thanks for the reply dans! Ive checked both home depot and lowes here and neither of them carry the smaller bags, but they do carry the 2cuft ones. Unfortunately, i dont need anything remotely close to that. i do have some bags of perlite laying around and was going to give those a shot, but was wondering if soil/perlite would be better than straight perlite, as i cant imagine the perlite wicks too well
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Thewhitelotus.... The guys in the thread have given you good advice...
The best medium Ive used is fine vermiculite....
Perlite is meant for aeration not wicking and this is not a place where aeration is needed...
The air pockets in the perlite will prevent the wicking your plants depend on....
My lowes has the small bags in their indoor area around cactuses and succulents....
The best medium Ive used is fine vermiculite....
Perlite is meant for aeration not wicking and this is not a place where aeration is needed...
The air pockets in the perlite will prevent the wicking your plants depend on....
My lowes has the small bags in their indoor area around cactuses and succulents....
Ive definitely read threw the entire thread and its very beneficial, however all the HD and Lowe's in the area are "not carrying" that at this time of the season other than the 2cuft bags for $20. I would maybe be using this for 6-8 clones per year so its not to cost effective for me to purchase an entire 2cuft, hence the perlite question and the perlite/soil combination.
I realize the vermiculite is the way to go, but $20 for a bag that i will maybe use 1 cup a year of throws the cost/grow out the roof. Was contemplating soaking the perlite then essentially "mashing it down" for lack of a better term to help with wicking, or possibly adding some peat or soil/perlite mixture that wicks better than perlite
Your comment ...at this time of year' sounds right....
The good thing is that in 4 to 6 wees it will no longer be this time of year....
As a next best coco would be my choice....
FIne grade coco....
The good thing is that in 4 to 6 wees it will no longer be this time of year....
As a next best coco would be my choice....
FIne grade coco....
Decided to give Perlite a whirl, as i had it handy. took 6 cuts yesterday and dropped them into the cloner. How far down into the ice cube trays do you usually put each clone? I decided to put a dome on mine for a few days, as its dry as hell out here. room temps are hoverin around 80-82, used rootech cloning gel, and crushed up the perlite to ensure it wasnt too chunky.
The cuts are all drooping over to the side (the taller ones anyways) and i was curious if i maybe should trim them down and replace them into the perlite. Id say most cuttings are 3" but i have a few that are 4-5 and those seem to be the ones droopin over
thanks in advance
They are already telling you they arent happy....
I would raise the level of the reservoir to just below where the clone bottoms are...
I would raise the level of the reservoir to just below where the clone bottoms are...
I uses the basic principals in this thread with just perlite, and from trial and error...I ended up using a 72 site plastic tray( cant find the ice trays at my wal mart), the 72 site tray works but uses too much space...... I use straight perlite, and add more water to my tray, And because my area is in a cold basement, I use a heating pad with towels on top of it to keep my medium warm, other wise it was taking my clones for ever to root.
The best thing you can do is get clones in your medium and start your trial and error. There is alot of great advice, but what works for your environment might be different than mine.......
Your got a high chance to kill some clones before you get it down but just take extra and keep cloning even it you don't need them, and track what you do.
GOODLUCK!!!!!!!!!
thanks for the input guys. Smoke1, do you use the chunky perlite or finer grade? i actually took a sifter and sifted mine to get all the smaller pieces and used those, as i presume it will wick better than airy chunks
I just thought I would add a sort of update on how I am using the cloner these days...
Ive been using much larger clones than at the beginning of this thread....
Larger but fewer plants...
I no longer use the trays with 27 cells....
I cut one of the trays in half....
Then spent a little time trimming out the individual tubes and caps....
My reservoir of chice is generally a quart jar.....
I find that quite often larger clones want to wilt.....
I do in fact cover these larger clones(up to 15 inches)
with a plastic bag.....
Typically 24 hours is enough to stabilize the plants....
The 27 cell cloner works great for lots of small clones....
But you just cant put 27 .....12 inch clones in one...
Ive been using much larger clones than at the beginning of this thread....
Larger but fewer plants...
I no longer use the trays with 27 cells....
I cut one of the trays in half....
Then spent a little time trimming out the individual tubes and caps....
My reservoir of chice is generally a quart jar.....
I find that quite often larger clones want to wilt.....
I do in fact cover these larger clones(up to 15 inches)
with a plastic bag.....
Typically 24 hours is enough to stabilize the plants....
The 27 cell cloner works great for lots of small clones....
But you just cant put 27 .....12 inch clones in one...
I think it would be a good medium if it wicks....
If you try it let us know how it works....
I think its fairly easy to test....
Fill the tube.... set it in an inch or so of water....
and see if the material wets within an hour or so....
Vermiculite will wet in less than 15 minutes ......
What's wrong
What's wrong
Ok gentlemen I've been reading up on how to clone for months now. I've watched a bunch of videos, but I keep coming back to this tread, because it looks to be a no brainier way of cloning. I've read this tread at least 3 times, and bookmarked several of the pages.
I have a problem! I took 10 clones from mother plant this morning. They are small clones, because I've read here that the larger clones don't work so well unless you put a dome over them.
Things I've done
1 I have The Walmart ice bottle maker
2 I have fine grade Vermiculite
3 I have the water temp at 81 degrees
4 I have Clonex
5 I have the holes drilled in caps
6 I packed the Vermiculite really well
I did this about 4 hours ago and they've already wilted over and look dead. I just don't no where I went wrong. You all make this look so easy. The only thing I can come up with is to much light or to hot in my veg room. I have the clones in with my mother plant she's under a t5 light I put the clones to the side not directly under light, but it's still bright in room. Maybe it is to hot the temp in room is 80 degrees. Anyone got anything I do or is it to late? Thanks
What's wrong
Ok gentlemen I've been reading up on how to clone for months now. I've watched a bunch of videos, but I keep coming back to this tread, because it looks to be a no brainier way of cloning. I've read this tread at least 3 times, and bookmarked several of the pages.
I have a problem! I took 10 clones from mother plant this morning. They are small clones, because I've read here that the larger clones don't work so well unless you put a dome over them.
Things I've done
1 I have The Walmart ice bottle maker
2 I have fine grade Vermiculite
3 I have the water temp at 81 degrees
4 I have Clonex
5 I have the holes drilled in caps
6 I packed the Vermiculite really well
I did this about 4 hours ago and they've already wilted over and look dead. I just don't no where I went wrong. You all make this look so easy. The only thing I can come up with is to much light or to hot in my veg room. I have the clones in with my mother plant she's under a t5 light I put the clones to the side not directly under light, but it's still bright in room. Maybe it is to hot the temp in room is 80 degrees. Anyone got anything I do or is it to late? Thanks
Ganja Maker
Member
Don't panic it sounds like you got it covered, just relax 4 hours aint shit.
Leave them be for awhile and they will perk up and don't keep checking on them.
Hope it works out for you,you'll get it.
Leave them be for awhile and they will perk up and don't keep checking on them.
Hope it works out for you,you'll get it.
You were right!
I checked this morning, and they all were standing back up.
Let me add a little something....
Keep your eyes on the clones if they wilt....
Bag em for 1 day.....
This is especially true for larger cuttings...
The plants have some ability to adjust how much water comes up the stem....
Normally one day is enough for that adjustment to occur......
after a day under plastic the plants wont wilt when the bag is removed after a day..... even if they did initially.....
I'm usually around 15-20%RH... have been for years, even in a few different locations now. lol
I don't use cloning gel, at least not the way most people do. I've done side by side tests and cuts dipped in cloning gel (even only a thin layer) don't absorb water as quickly/easily and don't support as large of a cut so easily.
Take your gel... about half of what you would normally use. Mix it in some water in a cup. Take your cuttings and let them soak in the water for half an hour... up to a few hours.
Now stick them in your tuber/cloner.
No dome and usually no wilt. No change in rooting speed.Stay Safe!
I'm usually around 15-20%RH... have been for years, even in a few different locations now. lol
I don't use cloning gel, at least not the way most people do. I've done side by side tests and cuts dipped in cloning gel (even only a thin layer) don't absorb water as quickly/easily and don't support as large of a cut so easily.
Take your gel... about half of what you would normally use. Mix it in some water in a cup. Take your cuttings and let them soak in the water for half an hour... up to a few hours.
Now stick them in your tuber/cloner.
Stay Safe!
What method are you using? I think it depends on how moist the medium is. Rapid rooters are a little less moist then the vermiculite therefore a higher humidity is needed, hence the wide use of domes.
In my aero cloner I never had problems with humidity levels, lower humidity just meant shorter durations between spraying the bottomskf the cuts.
Thing I like about this method is, if you get the temperature right in the medium and maintain the water level (I do so w a float valve) the medium will always have the same moisture due to the wicking of the vermiculite. Therefore the only variable you need to keep in check is humidity (aside from obvious variables like light, temp, ect).
100% fine vermiculite and r/o water in an ice-tube cloner.
Stay Safe!
And youre at 15% humidity? How big are the clones and are you using every cell? Heating the water to 83 as well?
Maybe I should just forgo the dome and try some RO water, my water is fairly hard and has an alkalinity equivalent of 190 ppm of CaCO3. I know my humidity has never dropped below 35%
