Wick Cloner: simple, cheap and effective

Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

I am not sure if I can add pics to my post. Or I am just being a knucklehead where the button to add pics to my post. Still new to forums and I think I read soooo much that I am getting double vision. I'll try to get pic up as soon as I figure it out.

It can be a bit tricky and everyone new seems to have some trouble with this. Here are the instructions.

Photo Gallery Guide - How to Resize, Upload & Post Photos
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Hey Munki. I tried a similar set up as yours except with plastic cups and a baking sheet that I had laying around. I started 13 clones on 8/25 and one is floating in water (you can see in the 2nd pic). I used rootex cloning powder and put the clones in perlite and I am using a 4' long flourescent fixture with 2 lamps in it. I drilled holes in the bottoms of the cups and set them in the tray. I floated one of the clones just to see if I could see root developement but I am not sure if the lights being on 24/7 is hampering root developement on that one plant or any of the plants. So far its been a week but I only see a little nub on the floating plant. I have 2 questions, 1. Will light prevent or slow down root developement. 2. Do I just carefully pull the clone out of the perlite and replant in soil? Oh one other thing, I added 1/2 teaspoon of MG fert to 1 quart of water(it probably was really diluted as there was still water in the bottom of the tray) as I noticed that some of the leaves were really turning yellow. 3 or 4 of the clones almost didnt make it but it seems like they are making a come back. Thanks for the idea.

Roots tend not to like light but I'm not sure it can really hold them back completely. I didn't get my roots until over two weeks past. The yellowing on the leaves can be fine. Since the cutting has no roots to get nutrients, it will steal it from other places on the plant and bring them to where they are most needed. Often lower leaves will yellow as the cutting steals the Magnesium from the chlorophyll molecules. It transports the Mg to the highest point where new growth (and the best light) would be. Main thing you are watching for is if the cutting is absorbing water. If the leaves shrivel and the plant goes limp any time after the first couple of days since the cut, I pull them as failures.

While they are still cuttings trying to develop roots, you don't want to give them too much light. I used a 12 watt CFL that was a foot above the cuttings. Just enough light so it can make a little food but we don't want the cutting to really start to grow without roots to support, water, and feed the leaves.

I got my cuttings out of the perlite by inserting a tablespoon into the perlite away from the stem and gently scooped up causing the perlite around the stem to erupt and loosen. It wasn't perfect and I'm sure I broke a few delicate roots but some survived. I've only pulled out one clone from the soil I put them in. I think I already see some new growth. I'll take a pic of them and post it soon.
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Here are what the clones look like right now.

This is my super duper high tech fancy veg room. :;): the light being used here is now a 27 watt 5500K CFL that is only a few inches over the tops of the plants. This should encourage some growth but not too quickly. The blues the light produces along with the cuttings being taken a couple of weeks into flower should make the internodes very short on them. That is something I am watching for here.

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And here are some closeups ...

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Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Ok I dont know what is going on.!@#$%^&* When I right click on photo to insert into post, I dont get a properties box, I just get an image properties. So I just copy and paste images link into post and i get the above links. At least you can see them if you click on them. I am using Opera browser and thats probably why things are a little different.
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Ok I dont know what is going on.!@#$%^&* When I right click on photo to insert into post, I dont get a properties box, I just get an image properties. So I just copy and paste images link into post and i get the above links. At least you can see them if you click on them. I am using Opera browser and thats probably why things are a little different.

Are you clicking the icon that looks like mountains on a yellow background or the icon that looks like the earth with a chain link in front of it? You want the yellow one.

Clones all lined up in a row. The cloth that you cover the light hood with, it isn't flammable?
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

When I got home tonight, I checked root progress on the floater and to my amazement there was a tiny root protruding from the bottom of the diagnol cut about 1/8" long. Yippie!!! I will try this upload thing again, but I am still not getting the properties box and yea I did click on the yellow square w mountains. Well here it goes https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/09-03-09_2304.jpg
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Ok getting closer but still cant see the picture in the post, but the link is there. I bet it has something to do with my browser. As for the cover over the lights, its a trash bag and its probably flamable. I have a resettable hi limit switch in series with the load right next to the ballast as if the temperature gets to 140 degrees the switch breaks the circuit. I have a couple of t-stats in and aroung the fixture and the temp never gets above 80 degrees under the make shift hood and above 90 right above the top of the fixturethe fixture. I think the reaso it runs so cool is that my exhaust from my grow room is moving air over the whole thing. I tested and checked temps before I even started the whole thing. So far so good.
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Munki... in a few of your photos, your clones look like they may have been taken from a plant already flowering.
Taking flowering clones is ok, but you have to wait extra time while the plants shift back to vegging stage, then grow roots.

Just a random thought.

Cheers!

I agree that it does take longer for the plant tissues to change their hormonal balance to go from flowering to veg to ultimately grow roots but I've heard that this can shorten internodal lengths on the clones; a valuable trait in indoor growing.
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Ok getting closer but still cant see the picture in the post, but the link is there. I bet it has something to do with my browser. As for the cover over the lights, its a trash bag and its probably flamable. I have a resettable hi limit switch in series with the load right next to the ballast as if the temperature gets to 140 degrees the switch breaks the circuit. I have a couple of t-stats in and aroung the fixture and the temp never gets above 80 degrees under the make shift hood and above 90 right above the top of the fixturethe fixture. I think the reaso it runs so cool is that my exhaust from my grow room is moving air over the whole thing. I tested and checked temps before I even started the whole thing. So far so good.

Sounds OK until there is a fan failure when you are not home. Would a fire possibly break out and destroy everything? May want to think of a safer solution.
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Wow! Nice to know. Thanks!

It is what I read; still gaining experience.
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Thanks for the info on the shortened internodal length, I hope that is the case as my internode lenghts were a bit too long. I'm not sure why but my theory is that the upper canopy was shadowing the lower branches coupled with a little bit highr temps that I wanted. Also I kind of new that it would take a little longer to get back to veg state. Right now my room is full of plants and I was trying to buy another couple of weeks until I started another cycle. I actually let the plants in my grow room veg to around 24" but that was way too tall. In the 3rd week of flowering, they are towering around 50" or so. Whats your take? Oh and thanks for the simple clone set up idea and you got me rethinking the cover idea. My main reason for the cover was to prevent ambient light getting into my 12/12 room where my grow room is located and the 6" exhaust fan will let light in. But your right, better safe than sorry..Thx man
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Thanks for the info on the shortened internodal length, I hope that is the case as my internode lenghts were a bit too long. I'm not sure why but my theory is that the upper canopy was shadowing the lower branches coupled with a little bit highr temps that I wanted. Also I kind of new that it would take a little longer to get back to veg state. Right now my room is full of plants and I was trying to buy another couple of weeks until I started another cycle. I actually let the plants in my grow room veg to around 24" but that was way too tall. In the 3rd week of flowering, they are towering around 50" or so. Whats your take? Oh and thanks for the simple clone set up idea and you got me rethinking the cover idea. My main reason for the cover was to prevent ambient light getting into my 12/12 room where my grow room is located and the 6" exhaust fan will let light in. But your right, better safe than sorry..Thx man

The old quote "Live and Learn" can't happen if you ain't living! :;):

I wish I could find the source of the taking cuttings early in flower to reduce internode distance, but haven't been able to lately.
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Just came back from a little vacation and checked on the clones. Wow, I will definitely say success on three of them. The internodal spacing is very tight on them so there definitely appears to be something to taking cuttings from plants in flower.

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Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Very Nice! It looks like thay are happy. How big were the initial cuttings that you took for thos girls? Do I see 4 or 5 there?

I planted my cuttings two days ago and so far so good. I think I used smaller cuttings as my little girls are only about 3" tall. It looks like they got a green spurt from the soil that I planted them in. I'll try to get pic going again...
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

Very Nice! It looks like thay are happy. How big were the initial cuttings that you took for thos girls? Do I see 4 or 5 there?

I planted my cuttings two days ago and so far so good. I think I used smaller cuttings as my little girls are only about 3" tall. It looks like they got a green spurt from the soil that I planted them in. I'll try to get pic going again...

There are 5 in there. Really, this was just an experiment but it is hard to get rid of them. I just don't know what to do with them now.

Some of the cuttings were only a couple of inches long but some others had an extra inch or two. None were really big like I've seen others do. So, I would say that many cuttings will grow if given enough time.
 
Re: Wick Cloner: simple, cheap, and effective

All five clones did root. One was a bit sickly, so I pulled it. I used a large spoon to dig down into the soil and cut cylinder like sections of dirt around the root areas and re-potted three of them. The remaining one got more dirt.

A fresh batch (1 gallon) of the vitamin B-1 fert was mixed up with half filtered tap water and half RO water at two tablespoons to the gallon. Half of that was used to water the pots down.

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