Automated clone watering?

[JamesFarmer]

Hey Everyone,

I have been helping a few of my fellow MMJ patients with clones. When I was just making a few clones here and there it was easy to step away for a few days and not worry about them.

Now I pretty much have some clones running all the time. I am placing the rooted cubes in 4" nursery pots with Promix HP and placing them in 10"x20" propagation trays.

I have found that some clones cut from the same momma root and grow at different rates. As they get bigger their water/nute requirements go up considerably. That leaves me with clones in the same tray with different needs.

Now I find myself having to water/feed almost every day. I tried watering very heavily before leaving for three days. I came home to a mix of happy, drowned and dehydrated clones.

I have been wondering how the folks that do hundreds of clones manage their watering?

I have wondered about watering from the bottom by putting 1/4" of nute solution in the prop tray. I know that the Promix will pull fluid up a certain vertical distance (perched water table?).

Is anyone out there using this method? Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

FJ

 

[roughcountrybul]

I always check clones a few times a day ,same with seedlings. Just watch over them because there so vulnerable at these stages ,maybe keep them with a trusted friend till there healthy enough to leave for a few days . As far as nurseries go with 100's of clones there watching over them like babies ,one tray may need more water than the other ,then you've got the ones that just shrivel up and die they need to be removed right away before they mold and spread , (I'm speaking on clones in humidity domes). I always took twice as many clones as I need because I like to only use ones that root fast and start growing quickly ,cull the rest . May not answer your question but hope it helps

 

[JamesFarmer]

I always check clones a few times a day ,same with seedlings. Just watch over them because there so vulnerable at these stages ,maybe keep them with a trusted friend till there healthy enough to leave for a few days . As far as nurseries go with 100's of clones there watching over them like babies ,one tray may need more water than the other ,then you've got the ones that just shrivel up and die they need to be removed right away before they mold and spread , (I'm speaking on clones in humidity domes). I always took twice as many clones as I need because I like to only use ones that root fast and start growing quickly ,cull the rest . May not answer your question but hope it helps

Thanks Bul,

I do spend time every day in the garden but every once and a while I do need to go out of town.

I typically wind up using the best 80% or so of the clones that I take. After I move the rooted cubes into pots I don't use the humidity domes any more.

As far as having my trusted friend take care of the garden when I leave, it wont' work I make her go with me.

We "spot water" daily and every 2-3 days we take every pot out of its tray, one at a time, inspect it and water as needed. If I were to try this process on 500 clones I would never do anything else. I suspect that the nurseries that do propagation on a larger scale must have a different process.

Any thoughts on the "bottom watering" idea?

Thanks again.

FJ

 

[ZanzibarDawa]

I like the bottom watering idea, I'll try that myself.
Large operations work a bit differently I think. Many will be pretty much automated. The main differences will be that they (if they are good) will have quite uniform clones to begin with. They either simply discard the weaker ones or they might sort them and then again have homogenous batches.
The larger operations get, the less care is given to individual plant needs, just look at a wheat field.

ZD

 

[roughcountrybul]

Maybe try a wick ? A piece of cloth ,cotton t shirt cut into a small strip that starts off in the top of your pot and goes down thru your substrate and hangs a few inches out the bottom ,have it sitting in water or your solution , I've seen this before in a few books never tried it myself though

 

[chronosync]

Wicking works, bottom feeding works too. Problem with these is that they cant stop giving water until there is too much.

I root directly in coco in clear cups.
This way works good for me, i usually dont have to water until i see roots, at that point after seeing the first roots i bottom feed 200-300ppm, letting the coco suck up the solution 1/3 - 1/2 of the way or if very dry, all the way. With clear cups you can see everything that is happening in the root zone, and when i see roots really starting to take off i start feeding them lightly as plants 0.8-1.0ec

If you dont like the idea of roots seeing light you could put them in an opaque cup of the same size

Coco is great for cloning because although you can over do it with water it still holds air when wet, my cups stay wet AND airy for days and days with almost no care.

 

[chronosync]

What about a nice bubble cloner?

Dont know why i diddnt think of that

 

[JamesFarmer]

What about a nice bubble cloner?

Dont know why i diddnt think of that

I am afraid that the Promix would clog the pump & nozzles....

 

[chronosync]

Ok, im not sure what you are trying to do then. If your clones are rooting fine, why not put them into 1gal and go easy on them.

Or if i am misinderstanding again, you dont have to use promix to start clones? ...

 

[JamesFarmer]

Ok, im not sure what you are trying to do then. If your clones are rooting fine, why not put them into 1gal and go easy on them.

Or if i am misinderstanding again, you dont have to use promix to start clones? ...

Thanks for the input.

I start clones in root cubes.

Once rooted I move them to 4" nursery pots w/ Promix.

I place the 4" pots in 10x20 prop trays.

I let them grow up just bit.

I gift them to other patients.

I am afraid that the 1 gallon pots would not be practical because of space & cost issues.

Thank you again.

FJ

 

[JamesFarmer]

Wicking works, bottom feeding works too. Problem with these is that they cant stop giving water until there is too much.

I root directly in coco in clear cups.
This way works good for me, i usually dont have to water until i see roots, at that point after seeing the first roots i bottom feed 200-300ppm, letting the coco suck up the solution 1/3 - 1/2 of the way or if very dry, all the way. With clear cups you can see everything that is happening in the root zone, and when i see roots really starting to take off i start feeding them lightly as plants 0.8-1.0ec

If you dont like the idea of roots seeing light you could put them in an opaque cup of the same size

Coco is great for cloning because although you can over do it with water it still holds air when wet, my cups stay wet AND airy for days and days with almost no care.

Thank you for the suggestions.

I have done some cloning in coco and it worked fairly well but I did have a bit of trouble with overwatering.

 

[JamesFarmer]

I like the bottom watering idea, I'll try that myself.
Large operations work a bit differently I think. Many will be pretty much automated. The main differences will be that they (if they are good) will have quite uniform clones to begin with. They either simply discard the weaker ones or they might sort them and then again have homogenous batches.
The larger operations get, the less care is given to individual plant needs, just look at a wheat field.

ZD

Good points.

Let us know if you do try bottom feeding and how it plays for you.

I am considering a "side by side" wit top watered and bottom watered to see how it plays.

I had hoped to find someone with firsthand information before I risk a tray of clones.

Thanks again.

FJ