philcox7572
Member
No, I havent been because my heat inside by cabinet has been up around 80 and I thought that was contributing to the rot. I will put them in there and give it a shot.
Cloning Issue - Frustrated as I Can Be. Please Help!
- Thread starter philcox7572
- Start date
No, I havent been because my heat inside by cabinet has been up around 80 and I thought that was contributing to the rot. I will put them in there and give it a shot.
You just confirmed the problem and the solution. Get a heat mat and a heat controller. set it to 80F and go back to simple domes. The stem rot is favored by being wet and cool temperatures.
make sure your chamber has enough ventilation to allow the moisture and heat flow through.
If your chamber is up to 80F by itself you might have too much lighting. Until the clones get some roots they really don't need strong light.
philcox7572
Member
The temps come from the humidifier rather than the lights. Temps drop to around 70 when the humidifier is off. I just have flouros for light, nothing extreme. I guess I could take some bulbs out. I also have windows cut in the side for airflow to go though along with little 4" fans on each level for air circulation and an oscillating fan about 4 feet away circulating air in the room.
oh that makes sense. You had 80F air temp, and 70F soil temp, with the warmth provided by the humidifier. The exact opposite of what you want. The heat mat will warm the soil, and warm the water in the soil and create humidity. Under the right conditions you could have all the humidity you need just from the heat mat and a sprtiz of water a few times a day. I do my cuttings in seedling trays filled with soiless mix. The whole tray supplies moisture for humidity.
My suggestion is to stop relying on the humidifer or at least limit its usage.
Red1966
Well-Known Member
I clone with a home made aerocloner on a timer set to 30 seconds every 4 minutes. I do nothing to control humidity levels except what the central A/C supplies. I use plain tap water with just a bit of Olivia's. I dip the clones in rooting jell before placing them in the cloner. I have near 100% success. I think maybe your humidifier is causing rapid swings in temp and humidity and killing your plants. You shouldn't need it, anyway. As long as your clone's stems get moisture every few minutes, low humidity shouldn't harm them. I go straight from cutting to dipping to placing in the cloner for each cutting. That way the stem doesn't get a chance to dry out and close off the capillaries.
philcox7572
Member
Without the humidifier, the humidity in that room is less than 20% and the humidity in that chamber is in the high 20s. I have had exactly success without a humidifier unless it is July or August and there is humidity. I was thinking about maybe switching to a cool air humidifier. I dont run the humidifier constantly, I have it on a timer where it runs for 45 minutes, off for 30 minutes. If it stays off for more than 30 minutes, the humidity starts dropping quickly.
I will dig out my heat mats today and give them a shot.
philcox7572
Member
When I do my cuttings, I make the Olivia's rooting solution with water PH'd to 6 and put some in some cups, do my cut and place them in there until I put them in my medium. I am not going back to the EZ Cloner, that was a nightmare for me and a lot of wasted time. I know this cabinet can work if I can stop the stem rot from happening.
From what I have gathered on here and doing some reading, I need to switch my medium to something that doesnt hold too much water (like Vermiculate and Perlite), need to use my heat mats, and maybe build some kind of intermittent mister that goes off every once in a while instead of the humidifier.
In addition to my standard potting mix (coco,peat,perlite,lime) I usually add some SAND to increase air space and drainage.
Red1966
Well-Known Member
I think you are over doing the humidity thing. I think the EZ Cloner sprays constantly, doesn't it? Probably over does it. Either way, aerocloning has worked great for me and others. I don't think you should discard it so easily. You can build your own very cheaply. Hot melt glue a 6" skirt of plastic like panda film inside the perimeter of the lid and it will prevent water seeping out where the lid and the tub meet. Aerocloning is the easiest way to clone. Four weeks or less to clones with 6 inch roots ready to transplant. Never had any mold problems, maybe I'm just lucky.
philcox7572
Member
Just regular sand or any particular kind of sand?
philcox7572
Member
Just to be clear, I am not using the aerocloner now. I have a 120 EZ Cloner and used it for about a year and never had any success with it. Followed all the instructions and I think the most success I had was like 20 out of 120.
The times I have had the most success is with humidity over 60 in the space. Anything less than that and I dont have any success at all. Without a humidifier, there is less than 20% in that room unless it is July or August and sometimes not even then.
Sunbiz1
Well-Known Member
I tried everything outside of a purchased or homemade cloning machines, it takes time(3-4 weeks in some cases)and patience with some strains while others seem to not miss a beat. When we take a cutting, the only means for it to absorb water is through leaves...until roots establish. For this reason they really need a controlled environment simulating the jungle in form of humidity domes. I used to use cake pans(with the plastic tops), then finally bought a Mondi dome which have adjustable vents. Even with the controlled dome, some cuttings I eventually have to force by removing/placing into regular medium...otherwise mold becomes an issue.
Good luck!
cannabiscultivation
Active Member
like this you mean?
jessica d
Well-Known Member
you dont want any fans either so drop them. moisture will rise when you add a mat. a simple dome with a beer cooler or anything even dixie cups and a ziploc bag works man.
Dr Kynes
Well-Known Member
thats classic damping off.
you got fungus killing your cuttings from too much humidity.
make sure your medium is STERILE before you use it, baking it in the oven for an hour at 250, and cleaning your accoutrements domes and area with bleach will fix the infestation, but you have to keep the humidity down once they start to root or they will keep croaking.
sanitize your area medium and tools like you were gonna do surgery on your favorite kid, and once the cuttings start making roots, take them out of the humidity dome.
Scroga
Well-Known Member
I try and keep it simple...make sure your cutting has strong stem, avoid immature, flimsy and weak.. I use rapid rooters, tap water, hormone powder and tupperware bucket.
Pre soak plugs, squeeze out excess water...turn upside down so they are free standing, take cuts, drop into cup o water,1 by 1 remove from cup, trim, dip in hormone, insert into plug, place in tupperware, light mist once initially then only mist underside of lid when moisture is needed....pop lid on! Air out for a few minutes once a day....it is a balancing act you have to practice to learn but pretty much you want minimal moisture to generate humidity...so don't overdo the mistings or you will get damp off.....hope this helps, good luck buddy!
cannabiscultivation
Active Member
all good advice.
FilthyFletch
Mr I Can Do That For Half
These are just in domes with 2 T5 lights on them rapid rooter used rooting powder at day 5 showing root.
