I started cloning years ago because seed is really expensive when you want to grow a lot of any one thing. I still do it for economic reasons when I do not have saved seeds, but I am finding another benefit. I have some side lighting, but not much. My walls are far enough apart that I don't get much reflecting. So most of the light the plants get is from the top. Keeping plants short before they go outside really helps. Being able to start in October of one year to get ready for the next year really helps. Plant gets too tall, I lob off the top and make a new one.
Thought I would share my red neck clone machine and ask others to share their methods.
I built racks from wood that fit plastic mortar trays (lowes). The trays contain water, a fish tank bubbler (walmart), and a fish tank heater(walmart). I drill holes in the bottom and sides of solo cups, leaving them stacked so each plunge with the drill gets a bunch of cups. Have used hydro pebbles, rockwool and other medium but now prefer an organic potting soil mix. Works just as well and I do not have to argue that rockwool or clay pebles are organic (people are annoying).
I use a scalpel (feed store) with a straight blade angling the cut down at about 45% just above the third nodule or higher. Then I use a curved / castration blade to remove at least a couple branches from the part I cut off. The goal being to make sure some of the stem goes deep enough into the medium that it will be under water. After cutting and trimming each one, they go into room temperature water in a dark room for 12 hours. Putting them in water imediately helps to prevent air pockets from forming in the stem which will stop water up take. I have no idea why letting them soak in a dark room helps, discovered it by accident.
Next day, I put rooting powder on them. You can buy the stuff at lowes. Miracle grow makes one. Most of the store / chain store stuff works about the same. I have a mail order one but only because it has a big ol label that says Organic on it. Doesn't work any better & to be honest, I dont think it works as well. But I really like that word.
I use a chop stick to push a hole in the wet medium to the bottom of the solo cup, drop the clone in, and gently push the medium around till the hole is close. Then they go into the heated mortar tray of water with the bubbler humming away. I leave the water level at about 2 inches for a couple of weeks. To keep humidity up, I cover the rack with plastic. The warm water does the rest.
If I have it on hand, I spray with wax based leaf shine. i read that it helps to keep the moisture in the plant but have not noticed much difference since I started covering the rack with plastic. In the winter, I might also put a 100 wat light bulb under the trays to help with temp, but the fish tank heaters really do a good job.
After about two weeks, they go to a dry tray where I water them normally. Another two or three weeks and i start to see rots coming out the holes in the solo cups. So after five weeks, i have a rooted plant several inches tall with many leaves. Much faster than growing another plant from seed, much cheaper in the long run.
Thought I would share my red neck clone machine and ask others to share their methods.
I built racks from wood that fit plastic mortar trays (lowes). The trays contain water, a fish tank bubbler (walmart), and a fish tank heater(walmart). I drill holes in the bottom and sides of solo cups, leaving them stacked so each plunge with the drill gets a bunch of cups. Have used hydro pebbles, rockwool and other medium but now prefer an organic potting soil mix. Works just as well and I do not have to argue that rockwool or clay pebles are organic (people are annoying).
I use a scalpel (feed store) with a straight blade angling the cut down at about 45% just above the third nodule or higher. Then I use a curved / castration blade to remove at least a couple branches from the part I cut off. The goal being to make sure some of the stem goes deep enough into the medium that it will be under water. After cutting and trimming each one, they go into room temperature water in a dark room for 12 hours. Putting them in water imediately helps to prevent air pockets from forming in the stem which will stop water up take. I have no idea why letting them soak in a dark room helps, discovered it by accident.
Next day, I put rooting powder on them. You can buy the stuff at lowes. Miracle grow makes one. Most of the store / chain store stuff works about the same. I have a mail order one but only because it has a big ol label that says Organic on it. Doesn't work any better & to be honest, I dont think it works as well. But I really like that word.
I use a chop stick to push a hole in the wet medium to the bottom of the solo cup, drop the clone in, and gently push the medium around till the hole is close. Then they go into the heated mortar tray of water with the bubbler humming away. I leave the water level at about 2 inches for a couple of weeks. To keep humidity up, I cover the rack with plastic. The warm water does the rest.
If I have it on hand, I spray with wax based leaf shine. i read that it helps to keep the moisture in the plant but have not noticed much difference since I started covering the rack with plastic. In the winter, I might also put a 100 wat light bulb under the trays to help with temp, but the fish tank heaters really do a good job.
After about two weeks, they go to a dry tray where I water them normally. Another two or three weeks and i start to see rots coming out the holes in the solo cups. So after five weeks, i have a rooted plant several inches tall with many leaves. Much faster than growing another plant from seed, much cheaper in the long run.
