Question for the organic community? How do you guys clone? I've been watching youtube videos and most them use the blocks, or a hydroponic type set up. I know you can go right into your soil but I'm only having soso luck with that, most of them don't make it. Using a humidity dome and my light is at 200w, temps around 80ish 60-75 humidity. Any suggestions, stuff to read? thanks
I use rapid rooter plugs surrounded by some soil. I find them to dry quickly, so you need to mist often. Pretty good success with that. Basically same temp and humidity as you mentioned. I even had some veggies and herbs that I cloned using this method and was successful. I heard a few ppl around here talking about using straight vermiculite with good results but I haven't tried.
I keep it very simple these days. I think I've tried every product, gadget and gizmo to clone with and am quite content with the method I use now with probably a 99% success rate. I add a small amount of worm castings to some ProMix, pre-wet it with plain ol' water and fill a beer cup 3/4 full with it. I then cover the top tightly with tinfoil, and using a sharp pencil poke a hole thru the foil down into the medium. I stick a cutting into this hole, put the clones into a tray with a humidity some under a fluorescent light and walk away for two weeks. I don't touch them at all during this period. When I open them up after the two weeks is up I'm loaded with roots and transplant into one gallon pots of homemade soil; the same soil they will finish in. HTH J
J, about the foil. Do you cover the top of the cup, leaving an air gap between the foil and soil surface? Or do you put the foil directly on top of the soil? How big are your cuttings?
Nothing but clear water these days. I simply find I get the same results as when I used this, that or the other thing. ProMix, light perlite and worm castings. The trick is the foil - it maintains perfect moisture in the medium and humidity around the stem. I also find, for whatever reason, that by not needing to do anything at all during the rooting process that the cuts look as green and healthy at day ten as the day I cut them. Very simple & very effective. J
I fill cup to 75 or 80%, then cover with foil tightly and then make a thin hole through foil and down into the medium. I tried just making a hole in foil but its easier on the stems giving them a "pilot hole" to slide into. The foil keeps it perfectly moist - no watering until transplant time. I do use good size cuttings - lets say 5" to 6" that I can slice at least one, and hopefully two branch or leaf nodes off of. If I remember to, I give the bottom inch of the stem with the back of the scalpel a light scratching. J
Nice tip with the tinfoil I use the same mix of wormcasting and Pro Mix BX I then water once with some sleepy willow leaf water gonna have to try the tinfoil
It works. It's also perfect for me - I work alot so I don't need to worry about watering the clones anymore. Two weeks after I do it I just have roots, every time. I understand that some folks get roots quicker in the machines but I don't need many clones and I just plan ahead. 2 weeks is just fine for me. They probably actually have them sooner than that but I just don't even bother checking them. J
I do mine in a perlite tray SIP setup (TY noob, amazingly easy) with an 8inch dome and 2 inch nursery pots, which are filled with a peat/perlite/kelp/EWC mix. I take my cuttings, soak them in an aloe vera + silica (ProTekt) solution for 30 minutes+ and then transplant into the pots. I water the pots in with the solution used to soak the cuttings after they're transplanted, then set them into the perlite tray. Mist the dome and add water, when needed, to the tray. It helps to have a sort of fill gauge, to know where the water level is at without having to dig. I just embedded a spare 2 inch pot into a corner of the tray for mine. I just wanted to throw out the aloe solution and the perlite SIP idea, didn't see anyone mention them here yet. (thanks again noob!)
Geneween, This has been a question I have been wanting to ask for a couple of month now. As I have lost a few series of a few clones. J, I am gonna try this method. Only thing is I am affraid to take a cutting that big. Mine are usually about 4"s. Sent from my SCH-I535 using GC Forum
I am also new to cloning and something that I have read over & over is not to much light 200w is a lot for cloning. From what im told a couple low watt 6500k cfl's is just fine. It has something to do with the low light cousing a hormone change. Check into it!!
Mine is similar 30/70 Perlite/Vermiculite 5%worm Castings 5%seaweed extract with water tray sip setup. Vermiculite Peat and coco are all good at wicking the water up and holding moisture. I found Vermiculite holds the most water so makes it ideal for cloning and seed starting. Perlite is more for aeration
I'm using a 2 foot t5 florescent right now, I had some other plants in week 3 of veg so I had to turn my light to 400.
I built a bubble cloner and it works fine. Look in the DIY forum for instructions on how to make your own, its super easy.
Unnecessary electricity IMO, no offense of course Peat+coco+vermi+powdered egg shells+kelp = win every time. Priceless for the lack of transplant shock compaired to hydro->soil
You're more than likely right. Plus the noise from the airpump is a bit annoying. It was my first go at cloning when I built it, I'll have to start experimenting with going straight to cups filled with my soil when the time comes to compare results.