Cloneing
Looks great - and a really clean grow!
Please tell me more about the solution you run in your cloner. My 1st batch came out well, but I killed some on the second. There is a spectrum of opinions about what to add, but if you have a winning mix I would love to know.
Thanks!
Three days and I have roots - very small. I'll see if I can take some pictures tomorrow. I only lost one on my first attempt - but forgot to plug the clone box in on the second and lost many. But that is just my silliness and has nothing to do with the process.
I studied before I started and decided that the Clonex Solution was the best for my needs. I wouldn't switch now because it works for me. But I think it is a combination of several factors.
First, I take cuttings from the bottom of the plants - not the top. Lot's of opinions on this one.
I strip the bottoms - which gives me a great selection of cuttings to choose from. So I target shoots that are a minimum of 4 - 5" long with 3 to 5 nodes. This trip through, the tops were smaller and the roots larger - so the clones ended up 4" on the first cut. Most of them had 3 to 4 nodes.
Independent of the number of nodes, my bottom cut is done under water and it is always 1/4" under the node. I feel this is very important and will explain later. The cutting is then placed immediately into a pipette of the rooting gel. I cut as many as I can fit into the pipette and then start trimming.
Since 3 is the minimum - the middle fan leaves come completely off. The top set of fan leaves gets helicoptered to a maximum of 50% of their original length. I think this helps to ensure that I control the transpiration from the plant - since I don't use a humidity dome, this is likely a crucial step. When I didn't helicopter on the first cloning attempt, I spent the next two days doing so to keep the wilting in line. So just clip them right away.
If there are 4 nodes - then the middle two fans are completely removed and the remaining is helicoptered.
At 3" - I place an inch under the neoprene and accept whatever I have on top (about 1.5"). At 4", I place 1.5" under the neoprene. And at 5" - I put the stem all the way at the bottom. 5" clones definitely root the best at the finish line.
I place it into the cloner - but I don't turn it on till I am done. It usually takes me about an hour. So they sit absorbing the rooting gel for that length of time - I also believe this helps with the aeroponics - which washes the gel off quickly. Doing this, it tends to stay on for 2 to 3 hours before washing off.
Ok, you asked about solutions and I have provided a partial answer.
I mix the Clonex Rooting Solution at the minimum level specified on the bottle and I use R/O water. This gives me a very clean mixture.
I then adjust the pH down to 5.5. I know this is slightly low - but there is a method to my madness.
I then throw it into my veg tent at the beginning of the 18/6 veg cycle. I have also used various T5s and even a CFL. The CFL sucked. The T5s are very good. But I always plan to have an opening in the veg tent at this point - no need to waste electricity.
They will wilt overnight.
At this point - I don't open the box to look at them for a minimum of three days. Call me superstitious on this one - but I believe that you get faster roots if you keep it absolutely dark for the first three days. I have no real supporting evidence for this one - it is all anecdotal on my part.
They really don't seem too move much for the first 3 days. Typically the next set of new leaves will pop out - but not always.
On the second day, I go in during the dark cycle and I add a new round of Clonex Rooting Solution - but this time at the maximum rate. When I have checked - the water is fairly clear and the PPMs very low - so the boost doesn't get you to a dangerous level.
When I finally open the lid on the third day, the pH has typically risen into the low 6 range. I check the ppms and if it is below 600, I add more Rooting Solution to adjust upwards. Whatever it takes.
Thereafter, every two days I open the deck, adjust the pH, check the ppms, and adjust back to desired range. Typically I need to add the full rate of Rooting Solution.
Because we put a node under the neoprene - I get roots at that node first. They are always present within the first three or four days. Which means that cutting becomes very hard to kill at that point. If there is no node under the neoprene - it takes a minimum of 5 to 7 days, depending on the variety, to get roots. They come out from the sides of the stem - as you know. During the great self-imposed wilt on round 2, only cuttings with a node under the deck made it. That was very convincing to me.
I only use 1/3 of the cuttings in the box. Throwing away the ones that look the worst. This gives me a lot of lattitude to play around and not worry if I kill one or two.
I leave them in the box for 3 weeks total. Last time I developed a calcium / magnesium deficiency at the start of week three. So I added a small amount of Cal-Mag and they quickly got better. I don't remember the rate I used as I calculated it out. So... whatever it takes.
By the end of three weeks, the roots are large enough that I have to cut the bottom out of my net pot and push the plant thru. This also gives me long enough roots that I can hit the bottom of a 6" net pot. Thus I don't have to do any special watering or anything. I sometimes put them into square containers because they fit in the ebb and flow better. But from now on I will just put them into 6" net pots and save one transplant.
So that is pretty much the whole process, including the nutes. As you can see, the nutes are sorta integrated into the process.
Hope I didn't bore you. I am going to continue the journal until I finish that LOJ, so I will try and post pictures over the next couple of weeks so you can watch the progress. I love doing it in the EZ Cloner and watching the roots grow. Amazing stuff.
glad to see a happy grower
, we started taking pictures. I suddenly noticed that the tent started swelling on one side... and opened back up. The LOJ was out of her bucket and on the floor! Damn.
