re: Jon705's Multi Strain HPS LED Hybrid System
theirs a couple of ways, i used the method in the european grow bible,
basically in my grow book it said choose the part you want to clone, then cut 2 cirlces all the way around the stem about an inch apart or slightly bigger, then peel back the outer later to reveal the moist inner layer that protects the hard core of the stem, so you have about an inch of slightly bigger of bare stem all the way around the stem, then it said put rooting powder on it but i use gel so put a bit of rooting gel on the bare section and covered with compost, in the grow book it said use rock wool or some other product but i had none and grow in compost so used that, then wrapped in film and kept dark and moist but not soaking wet as it will just rot the branch if its soaking wet all the time, so just moist is best.
the method worked for me every time, the first time it failed because i thought i was blocking the light but some was still leaking in and the stem just repaired itself, so from then on i squashed compost around it, then wrapped in cling film and then i cut some cardboard to make a sort of box to totally block the light to that part then i just wated it about every 2 days or 3 depending on how quick it dried out, but with it wrapped it stays moist a while,
the method in the vid seemed less precise as in measuring the gap but in theory it should work the same, the idea is to have roots growing out all around the stem, this is why you remove a section of stem, i removed it all the way around but scraping just one side off should give the same results,
all it said in my guide was once you had removed the outer cover it said if the clone stem was small and would bend the support it with toothpick and tape or some kind of tie making sure you dont squash the stem, i think slitting all the way through might cause problems if anything seeped inside the stem, could cause rot further down the plant if the stem is hollow in middle, all depends on how big the stem of the clone is,
if i get chance tomorrow ill do air layering on one of my plants and take pics of exactly how i did it, it failed the first time due to light getting in and the plant just repaired itself, but keeping it totally dark and slightly moist is the goal, im pretty sure this would work every time without rooting hormone,
so when im not busy tomorrow ill take some pics and do a step by step air layering guide and put it in my sig, the method jon used is pretty similar to what i did but mine was more precise and a bit neater but both jons and my method will give the same results, ive not heard of splitting the stem and use toothpick to keep it open, its not something i have seen a video of, if you know of a video hash then drop me the link and ill do 2 air layering using both methods then i can see which method works best, i found the method i used which is pretty much the same that jon used produced roots around week 2 but i left it on the plant till the compost or growing medium was full of roots, then i transplanted and just suppoted the clone with stick and it took to the growing medium and grew like any other clone, it just allows you to take bigger clones,
this would be perfect for a sog grow, if you had a really big mother say a monster croppped with 200 plus branches then using this method means you might not need as much veg time before flipping to flower if any at all, id just give it time to root and new growth to start to make sure its taken, but i could not clone a purple widow, they seemd to root but die not long after, i lost around 20 clones by using my normal method, then i remember i read about air layering in my grow book and copid it to the letter, it then worked after i made sure it stayed dark and moist,
you dont want it soaking wet, just water it and leave it a couple of days but dont totally let it dry out,
ill give you the name of the grow book, give me 2min to find it then you might be able to find a copy online to have a look at the method i used, i could not find the exact method i used on videos but instead of scraping the outher layer off i cut 2 circles around the stem about 1.5inch apart then peeled off the outer laer, in my grow book it says you are basically removing the bark that protects the inner moist layers,
i think it said their is 3 layers it did name them in my book, let me dig it out and ill tell you exactly what i did and what the layers are called, but as long as you remove the outer layer then roots will grow as long as its dark,
@Hash, if you can find a guide with the method you mention then give me a shout with the link or video and ill give it a try while i try my method then i can see what works best, if we can figure out which method works quickest then we know what method to use, but i think the more outer layer you remove the more places roots can form, i know from mine that roots grew out all the way around, basically they grew out of all the parts i had stripped back, its why when i take normal clones that i scrape a tiny bit of the outer layer off from the bottom of the clone, i find this also helps clones produce roots as its not just the very end thats exposed, having some stem exposed seems to encourage root growth,
let me find my book and ill give you the name, i think edd rosenthail wrote it, i could be wrong i have read that many, it says he was called mr big, goes into detail about what to say if you get arrested and all that crap, its a damn good book got some very good info in it,
Hopefully the critter ridder and the urine do the job, so far ive only lost 1 full plant and some lower growth on a couple of others, I might just tie my dogs up back there at night
