Before I start my first ever forum post in the wonderful world of GC, I would like to thank you all for your help. Even if you never know you gave it to me lol. I've just been a forum creeper until now, I really need you guys. So I finished my first hydro run with bagseed, E&F, 400w. It went beautifully thanks to all the info I have gained form this site. But here's where I am at a loss.... I have a single Afghani#1 mother, no more seeds, and a serious problem... I am on my third try to get cuttings from this plant, and I don't know where I am going wrong. The first two tries I lost at around a week from slime/damping off. After cleaning my EZCloner THOUROUGHLY, flushing momma in coco for 2 weeks, and taking sterile/beautiful/lively cuts, I am at day 10 and have not seen a single root. I use the pool shock solution and have only lost 4 out of 30 to slime, but still not a single root on any of them.......Is it the genetics? What could my issues possibly be? My ppms are at 380 and pH is at 6.0. Somebody please let me know if they have had experience with Afghani#1, or if indicas are just hard to clone....
Are you using any sort of Clonex cloning solution? I would mix in some of that alongside a healthy dose of Hygrozyme and Liquid Karma. How old is your mother plant? What part of the plant are you cutting your clones and how big are your cuts?
I actually am flowering momma right now who is about 4 months old. I did a bagseed run while waiting for her to mature, only to find out that she was the most stubborn bitch on the planet. Rooting for this strain I have heard going over a month. Outright, I just don't have that kind of time. Now I don't regularly use clonex or hygrozyme as the ppms of my water will shoot past 500 with ease, and burn the little chitlins to death. Straight pH'd tap is all I can do because even that is pushing 400. Now before with White Widow and Jack Herer I was seeing roots in 5 days, transplant ready at 7 and overgrown at 10. If I find better quality water to put in the cloner some clonex will be of the utmost importance. Now for the next run i am looking for an easy to root strain with a heavy yield. Do you have any suggestions?
You should research the ppms principle. Hygrozyme and Liquid Karma are not fertilizers, they are supplements. I think liquid karma has .001-.001-.1 or something like that... My point is they are supplements for the plants. You can add them and increase your ppms. You want to maintain proper ppm for your base fertilizer... Liquid karma is recommended in its highest dosage for cuttings and transplants.
I am well acquainted with ppms, osmotic properties of roots and ppm's direct correlation to nutrient uptake. It's just that with my tap at such a high level, I do not want to risk burning any clones. Them eating anything is like trying to stuff food into a stab wound on your stomach, you can probably do it and you wouldn't go stuffing a whole cheeseburger in it, but it's better to seal the wound and allow yourself to chew a few bites before you swallow them. Honestly I see the absolute best results with the other strains I've tried (which sadly I never got to harvest thanks to a death in the family and having to leave for an extended time), with nothing but pure pH'd tapwater. I started out using the EZCloner about 6 months ago, and have done more than a few runs with it to get clones to friends or to even have to ditch them to fly to Florida. Nothing but An's pH down (phosporic acid I believe but I'd have to check) and straight tap water. This final mixture will start at 5.8 and 380 ppms and end around 6.3 and 370 ppms after a week, after that the ppms start to drop when there are roots and I know I have to change out for a nute solution. Once I get roots next run I will try the Clonex and the Liquid Karma, as these supplements are usually micronutes, a tiny bit of macro nutes, and B-Vitamins/amino acids/root growth stimulants stuff like that (I'm an OCD read the label kind of guy damn near neurotic). Thank you for your advice, and I will definitely give those products a try. Happy Growing ~23
Man all you need is the proper technique for cutting clones and distilled(Oppm) water from the grocery store, or r/o water.... People use cloning solutions and gels but you don't really need that and it dose cause the wrong kind of bacteria over time... You do know that over 200ppm is bad but sometimes you might get lucky but don't count on it. Some strains are just a bitch to clone even when everything is perfect...
Yes the next run is going to be spring water bought from the store, along with some pool shock solution to ensure that the bad bacteria are kept in check. Now I wish I could keep my tapwater below 200ppm but it comes out of the faucet at 9.5 pH. That is not OK with me and it must be lowered to at least 7, but with the pH that gives me close to 400 ppm. I am betting that spring water and nothing else but the pool shock will give me my best results yet. And as for the strains being a bitch to clone, I have witnessed this firsthand. The longest and most bitchy strains I have seen are Willy Jack's Black Domina along with the mother I am flowering now, Sensi Seeds Afghani#1. Both of these sat in the EZ Cloner for two weeks before either rotting at the stem from simply being too wet or getting pulled because I needed space to flower momma. I am going to hit up the attitude very soon and either get grapefruit diesel or Serious Seed's Bubblegum, as I hear these are very easy to clone and very hardy heavy yielding plants. If you know of any easy to clone strains please let me know, because my next seed purchase has to happen soon if I am going to have a clone-able plant by the end of this 9 weeks. Happy Growing ~23
Think changing out your water weekly might help....When you see roots you might want to transplant into a mild potting soil. Have you tried cloning the conventional method in coir or, soil...? There's a thread in the advanced forum for cloning hard to clone cuttings which may give some ideas... Best...
I always change the water at least weekly or whenever I feel it's dirty. And I use the EZcloner because I go directly from there into an Ebb and flow table with hydroton filled net pots. I have started seeds in coco and transferred them to the hydroton, and I was cleaning coco out of my res up until harvest and I swear that will never happen again. Where I live now would draw some serious attention hauling bags of soil, until I'm in another spot I have to do hydro. In my perfect garden everything would be soil and it would be outside, but for now I have to work with what I have. Happy Growing ~23
Very good read so far. Thanks for starting the thread... There you go giving back and all . I don't have any solutions (sorry!) but will keep reading on and keep my fingers crossed you figure out what's up.
No problem, and I'm always happy to help. It's so great being able to share information and help others out. Thank you for the good vibes as well, and right back at ya! Right now I am flowering momma Afghani#1 because I have heard of the pure indicas taking over a month to root, and I don't have that time on my hands. If I had room in my veg closet for momma AND the EZClone I would be able to start the cuts halfway through flowering and as soon as the ones in the tent go down the new ones would replace them. As for now I have been searching the Attitude's website and have come up with a few strains that I have heard are all around super-powered plants. Bubblegum being my first choice and Cheesewreck being my second, partially due to hearing how easy these strains are to clone. Now I'm not a commercial grower, only medicinal, but because of my depression and grandma's condition we can't go for too long without. The quality of life I experience with good quality cannabis on hand far surpasses life without. So for these reasons I have to find a good strain to keep around. One that clones easily, matures quick, and has a solid CBD content. Anyways thank you all for your advice and good vibes, and I will be sure to come back to this thread the next time I take clones to let you all know how it goes. Thank you again and here's a little something for all of you: May the road rise up to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your feilds, And until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of his hand. An old Irish prayer that I hang up above my plants lol. Happy Growing ~23
Do you have city water? If so you might want to check the local water report and determine why the ph at your tap is that high. It leaves the water treatment plant at 7.0-7.3. If it goes up that much at your pipes you may have a larger problem than just your plant water. I would consider getting your water tested to determine what is in it. of course if it is well then your on your own By the way I run several different size aero-cloners. I always use tap water (city water here) and always get 100% rate in these cloners with it. I had bad luck with domes and plugs and all that years ago and switched to aero and will never use other methods again unless forced to. The PH in your water is not helping at all. I would say that above 200ppm any day is your cause. 200ppm really is not much even to root a clone.
Hey strain...How did the spring water work.? I had a problem with clones and bad bacteria and handling the cutting are the main issue. Is why you need to use the clear rez with every water change, flush the system with a bleach solution, change out every 2-3 days and clean hands or, use surgical gloves when handling cuttings. Pool Shock is the exact same stuff as clear rez and a lot cheaper. Just have to mix it right to get the same ratio as clear rez. The clear rez and pool shock is chlorine base...I know were not suppose to use chlorine in our grows but, for establishing roots you need the (1/25 strength)chlorine to fight the pathogens and bacteria or, the clone success rate goes way down. Some people use a mild blend of bleach but, feel safer with the pool shock. 90% of the battle is about handling and cleanliness for 100& success... Good Luck Bro and keep us informed....
Hey farmer, I actually never did another run with the Afghani strain because I put her into flowering 6 weeks ago friday. I'm going to get Serious Seed's Bubblegum and give that a try. I've heard it's not too stinky and easy to clone. As for the pool shock that's been done and I have the exact ratio: 1 gram of granular 48% calcium hypochlorite per gallon of water then use 1 oz of that solution per 5 gallons in the EZ Clone. I have used 2 grams per gallon then an ounce of that solution per 5 gallons with no ill effect. And as for the surgical gloves I use those every time I handle/feed/trim my babies I am neurotic about cleanliness and I am a stickler for quality. I did some research and found that pure indicas and soem indica dominant hybrids don't like teh cloners and are hard even in rapid rooters. I guess it's the dry climate compared to the wetter more tropical climates where natural cloning is more likely to take place. A branch falls, gets partially stomped into the ground by some animal, and roots pop out. Much less likely to happen in the arid climate of Afghanistan. But anyways I wish I had some pix to show you blades as momma is looking beautiful, but alas I have no digital camera. A few more red hairs than I should have at 6 weeks but this is a quicker maturing strain. I want her to go 9 weeks but 8 might be her limit, I don't want to wait TOO long... But whatever I'm blazed and babbling I hope you dudes have a killer evening and if you have any advice for me feel to share. Happy Growing ~23
Do not use cloning solution this will only encourage slime build up in a ez-cloner. Buy the recommended nutrient solution for the ez-cloner well worth the head ace. It's a week nutrient solution but works great, they make it for a reason. Use hydro zyme to keep every thing good and clean. And most important get an aquarium heater and keep it between 75-80 degrees. Run pump 24/7. In an ez-cloner it makes no difference how u make the cut so long as u don't get an air bubble in the stem. It's a good idea to have a class of water to put the cutting in once u make the final cut to ensure u don't get an air bubble. make sure u scrape the stem once u cut it to help ensure quick rooting. remember some take longer than other to root it could be as quick as a couple of days or a mounth so be patient. This is what we do and haven't changed the cloner water for over 5+ months. And produce 120 at a time with maybe 1 or 2 looses. Good luck
If your having issues rooting, i have a suggestion for you. its old school, but very cool. If you score the stem with a razor blade and then wrap it in moss and then celophane, and keep it wet, roots will form while the cutting is still on the mother, in many cases this will happen much faster than in any other rooting method. Use a fresh razor blade that has been sterilized with isopropyl alcohol, and sterilize in between each score. That said, i use a rainforest 36 from general hydroponics, and i can get anything to root in 10 days. If you are looking for an exceptional yielder that clones really easy try Heavy Duty Fruity from THSeeds. I have seen roots in less than 3 days, and insane yields (3 Lbs off a 600w HPS). My best suggestion for the ez cloner is to treat the water with hydrogen peroxide. it will kill everything and hyper oxygenate the water, then use a propogation heat mat under the system to keep the water warm but not too warm. ph and ppm have little to no effect on rooting, only nutrient absorption, start to worry about this after you have roots.
I use 10ml Silica, 10ml Clonex (liquid) per gallon and Distilled water. And that's even overkill I think. I do get 99% rooting within 3-5 days, but I have also had similar results with ONLY plain RO Water. I happened to have A gallon of the Clonex sitting around, and I use Mad Farmer’s Silica Shield on almost all stages of my growth. It helps promote Cell Division, and discourage environmental stress problems such as nsect and fungi damage, drought, and extreme temperatures. Doesn't seem to hurt, and helps those 'lil clones not wilt as much