AKGramma's Perpetual Grow

[TheMadDabber]

I've really been loving the baggies. I've used lots of different humidity domes both purchased and home made. The baggie clones seem to be the simplest and easiest.

How often you burping the baggie? I can't remember what sue suggested....

 

[AKgramma]

I've really been loving the baggies. I've used lots of different humidity domes both purchased and home made. The baggie clones seem to be the simplest and easiest.

These are the same size as the "small" clones I took today. I also doubled them up just like you did, and singly planted the cuttings from the top.

Sue doesn't burp the baggies, if memory serves, but it doesn't hurt to do so to vent condensation and to acclimate the clones to normal air, temps, and humidity, when the roots start to form.

It's comforting to know I'm in such good company!

 

[Tead]

How often you burping the baggie? I can't remember what sue suggested....

Tead's a super lazy gardener.
I bag them for 2 weeks without touching them. After 2 weeks, I usually see signs of new growth and I un-bag them for a day to get used to the drier air. I'll water them when I un-bag them as well. After a day (or whenever I get off my butt), I'll put them in their final home and call it a plant.

So very lazy.

 

[Tead]

Side note....
The same hair ties I use to hold back my old man hippie hair hold the baggie in place really well and don't break down in UV like rubber bands do.

 

[AKgramma]

Yesterday I remembered that I had a tincture brewing in a cupboard from last year, so I strained that and refrigerated it, till I decide what to do with it. It came out to 4 cups of leaf mash and 2 cups of infused Bacardi

I'm drying the left over mash to grind for cooking herbs. I am sure the residual Bacardi I used for the solvent will add a nice flavor to my meat dishes.

Time for me to bake up another batch of meatloaf muffins. Will be using the last one tonight. This time I'll add some diced tomatoes to the recipe to moisten it up a tad. I had to use a lot of ketchup on the last batch.

 

[AKgramma]

Four days into cloning and all of them were killed by fungus! Back to two original CBD Yummy babies. * sigh * Two total cloning failures! I lost a total of 24 clones from strains I cannot reproduce.

I guess I have to use new vermiculite or perlite to clone in. I'm sure the fungus resides in the soil mix. The SNS fungal spray did not work the last time, so did not use it this time.

Is it worthwhile to sterilize some of my soil mix in the oven to use for cloning? Or do I need to go with a non-nutritive medium like sans, vermiculite or perlite?

 

[TheFertilizer]

Four days into cloning and all of them were killed by fungus! Back to two original CBD Yummy babies. * sigh * Two total cloning failures! I lost a total of 24 clones from strains I cannot reproduce.

I guess I have to use new vermiculite or perlite to clone in. I'm sure the fungus resides in the soil mix. The SNS fungal spray did not work the last time, so did not use it this time.

Is it worthwhile to sterilize some of my soil mix in the oven to use for cloning? Or do I need to go with a non-nutritive medium like sans, vermiculite or perlite?

What about just conventional rockwool cubes? Those are pretty sterile.

I have been using water with an air stone bubbling in it to clone and have been amazed at the success rate and I think it helps avoid things like dampening off because the tops of the plants aren't inside of a humidity dome and there's nothing to grow mold or fungus except inside of the container. I just keep the pH of that water low, or recently I just used LABS in the water. It took a little longer than I think most people like ( 2 weeks ) but they all rooted and some I'd even taken pretty deep into flower.

 

[TheMadDabber]

Hey gramma. I quoted your post in my journal. Don't get discouraged. The learning never stops with this hobby.

I think if you grab some rapid rooters you and an empty 2 liter bottle we can do this. Simply cut the bottom off the 2 liter. Poke a hole in the cap and 2 or 3 around the bottom where you cut.

Cut the stem at 90° and then perpendicular to that cut split the stem in two with a blade about a half inch up the stock.

Set directly into a glass of water.

Place tge tip of your cutting in rooting gel and then into the moist rapid rooters.

Mist the inside of the 2 liter.

That's it.

You need to keep the inside of the 2 liter aka humidity dome moist and I lightly mist the plant each time also.

Stagnant air is a no no. I know this method requires a little more work on your end but I've had a near 100% success rate when doing it as I just described.

If you notice any weirdness you can mist it with 3 to 1 water to h202.


Stay safe I this storm!

Beat wishes

Your neighbor from the north

 

[AKgramma]

Hey gramma. I quoted your post in my journal. Don't get discouraged. The learning never stops with this hobby.

I think if you grab some rapid rooters you and an empty 2 liter bottle we can do this. Simply cut the bottom off the 2 liter. Poke a hole in the cap and 2 or 3 around the bottom where you cut.

Cut the stem at 90° and then perpendicular to that cut split the stem in two with a blade about a half inch up the stock.

Set directly into a glass of water.

Place tge tip of your cutting in rooting gel and then into the moist rapid rooters.

Mist the inside of the 2 liter.

That's it.

You need to keep the inside of the 2 liter aka humidity dome moist and I lightly mist the plant each time also.

Stagnant air is a no no. I know this method requires a little more work on your end but I've had a near 100% success rate when doing it as I just described.

If you notice any weirdness you can mist it with 3 to 1 water to h202.


Stay safe I this storm!

Beat wishes

Your neighbor from the north

If H202 kills fungi, can I run some through the soil mix in the cloning(solo) cups to sterilize them? I had success when the medium (mostly vermiculite) was fresh out of the bag, but after the first use, later attempts resulted in invasion of the killer fungi.

 

[TheMadDabber]

If H202 kills fungi, can I run some through the soil mix in the cloning(solo) cups to sterilize them? I had success when the medium (mostly vermiculite) was fresh out of the bag, but after the first use, later attempts resulted in invasion of the killer fungi.

I cant say with 100% certiantee. But I know it culls bacteria and fungus gnats. Lemme check.

 

[AKgramma]

I cant say with 100% certiantee. But I know it culls bacteria and fungus gnats. Lemme check.

This site is great! Ways to use Hydrogen Peroxide in the Garden

 

[AKgramma]

Other sites say one can microwave up to 2.2 pounds of soil on high at 90 seconds. Since this is so quick and easy, I'll try this for sterilization, and the hydrogen peroxide in the water and as a foliar spray for bug prevention.

 

[AKgramma]

I do not know how some growers can produce strong, vigorous plants from generations of clones, that is clones of clones of clones. A neighbor who employs successive cloning, also has plants with weak stems and very small leaves. I don't know how the yield suffers.

Since my AK 48's are 3rd generation clones and look like survivors of the Apocalypse, I'm going to switch them without taking clones. I will eventually use my home-grown seeds to bring back the AK48. I have a bunch of seeds that are promising crosses of AK 48 and White Castle.

My next batch is going to be all autos. I have been dinking around with my bedraggled clones long enough, and need a break from nursing along sickly plants.

I DID learn a lesson, tho: rather than successive cloning, I need to keep a mother alive and healthy enough to take clones from, so they are all first generation.

I have many choices of seed from my previous crosses, and will decide what to grow after the autos. My autos include: Jock Horror, and Cream Caramel, and polar express auto x mystery sativa.

 

[TheMadDabber]

Great insight! Wishing you all the luck with your future endeavours and hope your weekend is going good gramma!

 

[Tony Urban]

Yeah nursing along sick plants would get tiresome after a while. I am sure your AK48 seeds will be vigorous and much easier to cultivate compared to multi-generational clones.

 

[AKgramma]

I appreciate the sympathy. LOL!

One would think I'd have the basics worked out after growing for 4 years. About the time I get it all right, the next batch tanks or I have to move the ladies around to more adequate spaces. So each batch is unique. And I have to be sure to renew the soil mix between each use.

Different media and different methods each have their pros and cons. The decision is what cons you can live with and get a decent yield in the available space. Ive done out-of-the-bag Black Gold indoor soil mix, hempy with perlite or perlite/soil mix, and various non-hempy soil mixes, going ever lighter on the soil and heavier on the Vermiculite and Perlite each batch. The trick is to kekep the medium light an aerated.

I've settled on popping the 3 Cream Caramel Autos next, as they are the only high-Indica (90%) strain I have. I just have to prepare the 3 tall bins I'll grow them in. All my other strains range from near 100% Sativa to 60% Sativa. After that, I will grow out the rest of my Hock Horror Autos.

As for THC/CBD ratios, most of what I have is what you'd expect with hybrids, but the only high CBDs I have are the two CBD Yummys in veg now. I'll try cloning them again when they are bigger, and I sterilize the vermiculite against fungi.

A family member had good luck with my mystery Sativa x Sativa cross seeds. So I guess my stash has some viable seeds among them! Good to know, when I start popping some of them for myself.

I have been gradually pruning the last two AK48 clones (3rd gen) in preparation for the switch. They are over 4 months old and look like crap. I'm retiring these last two after harvest, and will later restart the AK48s X AK 47/Durban Poison seeds, just to get back the vigor. AK 48 = AK 47xIce, so there will be an extensive and interesting ancestry in the offspring. Pheno-hunting again!

Of course, I won't have room for this till I get the autos done. I need a break from light schedules and separate tents. ;-)

 

[SweetSue]

I agree with you. It's a matter of finding the method that works for you. I keep playing, but I'm pretty certain the hempy/HB hybrid grow is where I'll settle.

I was playing with numbers today and my dream of one flowering girl per tent is just that, a dream. I have too many chemovars that stay in rotation, so I'll end up with two plants per tent and make it work. I still can't believe I survived a time with three girls in one of the tents. How did that happen?

I was reading through and was ready to tell you baking the medium would sterilize it, when you determined the microwaving was the way to go, and I realized I could be doing that to sterilize my perlite instead of baking it for hours at a time. Thank you so much for that.

It's frustrating when the propagation cycle gets disrupted, isn't it? I'm sorry to hear you're having such dismal success with clones. I see no degradation in my genetic line, and my Carnival is now 6 generations from the original mother. I don't buy that cloning into perpetuity degrades the line, I think it's other factors, most likely environment. There's something about your environment that makes it challenging for you to clone. Wish we were neighbors. We'd be putting our heads together to find the true culprit.

It'll work out in the end. Things always work out. You got enough genetics to keep going without stress? You mentioned a dirth of CBD chemovars. I have a voucher for Crop King Seeds I could let you use to pick up something additional. Would you be interested?

 

[AKgramma]

I agree with you. It's a matter of finding the method that works for you. I keep playing, but I'm pretty certain the hempy/HB hybrid grow is where I'll settle.

I was playing with numbers today and my dream of one flowering girl per tent is just that, a dream. I have too many chemovars that stay in rotation, so I'll end up with two plants per tent and make it work. I still can't believe I survived a time with three girls in one of the tents. How did that happen?

I was reading through and was ready to tell you baking the medium would sterilize it, when you determined the microwaving was the way to go, and I realized I could be doing that to sterilize my perlite instead of baking it for hours at a time. Thank you so much for that.

It's frustrating when the propagation cycle gets disrupted, isn't it? I'm sorry to hear you're having such dismal success with clones. I see no degradation in my genetic line, and my Carnival is now 6 generations from the original mother. I don't buy that cloning into perpetuity degrades the line, I think it's other factors, most likely environment. There's something about your environment that makes it challenging for you to clone. Wish we were neighbors. We'd be putting our heads together to find the true culprit.

It'll work out in the end. Things always work out. You got enough genetics to keep going without stress? You mentioned a dirth of CBD chemovars. I have a voucher for Crop King Seeds I could let you use to pick up something additional. Would you be interested?

The offer is REALLY tempting, but I want to use what I have stockpiled, and improve my growing conditions first. I have lots and lots of home-grown seeds, the mothers being the strains I bought or was gifted (thank you very much) and the fathers with sturdy, heavily-leafed phenotypes. The males I had to work with were :Mystery Sativas from Nirvana Seeds, a couple of White Castles, and a couple of AK 47 x DPs.

The search for more CBDs will have to take a back seat, unless I successfully clone the CBD Yummys. I looked the strain up, and it came in both Fem and auto, and you didn't know which they were. So, time will tell. If they are autos, that would explain the clones' quick demise. They will then be a one-shot. I popped them in the tall bins, just in case. I dont want any more 7" autos with 3" colas! And we know the Caramel Creams are autos, so the next batch is going to be a batch of 3 auto strains. By limiting the next batch to autos, I wont have so much to fuss with, esp the lighting.

This time of year brings the household humidity down to 30%, but misting and adding water seems to encourage fungi, and the SNS fungicide doesn't work when diluted according to instructions. I have never had any luck cloning in the late fall and winter months. I think the ambient energy is too weak, and my cloning material too far down the generations to work.

I trimmed out all the weak and dying branches and twigs from the last AK 48's, which didnt leave much. About 15 of those I cloned, as a last resort, in sterilized vermiculite. The mothers are under flower now, but I dont expect much from thin weak stems and very few small leaves. I'll know in a few weeks whether or not to let them go to harvest, or cut them for what is left of the leaves. Anyone else would have given up on them already. But they are all I have under 12/12.

No biggie if they fail, cause starting over is not necessarily a bad thing. :surrender:

 

[AKgramma]

After a heavy pruning, taking out useless branches and dead leaves, I took out well over half of both AK 48s in flower. Altho looking pretty bare, at least what little is left looks healthy. No hurry to reclaim the space, so I'll let them alone and see what happens.

I planted two Cream Caramel Autos last night in solo cup collars, directly in their final bins. The seeds were fat and brown, so I expect success. I have one more seed, which I'll prepare another container for and get it started ASAP.

The CBD Yummys that I topped for clones are growing as fast as Autos. I see visible growth every day. Their side branches are very vigorous. So, Sue, if they turn out to be Autos, they certainly will be Fems, as well.

Still hanging onto two AK 48 mothers, because I still see green in the stems and a hint of green in a few nodes. The stems are still flexible close to the main stem, so MAYBE they might revive.

So, without too much effort, I'm back down to 6 plants, 2 of each strain: AK 48 in flower, CBD Yummy, and Cream caramel. I wont count the sticks till they start revegging.

 

[AKgramma]

Still hanging onto two AK 48 mothers, because I still see green in the stems and a hint of green in a few nodes. The stems are still flexible close to the main stem, so MAYBE they might revive.
.

I should have said "Still hanging onto two harvested AK 48 mothers." Barely-green bundles of sticks, actually.

I decided to let one of the bundle of sticks go and reuse that bin for the third Cream Caramel seed. Just brought in 4 more tall bins to thaw for the Jock Horror Auto seeds. If luck is with me, I should have a grow unit full of autos by Xmas.