Turbo Klone Cloning Session Start to Finish

[Bruce Wheelman]

Per the request of Goldengoose7, I am re-posting his Turbo Klone review from his grow journal here:

Turbo Klone T-48 Cloning Session • Start to Finish
by Goldengoose7

I just got done preparing the final few clones and placing them into our recently field tested Turbo Klone T48 clone machine!

It was definitely a challenge with the Blueberry plants to find more than one of two suitable shoots to remove from the plants! I didn't want to remove any of the major growing tips especially because BOTH plants are starting to set blooms already!

Yep! I was really surprised to see them beginning to enter their flowering cycle when our hours of daylight are still close to 15 hours! The Purple Urkles have been into the early stages of bloom for the last week, but I chalked that up to them spending almost 10 days in the Bloom Room before I pulled them out over the excessive stretching issues.

Anyway...I managed to get 10 Blueberry cuttings and 7 Purple Urkle cuttings.

Even though I watered all the mother plants a few hours before I took the cuttings, I was surprised to see that the Urkle cuttings began to wilt within seconds of them being cut from the mother plants! Not sure exactly why this was happening, but I decided to take more than I originally had planned in case some of them don't make it.

The Urkles are marked with a label on their collars and you can spot all of them by their less than upright appearance! Hopefully, they perk up after a few hours in the cloner?

The new cycle timer is working great so far, and it is nice to have such a wide range of ON/OFF setting options to choose from. Because of the wilting issue with the Urkle cuttings, I decided to change my previous ON/OFF time to a longer ON and shorter OFF to hopefully rejuvinate the Urkles over the next day or so.

In my testing, I settled in on a cycle of 3 minutes ON and 7 minutes OFF. This kept the water temp stable at 3 degrees below the ambient room temperature. I plan to go back to that interval as soon as the Urkles recover. If they don't recover, then I will yank them and focus on the Blueberry cuttings which didn't suffer from this odd wilting issue.

Water temp is currently holding at 67 degrees , so I can afford to let the pump run longer for awhile. PH is currently holding at 5.5, but I expect it to rise a bit from the cloning gel being washed into the water. Will check the PH again in a few hours and adjust as needed. Looking for a final water temp of 71 degres F, because that will give me a degree to play around with in case it gets hot in there after the AC shuts down tonight.

To better keep an eye on the water temp of the cloner, I setup one of my many webcams to monitor the remote temp probe via our local network!

Saves having to go in there, open the closet doors and check directly.

Stay tuned for more photos of the garden and the clone's progress in the next few days.

 

[Bruce Wheelman]

Decided to make the webcam monitoring of our cloner's water temp semi-permanent.

As you can see, the water temperature inside the cloner has now reached the ideal temp of 72 degrees F. Now the challenge will be to keep it from rising any higher than this. In a 9 x 2 closet, in the middle of summer!

 

[Bruce Wheelman]

Turbo Klone T48 Cloning Session Going Well on Day 8....

The clones in the Turbo Klone are doing well. Took off the Humidity Dome 4 days ago and the cuttings had no problem with that. Root buds are just now starting to develop, so I added 3 ml of H&G Roots Excelurator to the reservoir and adjusted the PH back to 5.8.

Water temp has been holding within 69-75 degrees depending on the time of day, but I am not going to sweat trying to keep it at precisely ONE specific degree. Everything I have read about this process states that 69-75 F is the "comfort zone" of water temp for an aerocloner, and that is what I have settled on. The cycle timer has definitely helped in maintaining these temps and not letting things get too hot.

The macro on my camera is not that great, so I am not going to attempt any photos of the actual root buds right now. I will wait until there are actual roots growing from the clones and then share some photos with you then.

Today marks the end of Week #1 of this first official cloning run, and we appear to be right on schedule!

It is a good feeling to finally have what looks to be a 100% success rate, with every single cutting developing multiple root buds by day 7 of the process.

Bravo Turbo Klone!

 

[Bruce Wheelman]

Weekend Update II • Turbo Klone Success on Day 15!
Roots Are Popping Out All Over!

As the calendar turned to Day #15 of our first Turbo Klone session, I decided to check the cuttings for any visible signs of significant root development. As I mentioned in my last report, although we had been seeing tons of root buds developing over the last week, we had yet to see anything that could pass for TRUE ROOTS!

Well... That all changed over the last 24 hours!

Boom!

Root buds on this Blueberry Kush cutting have been replaced with very stout and numerous root spikes literally over night! She is now officially A CLONE!

A Purple Urkle cutting we took on that same day (July 2nd, 2011)

The Urkles seem to have a little more agressive rooting style than the Blueberry based on comparing the root structure of both strains side by side. This could explain what gives the Blueberry strain a reputation as a "Hard to Clone" strain. It appears to me that all of these similar Purple/Blue Indicas are very slow to root, even in a name brand cloner like the T48!

Not sure if it was just their time, or if the combination of the Roots Excelurator and Clonex Cloning Solution made the ultimate difference? I'm going to add the Clonex solution to the T48 on Day 1 next time and see if we see roots sooner than 15 days. Either way I'm not complaining! Those roots look great and are just the type you want to see just days before transplanting into soil.

Here are a few photos of the canopy in the T48.
You will notice the yellowing of the bottom leaves as the now "official" clones begin to use that stored sugar to make more roots!

This is the "Green End" of that Blueberry clone we inspected earlier in this thread

I'm going to give this brood another couple of days in the Turbo Klone before I transplant them into their permanent 2.5 gallon pots. Yep! I am going to attempt a rapid fire flowering of smaller plants under 14/13 as my next flowering project!

 

[Bruce Wheelman]

Turbo Klone Cloning Session Update II
Transplanting Day!

After discovering that most of the root spikes had more than doubled in length overnight, I decided that I better transplant these gals into pots immediately, before the roots became too long for a shockless transplant into soil!

As all you cloning pros know... If you let the roots get much longer than an inch from the stem, you risk damaging or breaking off roots and root tips during the transplant process. Much better to take advantage of the little "Pin Cushion" appearance of the shorter root spikes to make the transition painless!

I actually thought to take some photos of the process in case anyone was curious as to how I did this.

So... Without further ado...

Three clones float gently in their foam collars awaiting their turn to hit the dirt!

I chose one of the Blueberry Kush clones to demonstrate the process. Perfect Root Spike Length!

After removing the foam collar, the root ball is held over a bowl of Cocoblend potting soil and the loose dry soil is sprinkled over the roots as the stem is turned. Basically, you want to coat the roots with a protective layer of soil. This makes it easier to put into the actual medium.

Here is a slightly out of focus shot of the AFTER appearance of the root ball.

A small hole is dug in the receiving pot, and the clone is measured for the proper depth.

While holding the clone steady and in the proper position, soil is added around the hole until the plant is properly buried and the soil level is at the correct height to the stem.

Rinse and repeat 18 times and you're done!!

All the newly potted clones are watered with a mixure of B1 and 5-1-1 Alaska Fish Emulsion. They are all STARVING for Nitrogen after their "forced" root generating adventure, (Yellowing leaves are a Dead Giveaway!) so it is important to give them the nutrients they are starving for ASAP! But!!! You don't want to use anything too strong. Fish emulsion is very gentle on new roots and won't burn them. Thats why I always use it for young plants and transplants.

One heavy watering with this mixure will hold them in good sted for the next 3-5 days, followed by a fresh water treatment. After that, it is on to the same feeding schedule as all the other girls out back.

The SIX Best clones of the session (3 Urkles and 3 Blueberry Kush) were placed in these 2.5 Gallon Fiber Pots. These six plants will be the subject of my next flowering light cycle experiment.

The rest will live in these 1 gallon pots for now until I decide what to do with them.

I've still got a few more clones in the T48 that I need to transplant, but they have another day or two before they reach critical mass in terms of their optimum root spike length.

Hope you enjoyed my little DEMO!

 

[Bruce Wheelman]

Turbo Klone Session #1 • Final Update
Life After Transplant

I kind of wanted to close out this cloning session report with some closing comments and another round of recent photos of the newly transplanted clones.

These shots were taken 24 hours after the plants were originally transferred from the cloner into soil/pots. One immediate difference between the clones produced by the T48 and my previous attempts with Rockwool was that the T48 produced clone were far more robust and healthy looking!

As kind of an experiment yesteday, I moved the majority of the new clones out from under the patio area and into direct sun from about 11AM to 5PM. They handled these hours of direct summer sunlight and 80+ degree heat without complaint! Not a single drooping leaf or hint of wilt! Newly minted clones are traditionally still somewhat delicate, even with roots, so this robust behavior outdoors as if they had always done so was notable! A VERY pleasing side effect of the cloner I guess? The fact that they were cut from plants that were living outdoors? Not sure, but I'll take it!

I could have NEVER expected that from one of my Rockwool clones, even a solid week after transplanting!

And now on to the photos...

"BBK" stands for Blueberry Kush and "URKLE" for Purple Urkle

The pots used range from 5 gallon all the way down to 1 gallon. The smaller pots will keep those clones from growing too fast and give me some time to catch up with this frenzied growing season!

And lets not forget the old Blueberry Growing Tip that was dipped and Rockwooled nearly 7 weeks ago! It is just now starting to grow! This HUGE Amount of waiting for roots is what lead me to the Turbo Klone in the first place!

Even though this cutting took forever to finally root and start growing, at least it is the actual growing tip of the original BBK #2 that is in the Bloom Room, so it should make for a nice Blueberry Mother plant in a few months, don't ya think?

Blueberry Kush Growing Tip Cutting/Clone after 7 weeks since cutting

and

 

[Goldengoose7]

The Turbo Klone Clones • Three Weeks After Session End and Transplant
The cloning session documented here was conducted from July 2nd through July 18, 2011

The Blueberry Growing Tip Today

Assorted Blueberry and Purple Urkle Clones Today

Conclusion...

The Turbo Klone T-48 is a great product with a lot of good things going for it. While the addition of the ventilation fan to the front of the unit does help significantly with water temp stability, I have found that a cycle timer is still a good idea unless you have the perfect temp controlled environment to place your Turbo Klone machine in. Giving your clones 4-5 minutes to dry out within every pump cycle also seems to help nudge the cuttings to root a little faster, and reduce the chances of bateria and fungal growth.

In the location where I have my T-48 installed, being able to control the ON and OFF time of the system depending on where in the cloning process the session is and where the ambient air temp is holding, helps greatly to maintain the optimum reservoir temp of 72 degree F.

I would highly recommend this product to anyone who is looking for a more reliable and predictable method to clone out your favorite strains. I found the folks at the Turbo Klone company to be VERY eager to help you with any questions, and if you run into any problems are quick to do whatever it takes to make you happy and get you back up and running ASAP!

Hope you found this product review useful!

A special "shout out" and THANKS to 420 Cyclist for reposting this product review as a complete, uninterrupted segment here on the 420 site. A complete log of my current indoor/outdoor grows and projects are available on my grow journal linked below in my signature.

Hope to see you there and thanks for reading/watching!

GG7

 

[Mr. Krip]

Nice job on the review! +reps!

 

[Goldengoose7]

Nice job on the review! +reps!

Thanks Mr. Kip! I appreciate it!

I thought it might be more useful for folks thinking about buying a commercially produced cloner, to be able to follow a session from start to finish as an uninterrupted piece.

As you know, these same pages are also contained in my Grow Journal, but they are interspersed with other updates, reports and photos, making it a little harder to stay focused on the T48 session alone.

It was really nice of 420 Cyclist to dissect those original pages of this review I sent him and create a new thread of them here in the product reviews section!

Thanks for checking it out!

 

[Treemama]

This is great information! One question, can you tell me exactly when you added the Clonex to the reservoir? Seems it was a few days in but I couldn't make out on what day it was added. Thanks!

 

[Goldengoose7]

This is great information! One question, can you tell me exactly when you added the Clonex to the reservoir? Seems it was a few days in but I couldn't make out on what day it was added. Thanks!

Hi TreeMama!

I recommend waiting until Day 8 before adding your Clonex solution along with the Roots Excelerator. This way, you cut down on the potential for those nutrients to encourage black and brown stem rot before the cuttings have a chance to root.

I've found that the cloning gel that gets washed into the cloner at the start of the session is enough to begin to promote root development while still being in low enough concentrations as to not create a breeding ground for fungi and other nasties.

Hope that helps!

 

[Treemama]

Thanks for the super speedy reply! That is essentially what we have done in the past, adding Clonex on Day 7 when we changed out the water. I've added Aqua Shield only for the first week. I've had problems with the clone machine last few times I've run it, though I realize the main problem is not cleaning the machine as well as I should have. That will not happen again!

I've just read on another forum where someone said they have added Pool Shock to the reservoir in place of anything like Aqua Shield. Do you know anything about pool shock, or even the Clear Rez found at grow stores? I'm more inclined to follow your suggestions after reading through your journal.

One other thing, we use DipNGrow instead of a gel. In your experience, do you think using DIpNGrow would create the same root promotion as the gel or do you think the Aqua Shield is doing what the gel in your res does in the first week?

I'm really impressed with your journal and your pictures prove you know your stuff! This part of our grow has been the most frustrating and we're hoping once we get this part nailed down we can have a well rounded successful grow. Thanks for your help!

 

[Goldengoose7]

Thanks for the kind words about my journal! I just bought a new camera that should really improve the images I post on all my journals! I will have it Tuesday just in time for my next round of harvests!

I wanted to say that I wouldn't recommend using any kind of cloning powder in your cloner. There is usually grit in those compounds which can easily clog the jets of your cloner.

A lot of cloning solutions also have sediments in them. Clonex doesn't so that's why I use it exclusively in my T48. I also add about a 1/4 cup of of Hyrogen Peroxide to the water a few days in to help keep any bugs from growing.

If you want to improve your success rate, you should seriously consider buying some Roots Excelerator. Its really expensive but you only use about 3ml in a 4.5 gallon cloner, so it goes a long way.

Cleaning is very important too! I don't change the water. I use the same water through the entire process. The key is to not over nute it the first week and wait until you see root buds and then you add the extra stuff. Otherwise, the bugs use it in the first couple of days and then turn to your cuttings.

When the session is done, I drain the cloner and then remove the fan and put the tub in the shower and run hot water into it. I add a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and then plug in the pump and run it for about an hour. Then I take the jets out and blow air through each one, and then put the garden hose on the jet assembly to blow that out with high pressure water. Then rinse everything with clean water and let it dry thoroughly before I use it again.

 

[Treemama]

I've decided not to use the pool shock. I'm planning to go along with your suggestions as they seem pretty much in line with the way we have been doing things, just with some important differences like using the rooting gel and roots excelerator, AND a thorough cleaning!

Do you use RO water in the reservoir or tap water! I normally use RO but have been seeing on other forums where people say they have success using straight tap water. Just wondering what you use.

I have some clones in the machine right now and I'm hoping some of them make it. We'll be starting a new round this week as most of the clones we started a little more than a week ago aren't doing so well. Some have rooted nicely but the majority have been pulled because they died.

Thanks again for the help! I'm looking forward to reading more in your journal. My husband and I have been growing for about 5 years and feel pretty well educated in all areas except for cloning. We have been successful in the past but are determined to get it consistently right moving forward!

 

[Goldengoose7]

Cool!

Hopefully by following the same recipe for success that I use in my Turbo Klone, you guys will start getting the same 100% success rate I enjoy!

Be sure to report back on how your next session goes!

Take care and happy cloning!

 

[Goldengoose7]

Ooops!

Forgot to answer your question. YES! I use RO water in the cloner.

 

[Treemama]

Immon Day 5 and so far all seems to be going well. I did get a humidity dome which I hadn't used before and did burn a few leaves on some of the clones since I put the lights a little too close. But they seem to be recovering alright.

I've been able to keep the water temp between 72-74 and the ph has stayed right around 5.85. Do you keep the ph the same all the way through to the end or do you increase it to 6.0 at any point?

 

[Goldengoose7]

Immon Day 5 and so far all seems to be going well. I did get a humidity dome which I hadn't used before and did burn a few leaves on some of the clones since I put the lights a little too close. But they seem to be recovering alright.

I've been able to keep the water temp between 72-74 and the ph has stayed right around 5.85. Do you keep the ph the same all the way through to the end or do you increase it to 6.0 at any point?

Sound like you're doing everything right so far!

Yes. Try to keep the pH right around 5.7 the entire time. I don't worry if it is a point up or down of that, but if I start seeing a consistent and progressive drop or rise I will adjust it back to 5.7.

Lastly... Clones don't need a lot of intense light. A more subdued lighting like from a single T5 tube or two, or a single 25 watt CFL would work really well.

So if you have a large panel light fixture, raise it up high! A couple of feet away from the plant tops is what I use here.

 

[Angus McSpuds]

nice thread. u really documented the 48turboklone process well!

i enjoy your attention to detail.

sigh... i must admit that i am not as vigilant in my TK48 process.

first time i used it i used RO, ph'd down to 5.7, clonex gel, powercloner accel, hydrogenperoxide (about 1/8 tsp for the 5-ish gal res.), and a drop of NoDamp.
no timer, just on 24 hr a day.
- no problems at all, nubs in 7 days, roots in 10.
now, since it was my first time, and i had only used jiffy pucks, and rapidrooter plug types, i waited until there were probably TOO long of roots. but i gently x-planted to OFlight warrior soil in dixie cups with pukas at bottom for drainage.
i have very dry environment,, so i used humidity dome the whole time, and even a partial one for x-plants in dixies. after 4 days of partial dome, i let them enjoy the T5 light.
- every one of the girls lived a full and prosperous life of about 2 weeks veg, and 8 wks bloom. ( because of space limitation, i practice transplant from dixies into 2gal black plastic pots the day the lights go from 18 to 12).

in varying stages of neglect and procrastination, i have now gotten to point where i do NOT use RO ( just artesian water ph'd to 6.0-6.2 ), i use 50ml of powerclone juice, 1/8 tsp hyd perox, a drop of NODamp, and that's it!
- i check res for water level up to and over the pump, and of course, look at the roots.
- i have learned that even WAY_TOO_LONG of roots work also.

so...
although YOUR system is WAY better, organized, and technical, i just wanted to let others know that IF they are NOT as proficient as you, they can still get success with this TK48 machine.

other than the What if I lose Power? issue... this machine is so much easier than my previous old fashioned jiffy puck techniques.

i will, one day, try JUST the artesian water. nothing else except clonex gel. good fun!

disclaimer... everything i say is fictional, a dream, or a vision. not real!

....or is it?

 

[Treemama]

So I'm back to report that I'm on Day 8 and unfortunately many of the clones have turned yellow, but haven't completely died. I still see some new green growth trying to come out and am also seeing the root bumps starting on most of the stems. It's just looking at the tops of the clones they don't look very healthy. I understand that when roots begin, the leaves can turn yellow since the energy is now focused below rather than above, but these babies are looking rough.

Since I last posted, I have kept the water ph at 5.7 and the temp has remained between 72-74. I also added root excelerator yesterday. I'm wondering if I should have kept the humidity dome on longer. I took it off after 4 days, which was Sunday, and I guess since then they have been looking progressively yellow.

Any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong?