Cloning.

Popop said:

Thanks for taking the time to share that info. It looks like a simple littte project but those can cause the biggest headache. I'm in the market to clone for the first time. Just looking for the cheapest route, that works

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I'm getting back into providing my own medical-supply after at least 7 years.
In the winter I used a "rapid-rooter" tray with a humidity dome. That was under a home made compact florescent light rack I made.
In the 2 foot by four foot tent in an unheated room during the winter that worked very well.
Come Spring and hydration, heat and light intensity are something else. A learning experience.

I put cuts in water in cups. If they had been cups that kept the light out and the water was either changed every few days or an air stone was used to bubble oxygen in the water I believe because the temperatures of day and night were favorable to that, that they would have rooted. they sure didn't die until I made them into worm bedding. Hard to explain to "Po-Po" why I have 20 plants in cups. I grew clone plants so they got too big to deal with.

So you can read my experiences. You can read the sharing and caring of others as well.
I don't doubt anyone's cloning methods and mine are out of urgency at this time.
It would help to know one's genetics and what they like. I learned hydration is a serious issue for my "Blue" line. Once it got dry it gave up! No chance of recovery and I mean that for the clones and the mother. The Yellow, Red and Green lines seemed to handle it better. All the same F1s mind you but very individual indeed!

As always Simplicity is the thing. if we can get away with Coco in cups so be it. If we move to a cloning machine so be it.
In a hundred years who will care? LOL.

But in direct reply to your reply, thanks. I really like posting on grow sites. It's fun. It's "Weed-Social" minus Trump eh?

It might surprise some to know that you can keep unrooted clones in the fridge for weeks, I've personally done 8 weeks then rooted and flowered them.

Okay total failure again.

WTF

Plan B is to make my cross(s) with the Blue Dream(s) selections and get somewhere with those seed's seeds. Then I can consider my options.

I just don't get it. I can clone. It's not rocket science so why is this happening......... ??? Unless.. Yeah unless a guardian angel is saying "not so fast buck-oh." That very well may be the case. Perhaps it's too soon for what I was thinking. Consider all possibilities and make my way; I say. I don't get it. So sometimes you have to read the signs and follow the light.

I'll do the hybridizing of the Blue Dream(s) and Blueberry stuff first and either grow out more F1s of the strain I really am trying to cross with or select from the F2s for the final. My first thoughts were get my strain in early and select my Fn(s) but something is not going right so perhaps there is a mystery to be avoided.
I'm not so interested in a Blueberry line but I'll have to get this done first before I make my hopeful cross that seemed to elevate my sensitivity to other people's feelings. I am on the autism spectrum so if it adds to my experiences it's "Sal Goodman!" Just have to be patient.

The times they are-a-changing!

There are differences between California climate and Illinois climate. Not to mention the change in the global circulation of the "Jet-Stream" causing climate change.
I have noticed that composting is different here. Perhaps the humidity (RH) is the factor I don't understand. So, I'll try this again from seed and try to figure out where my Illinois cloning understanding is disjoint.

I been real busy with my heirlooms.
Acck - some serious training going on here...
but I wanted to clone one of the Golden Tigers I have going, because of it's stature, it's bulk from the jump, and it's licorice/ sandalwood smell.
So I took a quick pic of the root development I am talking about.
As we all know, a plant with weak roots will limp along, but a plant with a lush root zone will impress your friends when done.

Landraces do all sorts of funny things when cloning - they WANT TO LIVE!!
If you look closely at the bottom, you might notice that this clone separated and became two stalks leading into one. Almost three, but the one on the back in this view is still connected at the bottom.
It was 4 weeks in Bloom and I was getting giddy smelling it (and my cat is over the moon with it and won't stop grazing on it) so, I gave the top the axe, hoping it would slow down it's skyrocketing for the lights.
This clone will be crossed to either: a special Cindy99 I just found, an Apollo Haze that has a licorice smell and taste, or the showcase Violet PCK I have.
But I guarantee it will hit the ground wide open with this sort of root development.

Popop said:

I just looked this up

Is it simply a tote with holes in the lid and an aquarium air pump? Or am I missing something

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No you are not.
The trick is to add a second airstone.
It's the oxygen that will spur wild root growth.
I have used ALL the commercially available cloners, over an expended period....
The oxycloner simply has the best results.
The tiny pump in it is only to move water around. The oxygenated water steadily wetting the roots does the work.
Ever held your hand above a can of coke? Felt the coke droplets hitting your hand as the bubbles rise and burst?
That's how the oxycloner works. The airstones cause the bubbles which burst and wet the clones the perfect amount..
I don't work for oxycloner, and I can't see your clones from my house, I'm just a helpful guy sharing decades of experience.
I even left my personal formula for the cloner for whoever reads this. (lots of growers won't do that).
I just want y'all to be successful. Overgrow.

Friendly_Grower said:

I was wondering if a little liquid organic fertilizer would help.
I'm not sure if CloneX will dissolve or stay somewhat sticky.

@DrBuzzFarmer do you think it will help?
Some of the cuts are looking like they are "the poorer for it" now.

Shame the laws are so harsh because I think once it takes off there will be a Forrest when I need a few trees.

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The veg nutrient in most formulas is too strong and the wrong formulation. Micro and bloom in a 1.2 mixture with added Hormex for b vitamins and hormones.
I had so many recipes for my cloner that I finally just bought a bottle of Blue Planet Micro and Bloom JUST for cloning. It works so well. And lasts a LONG time, because you use so little.
Clonex is good stuff, but root powder is the same ingredient and much cheaper.
You can mix a little roottone with water (it doen't mix well, the roottone floats but thats ok) and soak the clones in it while you get pots ready (15 minutes or so) to allow them to draw a bit of hormone up the stem.
Do this even if you clone in soil.

Mr.Head said:

I'm pretty close to that in rockwool in the grodan trays with a heat-mat. I'll have a couple fail here and there but it's usually something I did, usually pushing a stem through the side of a cube and not realizing it. Last run even those rooted.

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I'm to the point where I deal with clones three times.
Once when I cut them and put them in the cloner.
Once when I change the water.
And once when I plant them.
No more fiddling, maintaining moisture levels, or dealing with cubes and trays.
I have the cloner out for 10-15 days and it's back to the closet.
So much simpler. Devote my time to LST.

DrBuzzFarmer said:

I'm to the point where I deal with clones three times.
Once when I cut them and put them in the cloner.
Once when I change the water.
And once when I plant them.
No more fiddling, maintaining moisture levels, or dealing with cubes and trays.
I have the cloner out for 10-15 days and it's back to the closet.
So much simpler. Devote my time to LST.

Click to expand...

DrBuzzFarmer said:

I been real busy with my heirlooms.
Acck - some serious training going on here...
but I wanted to clone one of the Golden Tigers I have going, because of it's stature, it's bulk from the jump, and it's licorice/ sandalwood smell.
So I took a quick pic of the root development I am talking about.
As we all know, a plant with weak roots will limp along, but a plant with a lush root zone will impress your friends when done.
View attachment 5141757
Landraces do all sorts of funny things when cloning - they WANT TO LIVE!!
If you look closely at the bottom, you might notice that this clone separated and became two stalks leading into one. Almost three, but the one on the back in this view is still connected at the bottom.
It was 4 weeks in Bloom and I was getting giddy smelling it (and my cat is over the moon with it and won't stop grazing on it) so, I gave the top the axe, hoping it would slow down it's skyrocketing for the lights.
This clone will be crossed to either: a special Cindy99 I just found, an Apollo Haze that has a licorice smell and taste, or the showcase Violet PCK I have.
But I guarantee it will hit the ground wide open with this sort of root development.

Click to expand...

It's funny how our pets will go after certain cultivars eh? My dog loves GMO, left trays of other clones alone and cleaned off an entire tray of GMO cuts.

I said I wasn't going to, but I ended up building a new aero cloner. Clones are about a foot tall in it waiting for parts for the new grow. I definitely agree about the air-stone increasing the efficiency of the aero-cloner. Cuts are showing the lil root nubs on the stems at 5 days on a strain that took 10+ days to show the same nubs without an air stone. The aero jets come on every few minutes while the airstone is on 24/7.

my next grow is going to be full aeroponics. Found some cheapish 5x5 rails to build my system off of.

Gas prices and the impending recession have me looking at ways to cut costs in the grow. Trips for medium is the first thing cut.