just took cuttings for first time, question on moisture

[vindiesel]

i have cuttings in rapid rooters in rapid rooter tray. i have that tray in a pyrex dish with about 1/4" water, so there is a 1/4" water up side of rapid rooter tray leaving the rooters wet all the time. is this the way to do it or take that water filled pyrex out and just keep rooters moist. all are under humidity dome under T5s. thx.
vin

 

[uninformed]

I think the only thing you need is a heat pad underneath the pyrex tray. My cuttings root significantly faster when using one and it does an excellent job of keeping the humidity dome humid.


Furthermore I don't know if 1/4 cup of water is needed. As long as the medium was soaked properly and you mist 4 times a day that water shouldn't be necessary.

On average when I'm using rockwool, a humidity dome, cfls and a heat pad my clones take off in about 7-10 days. Within 3 weeks I have plants standing 8-10 inches with vigorous growth.

I also use olivias rooting hormone.

 

[medical_shed]

You need some kind of humidity dome, even a clear plastic bag would do.

I put clones straight into the pot and cover with a plastic bag sealed with an elastic band.

Great guide from OT1 here http://www.cannabase.com/cl/pages/clones/clones.html starts around the middle of the page.

 

[vindiesel]

i have a dome. my main worry is if i should leave the rooters in that tray of water...

 

[vindiesel]

damn now i need a heat pad...?

 

[medical_shed]

Try it without, if you've a little condensation then you're fine but you generally don't want anything sitting in water. As long as you're room is at the correct temps you shouldn't need a heat pad.

 

[uninformed]

You don't absolutely need one but cuttings seem to root faster when the soil temp is warmer than the air temp during the first 7-10 days. Furthermore this increases the humidity in the dome as the water cannot evaporate into the atmosphere.

It's not necessary but I find it makes it easier.

I've also been able to root without a heatpad but found it to take 14-21 days instead of 7-10.

Which, if you're trying to time your grows so that you can harvest every few weeks is something good to keep in mind.

And to answer your question - I don't advise you leave water on the bottom of your pyrex tray. The water from the misting bottle should be sufficient.

 

[vindiesel]

what do u guys use, a regular medical heating pad?
i'm gonna get 1 tonight. the T5s really dont put off much heat and i've misted the cuttings several times already and dome is not foggy yet. temp towards top of tent in 81.

 

[uninformed]

I use a terrarium heat pad I found at a pet store. I put it underneath a plastic wire tray and put my humidity box (I use a small plastic box filled with rockwool cubes with a humidity dome on top) on the tray. I don't have direct contact with the heat pad as you don't want it too warm. Since you're using pyrex you may just want to put the pad under the pyrex, see if you can feel warmth. If it feels warm to you then its warmer than the air around you and that is warm enough to create humidity with a dome placed over it and daily misting.

 

[straight reggie]

i dont use a heating pad, only on seedlings. just put them where its not cold and i use a dome to keep the humidly up. you said your tent is 81 degree's thats perfect dont let these dudes hype you up. i get root in no more than 7 days

 

[caljim]

Vin--

I find that keeping the rooters just damp, not wet or standing in water produces healthy cuts.

When the rooters are standing in water the cuts seem to fail or at least take longer.

The thing that makes the most difference though is finding what works for you, so take a buch of cuts and give it a go!

 

[FreezerBoy]

DWC taught me there's no such thing as too much water. Only too little Oxygen. Get some airstones underneath the rooters and you should be OK. I've done it this way with Rockwool for years. You will have to watch out for algae if they are slow to sprout.

I heat my water with an Aquarium heater. I shoot for 75º.

Domes were killing up to 60% of my plants with dangerously high RH levels. Since throwing the dome in the trash years ago, I can't remember the last time I lost a clone.

 

[FreezerBoy]

The thing that makes the most difference though is finding what works for you,

What spells success for some spells death to others. It's all Voodoo I tells ya'.

 

[vindiesel]

thx. i took water out. just keeping rooters moist and misting cuttings several times a day. i have dome on. slightly, very slightly fogged. sometimes not fogged at all. 5 of the 6 cuttings look fine. 1 looks slighlty soft or droopy.

 

[caljim]

Vin--

When I set up at my new garden I started to have trouble cloning, which has been going smoothly for years.

So after some so so efforts, I tired a bubble cloner and had close to zero success.

Started searching the forums and found a post by a guy named Bababooey who was using a layer of damp vermiculite under his cloning medium.

I tried it, found it was keeeping my peat pucks just right and my rh up with out the dome being sealed tight...9 days later roots galore.

 

[ParanoidNovice]

I use rapid rooters and mist rarely. As long as the rooters don't dry out they'll be fine. If they're soggy, they're too wet. I tried putting some water underneath like you, but they were too wet and would have rotted if I didn't squeeze the excess water out of the rooters. 10 days seems to be the magic number for me.

 

[vindiesel]

rooters are being kept moist. misting them and cuttings 3-4 times a day in dome. bought a very small reptile tank heater pad. put cuttings in tray inside glass pyrex dish. heat matt under pyrex. keeps cuttings warm but not too warm. all 6 look good. 2 or 3 have a leaf or 2 which has yellowed.

 

[uninformed]

The leaf yellowing is normal. That's usually an indication that the cutting is beginning to root. You don't have to mist 3-4 times after they are in the dome with the heated pad. Once its humid in there (the water will collect on the side of dome and it will look foggy) you have to air it out 2-4 times a day for a minute. I usually mist them every 3-4 times I open the dome. Good luck.

 

[vindiesel]

yeah i took dome away. i think it may have been too humid. i put a temp/RH digi meter in tent. it was 56% RH at top of tent outside dome so i think it may have been too humid in dome. the 6 cuttings are now a week old. no roots yet. i have my fingers crossed. each cut has a couple yellow leaves, rest green. the green looks like it has grown a bit since i trimmed leaves back when i took cottings. where those cuts were trimmed, the leaves have grown out a bit...

 

[bounty29]

I've got no dome, no heat pad, no electricity involved in my cloning setup, and I had massive roots in 10 days. As FreezerBoy said, what works for some doesn't work for others, you've just got to figure out what works for you. The way I do it is in my sig.