how high i should make the water flood the tank, like how high up? im guessing just an inch or so since the roots are on the bottom and how often should i flood?

sorry so many questions, i just wanna get it down and get it right so i dont fudge everything up, im planning on just growing the plants out of the blocks to about 4 feet maybe and then cropping after bloom. and i was planning on useing like 6inch cubes for the blocks.

thanks gettin me some info this is a really fun/exciting project and i think i know exactly what to expect now from what you told me

ha I always get excited when talking about gorwing.

Damn wrote this all out and erased it. lol duh.
So here we go again.
The answers:
Dont use a 400. too much electricity wasted and too hot and bright. The clones like the lower light levels and you will save electricty using flouros.
Keep the flouros as close as possible with out hurting the plants.
Cut the branch after 2 nodes. Just after the second node (where the branches are - thought they are small).
Dip the cut in water then either a rooting gel or rooting powder. I use root tone (powder).
Use a pencil to make a hole in the block, then push your clone in. Dont rub off the powder and then lightly pack the clone into the medium.
The block should be wet. ahead of time.
Dont let them dry completely out, but do let them look for water. It is a balance. If you dehydrate them they will die. But if they are always soaked it takes a long time for them to show roots.
Give very tiny ammounts of food. They still need to eat.
As far as flodding the blocks... ummm lol.
I water mine and they get the water from the mist. So I'd say to just water them as normal. Make sure they get water but let them dry a bit (the medium not the tops of the plant - still mist them). The tops should stay moist so that they dont dry up. but the roots should be allowed to dry a bit. Not bone dry at all, but more of a cycle of wet to almost dry.

poo... i got everything pretty much except cutting the plants.. i read what you posted here... and i looked for pictures on google but im just not getting it at all.. i found out what nodes are.. im guessing spots leaves are comming out.. and ur saying second node?? so im gunna cut down my plant ??? or second from the top? then i have no top to my plant... im so lost.. im gunna look more on google and maybe ill have luck finding a good picture.. if its not too much trouble could you explain better or like just sketch a crummy microsoft paint picture.. hopefully ill find out here in 10 min when i find some good images...

but yea other than that ive got it down i think, hooray!
thanks alot for the help man!

i think he means 2nd node on a branch k

Yes sorry about that. I mean 2nd node down the branch not the whole plant! If the plant is good sized, you can take a bottom branch. I grow short stocky girls that I train sideways. So I have a ton of little branches and taking 5 will not really hurt the plant. Within 2 or 3 days it fills in these parts, and you cant even tell that I cut it. So remember take bottom branches, I use green growth, not thick woody growth. I have found that the smaller the clone, the faster that it will show roots. That is not to say that woody branches wont root, they just take longer. I recently built an aerocloner, so that may be something you want to think about. I have always cloned into those round jiffy peat things that expand or soil. I built the cloner with a square rubbermade type (a big bowl almost LOL), and 3 fishtank bubblers. I only made it a 4 site cloner (in case it didnt work mainly - so far so good though:p ). I may make a 30 or 40 site one, if all goes well. I know that I check it alot more, but in general it would seem alot easier. If I was confident enough (or if I didnt really care if the clones died), I could leave it unattended, but I hate losing any plants, even little ass clones.