GC I was hoping to get some help as I'm running into some issues cloning into my dirt mixes. Getting them to root is not problem, I build a little cloner with a small aquarium pump and small air pump to oxygenate and circulate the solution. Roots started coming out of the rockwool cubes and I placed them in a dirt mix that I have seen plants do well in. Should I be starting them in just EWC or something similar. My mix is an organic mix that should be fine. One of the plants is thriving in it currently. Should I wait until la significant root ball is developed before I put it in dirt? Is there a particular technique people have had success rooting in dirt? Thanks in advance for your knowledge
you want to transplant into the rockwool as soon as you start to see the root poke out to cause as little damage to the young roots as possible. what is your soil mix?
Here is the dirt mix they are in. I did tend to let the root get about 2" long out of the rockwool cube before planting it in dirt. After pulling them back out of the soil, it was obvious that the 2" root shoot dried up and died with pretty much all of them. So put them in dirt as soon as the root tip shows eh? In an effort to recycle about 120 gallons of soil, I have decied to use a soil mix per Lumperdawg with a few slight modifications due to availability. I got about 50 gallons of the dirt mixed up today, with the remiander hopefully done tomorrow. Thank god for the old cement mixer, and thank god for whoever suggested that on here! Here is the basic recipe: alfalfa meal (8x) kelp meal (3x) Fish meal (1x) bone meal (1x) green sand (1.5 x) oats (3x) Cottonseed Meal (1x) WC (6x) Coarse Oat Bran (2x) Flaxseed Meal (1x) Wheat Bran (3x) Bokashi (2x) x=1 cup meso EM-1 Molases Fish Emulsion humic acid I added this mix of materials to approximately 8-10 gallons of soil, to produce about 12-15 gallons per batch and will rest in perforated totes. Based on my current grow, this soil will have at least 2 months to cook up. I've got some clones going that will probably be rooted in two weeks
Glodenglow, Although different cloning methods all get us to the same place, do what works best/easiest for you. While I have my best success rates using Rapid Rooters soaked in liquid seaweed, my friend Lumperdawgz likes to root his cuttings in solo cups with his personal soil mix. He uses 6 parts organic seed starter mix to 1 part EWC, places his pre soaked cutting into the mix and then hydrates with a liquid mixture of seaweed and Dyna Grow liquid silicon. Once the clones are root bound, they're placed into a #5 or a #7 Smart Pot with soil that has been prepared with our marine/seed meal mixture, voila.......you're good to go. I take my rooted cuttings ( rooted in Rapid Rooters) from a seed starting tray and plant them into a #1 Smart Pot or a 6" plastic nursery pot. I let them begin to get root bound before I transplant into a #5 or a #7 Smart Pot. HTH chunk BTW...I had to move your thread to the organics forum where it belongs.
Goldenglow1 I'm not trying to be an asshole but here goes. I've 'cloned' (i.e. rooted) cuttings in just about any friggin' medium that you could possibly come up with including rockwool, Oasis cubes, Rapid Rooters, equal amounts of perlite and vermiculite, sand, gravel, straight earthworm castings (my favorite!!!) and most combinations of the above basic ingredients. At the end of the day it doesn't friggin' matter. The rooting of cuttings goes back 4,500 years to China (like everything else related to botany). What pure earthworm castings offer is 'beneficial bacteria' - the same ones found in crap like 'Root Excelerator' and others. So go with the pure stuff found in real soils like earthworm castings. Rooting compounds consist of either IAA or NAA acids - good enough! Both of these are found in kelp naturally in the correct form and percentages. Hit your earthworm castings with a kelp meal/kelp extract tea and you're good to go. You want to use a 'cloning gel' or whatever - go for it. They're all the same f*cking agents - either IAA or NAA or usually both. They all work as well as straight water. Like most things in the area of growing cannabis many/most processes have been complicated to the point of the absurd and the rooting of cuttings is at the top of any/all lists. HTH LD
(ie Here is the basic recipe: alfalfa meal (8x) kelp meal (3x) Fish meal (1x) bone meal (1x) green sand (1.5 x) oats (3x) Cottonseed Meal (1x) WC (6x) Coarse Oat Bran (2x) Flaxseed Meal (1x) Wheat Bran (3x) Bokashi (2x) x=1 cup meso EM-1 Molases Fish Emulsion humic acid) AMEN
What do you mean by pre-soaked cutting? Do you mean pre-soaked in a cloning solution or something? By an organic seed started mix, do you mean a purchased seed started mix, or is there a particular recipe you use? Thanks LD Didn't see you as being an a-hole, perhaps a bit impatient with the question.... I will agree with you that rooting is an ancient concept. And you can indeed accomplish the rooting concept in a variety of ways. Each one of those ways will have some corresponding tips and tricks that helps it do better. That is what I'm asking for here. I understand about rooting compounds and the like. Obviously it does matter, cause 8 of my 12 plants just died, so I'm coming to the group to try and learn something Coming from an aeroponic background, I rooted them like I always do in a weak hydro solution with a aquarium pump recirculation solution. After they rooted in my cloner, and I transferred them to my 1 gallon smart pots, 8 of 12 of them pretty much died. This is my first time ever putting trying to root into soil, so I'm just trying to pick up on some wisdom from the elders here for some specifics to make it work. I think I'll pick up on your recommendation of rooting them in EWC.......Do you prefer to keep them in one of those domed trays? Much obliged for the input gentlemen
I simply use RumpleForeskin's clone bucket (deisgn) to clone; using nothing but RO water pH'd to 6.0-6.1 @ 80F; until I have a about an inch or two of root [5-10 days], and then move then into Bio-Bizz Light-Mix. I just cut them on a 45 and stick them right in the cloner (and sometimes trim down some of the leaves if they're really big), running 24/7 off to the side of a 4x24" T5 with cool bulbs. No spraying the clones or a dome over them or anything. Never had a a clone die or have any issues.
I root in perlite-sand-peet seedling mix with a handful of compost or EWC. I then transfer to something with about half of my base soil mix and half of the seedling mix, in tall one gallon containers and veg for a few weeks. They then get placed in my high test soil, in 3-5 gallon containers and continue to veg until they get flowered. The trick i think is to get the roots growing out to get well coated in the soils beneficial bacteria which you get from EWC or compost, and you don't get in an artificial medium or in a cube of any sort. I would use light dirt, medium dirt and heavy duty dirt, in that order. Heat helps. A seedling mat under the tray helps A LOT.
Wait, you CAN get roots, right? It sounds more like you are letting them dry out, or overwatering them. My guess? Something to do with the water absorption of rockwool vs soil and your watering method isn't working out. I've never used rockwool, but I've put clones into soil no problem after hydroponically rooting them. Maybe your mix is too hot and you just need to put em in plain, unamended soil. I'd also suggest 16oz solo cups prior to the 1 gallon smartpots.
What is a good room temperature for rooting clones? I have gotten one to succesfully grow out of about 4 so not bad but I was looking for more info before trying any more. Do you think if you are trying to root in soil or ewc that there would be more of a need to mist or what not due to the lack of humidity from not having the water recirculating? Thanks.
iddeally you want to keep the clones in an environment that is right about 80degrees and as close to 100% RH as possible
When I take my cuttings, I immediately place them in a bowl of tepid liquid kelp/seaweed solution and soak for about 30 minutes. This gives the cutting an infusion of the vitamins, hormones and plant growth regulators in the soluble kelp solution before it goes into the rooting media. I prefer the rapid rooters, which I also soak in the liquid seaweed. Prior to putting the cutting into the cube however, I coat the stem with a granular endo mycorrhizae to give the clone the earliest possible inoculation. Within days of the first roots showing. there is significant lateral branching on several of the roots, with fuzzy root hairs on others. When placed in a #1 Smart Pot with my soil mix, they take off almost immediately. Most store bought seedling mixes contain peat or coco and perlite, with little or no other organic matter. These mixes are light and fluffy and drain well, but once a root system develops, you'll need to transplant into a soil mix with some organic matter/food to help the plant get a good start. IMO, a humidity dome is a must have to insure the cuttings stay hydrated. If your not going to use a dome, you need to mist frequently. Since cuttings have no roots, the only way they stay hydrated is through ambient humidity (dome) or misting. Until a root system develops the cuttings/clones need to be kept in a moist environment. Be careful not to overdue the misting though, too much misting can cause a saturated rooting media which will lead to "damping off", a fungal disease that will kill your clones. That's why I like the domes.........they keep the humidity right where I like it. The other important component is keeping the cuttings warm. I use a seedling heating matte that keeps the cloning environment at 80`. You will definitely get faster rooting times when the cuttings have warmth from underneath. HTH chunk
Domes are a must. The local grow stores sell one which has a very tall dome with a couple of adjustable vents at the top if you're inclined to open them. Here's a method to hit 95%+ when rooting a cutting........ 1. Rapid Rooters - don't worry about the brand name because they're all made at a single factory outside Eugene, Oregon. They're a by-product of the wood products industry. 2. Clonex - or any other gel. There is a definite advantage to using gels. 3. Dyna-Gro Pro-TeKt - liquid silica has been shown to provide huge benefits when rooting cuttings. Take your cutting and do the usual deal - make sure that you're cutting below a branch node and not above. Slight scrape some of the outer skin of the cutting. Put it into water which has the liquid silica product added at the rate of 1 tsp. per gallon of clean water. Let them sit for 30-60 minutes or so. Cover a large section with the rooting gel - whichever one you want to use. Take the Rapid Rooter and turn it upside down and make a hole with a kabob stick and place the cutting into the new hole. This will insure that the strata is tight around the shaft. Spray the inside of the dome with water and cover the tray. Check them each morning to see of the moisture beads are still showing on the inside of the dome and spray if needed. That's it. Don't complicate it with this or that - leave them alone. I've also used plastic bins from Target or HomeDepot and used plastic wrap for the cover. Spray the inside walls of the bin and cover with the plastic wrap. This ain't rocket science. LD
Gloden, if I understand correctly, you can get roots to grow from the clones, but once you transfer these to soil, they die. Have you thought that the soil you are transferring the clones to is too 'hot' with nutrients? Maybe take your soil and mix it with peat moss to make it more friendly to newly rooted clones. I'm not the cloning expert, by any means, but I always thought you needed to treat newly rooted clones the same as seedlings in terms of nutrients.