ORGANIC CLONES IN PERLITE

moses wellfleet · Nov 3, 2011

i have been using perlite to do my clones since the beginning of the year, lately i have stopped using any kind of rooting hormone and still sometimes achieving 100% success rate

i add only liquid kelp extract to the water that i use to wet the perlite. the beauty of the system is that the medium (perlite) costs nothing because after the clones come out it gets mixed into the soil, i was using rockwool cubes before this, expensive,time consuming and itchy... if anybody is interested in a step by step explanation speak up and i will be glad to help

schwilly · Nov 3, 2011

Nice.

How long until you see roots?

I recently started putting cuts directly into promix. Like you, I erroneously used to think that rockwool or rooters were needed.

I have seen 100% success with the mix, something that I never achieved regularly with rockwool. And it seems to cut out a week or two of veg time. Also, it gives me something to do with all the bales of promix that I no longer use for anything and were just sitting around derelict.

I do use olivia's hormone, but only because I have it. It's nearly five years old so I don't know how effective it still is. Plan on cutting out hormones once it runs out.

The Hummus Monk · Nov 3, 2011

Step by step please...!

NE_GROWER_978 · Nov 3, 2011

gonna give this a whirl. i always use jiff pucks but im down for something new. might even make things easier for me. for sure step by step. keep us posted

moses wellfleet · Nov 4, 2011

schwilly said:
Nice.

How long until you see roots?

I recently started putting cuts directly into promix. Like you, I erroneously used to think that rockwool or rooters were needed.

I have seen 100% success with the mix, something that I never achieved regularly with rockwool. And it seems to cut out a week or two of veg time. Also, it gives me something to do with all the bales of promix that I no longer use for anything and were just sitting around derelict.

I do use olivia's hormone, but only because I have it. It's nearly five years old so I don't know how effective it still is. Plan on cutting out hormones once it runs out.

schwilly i usually remove the clones from the perlite after 14 days but that would depend on the strain you are working with pictured here is blubonic not all that easy to clone, C99 for example would be ready sooner. i wish more people would wake up and realise that harsh, and expensive, chemicals are not necessary for successful cloning.
i am making babies this wkend so expect a step by step post early next week... cheers

mad librettist · Nov 4, 2011

Works even better in calcined de chunks like napa 8822 or axis.

moses wellfleet · Nov 9, 2011

ok first of all i take cuttings and while they are soaking in kelp water i go and prepare the perlite. i pour perlite into the container until it is about 4 inches deep. the next step is to wet it, this can be done by pouring kelp water directly into the perlite or you can soak the perlite in a different container and then lift it out with a strainer and put it back into the original container. the latter method is probably better until you are more experienced in this technique

ok now here is the IMPORTANT bit: move the perlite aside and check that there is exactly 1mm of water at the bottom of the container. i have found that the roots seem able to detect the water at the bottom and they reach towards it, but if there is too much water they become complacent and rooting is delayed or even prevented. if you have added too much water: no panic, just remove the excess using a clean sponge!

once i am sure that there is the correct amount of moisture present in the medium i level the perlite with my hand and pack it down firmly so that it provides plenty of support to the stems of the cuttings. if your cuttings have floppy stems then you can make holes in the perlite with a chopstick or other suitable tool.

i have tried placing the stems at the bottom of the container as well as raising them off the bottom by a few mm but it seems to work best when they are actually resting on the bottom.

i try not to crowd the cuttings in too much because this can cause mould to develop in the container i also remove quite a lot of leaf for this same reason. once all the babies are in i cover with a sheet of plastic and place under a fluorescent light maitaining the temp in the room to between 22-23C and leave to root for 12 days returning twice daily to give them fresh air. i remove the plastic after 12 days and allow them to harden off for 2 days (@ 80% RH)before i remove them from the medium. i will explain this last phase in a future post!

obviously you cannot check on the progress of the roots during this time. this may frustate some growers and i have some ideas on how it could be modified to allow for this. but let me first give you the technique that works so well for me! i dont think it makes a difference which brand of kelp extract you use, i think super thrive would probably work if you cant obtain kelp extract!

who dat is · Nov 10, 2011

Cool post man, I love the simlicity. I have often wondered how successful one can be with only using kelp extract for cloning. Thanks for the breakdown and the explanation!

moses wellfleet · Nov 11, 2011

who dat is said:
Cool post man, I love the simlicity. I have often wondered how successful one can be with only using kelp extract for cloning. Thanks for the breakdown and the explanation!

thanx mate for those of us who work 9 to 5 cloning can eat up your spare time so i hope this helps growers out there... i am also super keen to see results of other people trying this system and any new suggestions of course!

who dat is · Nov 11, 2011

Well my first thought right off the bat would be to seperate different clones in different containers (I'm sure all yours were one strain). I was already thinking of putting each individual one in it's own 16 oz cup or so. If you could score some that were clear you could pot them in that and then slip it inside a colored one. That way you could hide the roots from direct light but also pull it out very easily and inspect the roots.

mad librettist · Nov 11, 2011

if you do it with the calcined DE, the difference is you can add drainage holes to your tray. you can simply water it as much as you want, the DE will get it right.

turface would work too.

way easier!

moses wellfleet · Nov 12, 2011

who dat is said:
Well my first thought right off the bat would be to seperate different clones in different containers (I'm sure all yours were one strain). I was already thinking of putting each individual one in it's own 16 oz cup or so. If you could score some that were clear you could pot them in that and then slip it inside a colored one. That way you could hide the roots from direct light but also pull it out very easily and inspect the roots.

i have already tried rooting the clones in cups filled with perlite but it didnt work nearly as well for me. a worthwile experiment might be to prepare a container of perlite the same way as described then to fill cups that have holes in the bottom with perlite and place the cups in the perlite bed in the container. this would allow the roots access to the moist perlite at the bottom

i like your idea of a clear cup inside a dark one, very clever. remember the roots will be very difficult to spot as they are the same colour as the perlite you may have to wait for them to grow out the holes in the bottom of the cup to be visible.

vonforne · Nov 12, 2011

mad librettist said:
Works even better in calcined de chunks like napa 8822 or axis.

I agree ML. I have been using the Napa 8822. Cost is 6.99 for 25 lbs. I soak them in Soluble kelp extract for a day or so and then into the cuts.

Also, soaking in kelp and then rolling them in raw Aloe Vera works great.

V

moses wellfleet · Nov 13, 2011

mad librettist said:
if you do it with the calcined DE, the difference is you can add drainage holes to your tray. you can simply water it as much as you want, the DE will get it right.

turface would work too.

way easier!

thanx for the suggestion i am trying to find this stuff but its not available in my area... so until then its perlite i am using!

mad librettist · Nov 13, 2011

moses wellfleet said:
thanx for the suggestion i am trying to find this stuff but its not available in my area... so until then its perlite i am using!

you probably have it nearby. check out local auto parts stores

moses wellfleet · Nov 16, 2011

interesting to note i experimented mixing worm castings in with the perlite, i love worm castings and use it in all my soil mixes but the clones failed to root in it, not one root!... next i will try using superthrive in the water and then with pure water!

moses wellfleet · Dec 12, 2011

superthrive worked really well, if not better than kelp water, got 100% success with it. gonna do a few more with it to make sure it is consistent!

green planet · Dec 12, 2011

ORGANIC CLONES IN PERLITE

Fantastic system. Simple, time effecient, inexpensive with great results. THANKS

Herborizer · Dec 12, 2011

Great thread.

FYI.

Worm Castings are like pure N. N has been said to slow down rooting.

mad librettist · Dec 12, 2011

worm castings aren't pure N, that's not the issue. When you put a cut into compost, it tends to compost. A cutting is not far from being compost already, because it isn't sealed. Roots aren't like drinking straws. To get in, something has to cross a barrier. Bacteria stay outside for the most part. When something alive gets inside a root, we call that "INfection", even if it is something good like arbuscular mycorrhizae.

A cutting, on the other hand, is just like a drinking straw - open at both ends. Anything in the soil solution is gonna betaken up via capillary action.

See the difference? Your plant's roots LOVE worm castings and all the cast of characters living in them, but an open stem? not so much.

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