Cloning for dummies

privateaero

Active Member
Here is a step by step guide that I was given on cloning, I'd give the person rep but he is super paranoid and I don't think he'd appreciate it. It is slightly modified.

Supplies

1. Rockwool
2. Humidity dome and tray
3. Inserts, (I prefer the second to smallest ones that hold 40 per flat, the bigger ones work as well)
4. Clonex or Olivia's rooting gel
5. Sterile sharp scissors
6. Sterile razors, the thinnest ones you can find, you will have to cut vertically into the stem with these
7. Small sterile spary bottle
8. 3 part GH nutes (I use clonex)
9. Small rubber bands to hold rockwool closed, get diff. colors to identify strains
10. Flat cookie sheet with sides (I use an extra flat, though a cookie sheet would work better)
11. Fluorescent lights, shop lights are cheapest look on here and you can figure it out
12. Sterile shot glass or small test tube
13. Sterile water glass
14. Clean kitchen sink (5 gal bucket works)
15. Seedling heat mat

Preperation

Have everything prepped and ready so this goes smoothly, it may take half an hour longer but will save you 2 weeks by having clones that actually root.

1. Sterilize everything and wash hands really well
2. Lay everything out in order
3. Fill sink with room temp water (chlorinated is ok because it'll work as a disinfectant)
4. Fill test tube with rooting gel (don't dip into bottle, you don't want to contaminate it)
5. Cut rockwool into cubes to fit snugly into inserts, then cut vertically down the cube so that they hinge open. Only cut halfway into them. I am having trouble describing this but you are going to open the cube up, slide the clone into it, then rubber band it closed.
6. Premix nute solution of 1/4 tsp/gal each of GH Grow, Micro, and Bloom and PH to 5.5 (I use half strength Clonex 5 mL/L)
7. Fill the cookie pan a 1/4" with the nute solution
8. (my teacher said that this wasn't required but I presoaked the rockwool cubes in 5.0 ph water for a couple hours before cloning, someone is recommending 6.0 for 24 hrs. your choice)

Cloning

1. Select cuttings to take and cut from mother
2. Place cuttings in the water in sink
3. Take all cuttings you are going to take from that mother at once
4. Cut big leaves in half
5. Cut the stem at a 45 degree angle under the water (this eliminates the chance of an air bubble forming in the stem, when you have a clone that never dies but never roots this may be the cause)
6. Scrape the outer layer of stem with back of razor. One swipe on each side of the bottom inch or so.
7. Dip stem 1"-2" into test tube with rooting gel
8. Take razor and cut stem vertically 3/4", splitting it into 2 little legs (this gives more surface area for roots to come from)
9. Open up rock wool cube and gently place into slit 3/4 of the way to the bottom
10. Secure with colored rubber band, taking note which color is which strain
11. Stand up in cookie sheet in 1/4" solution, it'll wick up perfect amount into rockwool cube
12. Place cubes into inserts in tray
13. Spray mist into tray, ( I left a glass of water in tray, don't know if it hurts anything but I think it helps keep humidity up)
14. Cover w/dome, and place under 24/hr fluorescent light, on heat mat (I put a towel between mat and tray so it wasn't quite so hot)
15. PATIENCE, will take 3 days 'till bumps start showing where roots will come out
16. Keep dome misted, 100 percent humidity is the goal (twice a day worked for me)
17. In 7-10 days place rockwool cubes back onto cookie sheet with nute solution, put back into insert and back into tray
18. Most varieties take 10-16 days to show roots through the cube
19. Ready to transplant once new growth starts again with lots of roots showing through all sides of cube
20. Keep in 68-72 degree room, because of the heat mat the dome will obviously be warmer
21. (I took dome off after 2 weeks to harden off the clones while I was waiting for room in grow room, teacher didn't say to do this though)

I've taken 3 sets of clones, about 30 in total and have yet to have one not root
 

m23mark

Active Member
Think i will give that a try next time i attempt cloning. My last attempt was very similar and i used disinfectent for all my tools yet only one out of 40 clones rooted after two weeks... i later put a thermometer in the propogator i was using and found the temprature inside was 100 degrees farenheit plus. So im guessing this is why they did not root, maybe it cooked the clones??....either that or maybe they all got embolisms. I was shocked because all my previous attempts at growing from seed ect have gone so well and i did all my homework :wall: For now growing from seed again and all is well.....
 

ink the world

Well-Known Member
Im in New England and it still cold here but Walmart is stocking up on garden supplies. I got a few bags of Perlite there 2 days ago, i also noticed they had Superthrive now too.
 

mygirls

Medical Marijuana (MOD)
Im in New England and it still cold here but Walmart is stocking up on garden supplies. I got a few bags of Perlite there 2 days ago, i also noticed they had Superthrive now too.
not here oregon. they took it off the shelf 1 1/2 ago. i have a couple of bottles left. when i see some a yaed sales i snag it up.
 

glyphen

Member
So are you soaking the rockwool tablets in your nute solution to get them to expand, or regular water?

You mentioned the ideal humidity being 100%, what about ideal temp?

How often did you have to mist to maintain your humidity levels?

Oh yeah, did you have any space issues using the 72 starter kit, with 10 babies in there?

Other then that great post man!!!
 

privateaero

Active Member
Mark23, I'm sorry to hear of all the problems you are having. Maybe you should try just rockwool next time, it'd be cheap and not much to lose.

MyGirls, I watched the vid and liked it, except... if he put the rockwool into inserts the roots would come out the sides as well as the bottom, I've heard that the gel is better than the powder though more expensive, and lastly I've heard bad things about leaving water in the tray, but haven't experienced it so I'm not sure if they are true.

Mayer and IAmStoned, I've done a lot of pricing and have found the three hydro stores frequent to be extremely competitive. For beginners I think its best to go to the grow shop and say "I'm cloning what do I need" and discuss pros and cons of everything with an experienced grower rather than talk to someone that knows very little (not always the case) about growing. That is my opinion though and not solid fact, I also get 15% off at my stores and that adds up quickly.
 

sickstoner

Well-Known Member
Im in New England and it still cold here but Walmart is stocking up on garden supplies. I got a few bags of Perlite there 2 days ago, i also noticed they had Superthrive now too.
Superthrive at walmart? mine doesn't have it fuck and they just stocked up the plant stuff and they still don't have perlite i had to get the jiffy started soil witch isn't bad but i like my mix better.
 

StreetRider

Active Member
Don't forget that pre-soading your cubes in 6.0 water for 24 hours.. Ir helps lower the ph of the cubes... They are not low enough after they are made... It helps to speed up the rooting if ph is right.
 

mygirls

Medical Marijuana (MOD)
Mark23, I'm sorry to hear of all the problems you are having. Maybe you should try just rockwool next time, it'd be cheap and not much to lose.

MyGirls, I watched the vid and liked it, except... if he put the rockwool into inserts the roots would come out the sides as well as the bottom, I've heard that the gel is better than the powder though more expensive, and lastly I've heard bad things about leaving water in the tray, but haven't experienced it so I'm not sure if they are true.

Mayer and IAmStoned, I've done a lot of pricing and have found the three hydro stores frequent to be extremely competitive. For beginners I think its best to go to the grow shop and say "I'm cloning what do I need" and discuss pros and cons of everything with an experienced grower rather than talk to someone that knows very little (not always the case) about growing. That is my opinion though and not solid fact, I also get 15% off at my stores and that adds up quickly.
the water is very little, just enough to creat a higher hummidity within the dome. this keeps me from having to mist them at all. the water dry out in 2 days and i have to keep pooringwater in so its not like its siting in the same old water all th time.
 

privateaero

Active Member
glyphen, thanks for getting this back on track, I'll edit my original post.
My teacher says no need to presoak or pretreat, he does it dry. I personally either use low ph water (5.0) or the nute solution. Have had good luck both ways.
temp wise I use 68-72 for the air in dome (same as grow room) but for mat I just keep it cool enough that it isn't drying out the cubes real fast.
I mist twice a day to keep humidity up
I miscounted the inserts that I used. They are 40 per tray, the ones that you buy annuals in at the hardware store. I also have never cloned more than 15 at a time so space was not an issue.
 

m23mark

Active Member
Mark23, I'm sorry to hear of all the problems you are having. Maybe you should try just rockwool next time, it'd be cheap and not much to lose.

MyGirls, I watched the vid and liked it, except... if he put the rockwool into inserts the roots would come out the sides as well as the bottom, I've heard that the gel is better than the powder though more expensive, and lastly I've heard bad things about leaving water in the tray, but haven't experienced it so I'm not sure if they are true.

Yea thanks aero i am going to try rockwool in a few months when im ready to have another go at it. I did try a few in oasis cubes but they did not even last the night, i woke in the morning and they had drooped over and died. Other than that i was just using 1/3 perlite, 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 potting compost in fibre pots and 125w floresents, i wasted a good 3 months trying cloning but im sure it was the excess heat that killed them. I have attached a thermostat to propogator so should be ok next time, fingers crossed. :lol:
 

IAm5toned

Well-Known Member
i space em out big time, only plant one every other site and skip a row in between, even doing that ive never filled it up.
the only reason i got it was i couldnt pass on the price (free!) as is it takes up too much space and i will prolly give it away to a friend of mine that has more use for it.
rockwool works better for what i need anyway
 
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