Cloning is easy

[_Dude]

well darn i have been haveing problems using rapid shooter cubes in a heated dome.diesel & pineapple exspress clips are total failure.i mean dead n 1 wk. rooting compounds tried them all.brother n law us sprayer methiode and got roots off stem n three days. so guess what im gonna try yep bubble cloner.but a small one (5gal.bucket). will repost results later

Strain makes a big difference. I don't have a lot of experience with different strains. I've only grown 2, one mystery strain I got from seed from a friend, and Nebula. The Neb has gone to mom-only because she produces about 1/4 the number of cuts my mystery strain produces, and they don't root as well either. If I had to clone Neb all the time I might be singing a different story. I don't even want to think about how many moms I'd have to keep for that.

 

[_Dude]

Scroger, how come you didn't tell us how many clones you produce in a given period of time?



DWC. Small numbers of plants you grow to bush or tree size, right? That means small numbers of clones. That means you run small potatoes op in terms of cuttings. Boutique. Some of us have to run it McDonalds style. 1 billion served.

 

[Pointswest]

There is nothing simpler than sticking a cutting into a 2 1/2 in pot or cell tray filled with 40/60 peat /perlite or coco/perlite and providing some bottom heat and water when necessary. This has been working successfully for many years before cloning machines.

To the CO blades, see you at the cup in an hour.

 

[EliTheBarrowBoy]

Cloning is easy, once you get the hang of it, with any method.

The light intensity is the problem a lot of rookies have.

 

[zbenjii]

The speed of a clone taking root is a huge issue when it comes down to space/yield. If it takes you 3 weeks to root a clone while it takes me 1 week, you will have to have 3 times the space dedicated to cloning. This applies to any phase of growth. If you decide that you want to veg for 3 weeks instead of a week, the amount of plants your veg must hold increases to 3 times what it was before. This is only an issue when space is a limited and precious resource, which most of the time it is. Think about this, if you could use the space dedicated to cloning to flower some additional plants, then your overall yield would increase.

 

[_Dude]

Benji, that's true, but space isn't much of an issue with an old school cloning setup. A 2' cube will get you near 300 cuts without cramming. And that's with typical propagation tray with 1.5 or 2 inch squares or whatever they are, which are bigger than they need to be. If you want to root 300 cuts in a bubble cloner, that's another matter. That's a lot of space compared to an old school setup. And pumps, heaters, tubs, tubing, water, and money.

Say you've got a couple shelves that yield you 300 cuts. You can just buy a shelf, a couple 10 dollar propagation trays, a couple of 6 dollar sheets of cubes, and now you have 450 cut capacity. With 5 seconds of work and about 4 cubic feet of space, if that.

Also, space issues are different for everyone, but assuming you have 8' ceilings like I do, it's pretty hard to use all the available vertical space for flowering. 8' just isn't enough to do a two-story grow unless you've got a seriously different grow going. And it's just as hard to use all 8' with a single-story grow unless you're growing some seriously gigantic trees, and then you don't need more than a tiny amount of cuts. So practically speaking, since cloning areas are so small, they don't really compete with veg or flower areas for space unless you're cloning thousands, or your cloning setup is way too big.

For most grows that need substantial numbers of cuts, the issue is reliability. I need a method that is simple, with the fewest moving parts possible and the least maintenance, and I can count on to mass produce.

"Once you get it dialed in" just doesn't do it for me. The first bubblers I built worked okay, not as high rates as I have now, but acceptable because I was growing bushes. But when I tried to build new much bigger ones, "dialing them in" turned into a real pain in the ass. I don't want to "dial it in." I want it to work right out of the box, without any "dialing."

Anybody who wants to mess with bubble cloners, you're welcome to it. Have fun, really. I just want to steer the newbs away from needless hassle. When I was a newb I paid too much attention to all the Rube Goldberg hobbyist/tinkerer/I-run-a-lab-not-a-grow types and wasted time, money, and energy I could have used on something productive.

A few questions for bubbler guys:

What happens when the water level in your bubbler is too high?
What happens when it's too low?
What happens when you have too many airstones, too many bubbles?
What happens when you don't have enough airstones, enough bubbles?
What happens when you haven't properly light-proofed your bubbler?
What happens when a pump fails?
What happens when you put a really skinny little cut in your bubbler?
How many sites in your bubbler?

 

[tony clifton]

W A F L! i have seen old ladies root just about any cutting in glasses, jars, cups, mugs, jugs, what ever they want with nothing but patience and common sense!

figure it out guys! it ain't brain surgery!!!

T.C.

 

[irieeeherbtree]

i take the little plastic bottles from the herbshops and rap in electric tape to black out fill with water add clone and paticence works allways tho i find seeds plants with softer stems roots way faster than old used and abused cuts(from herbshops)

 

[Scrogerman]

Scroger, how come you didn't tell us how many clones you produce in a given period of time?



DWC. Small numbers of plants you grow to bush or tree size, right? That means small numbers of clones. That means you run small potatoes op in terms of cuttings. Boutique. Some of us have to run it McDonalds style. 1 billion served.

Hey Dude,
How come you never mentioned you were wanting industrial level cloneing op, lol. So what did you bother Bubblecloning for in the first place. I would of recommended something else on a very large scale, Bubblecloning becomes unviable when you start talking Thousands+, no doubt about it!

My point was Bubblecloning is easy when done right, thats all, i was trying to assure you its simple to get results.
I wasnt talking on an industrial level, as my last post pointed out, 15-20 litre cloner.
I do 8-25, depending if buddies want any. Its well dodgy in the UK to get caught with large quantities of cuts, i wouldnt put myself in that posistion. Maybe Bubblecloning could serve you on a personal level but like i said it just wouldnt be a viable op for large scale.

Id like to see your op, any pics?

G'Luck man!

 

[Scrogerman]

Strain makes a big difference. I don't have a lot of experience with different strains. I've only grown 2, one mystery strain I got from seed from a friend, and Nebula. The Neb has gone to mom-only because she produces about 1/4 the number of cuts my mystery strain produces, and they don't root as well either. If I had to clone Neb all the time I might be singing a different story. I don't even want to think about how many moms I'd have to keep for that.

(EDIT) LOL!

 

[zbenjii]

yeah dude it's true, cloning overall doesn't take up too much space. I agree that cloning reliability is probably the most important factor. I like the simplicity of the setup you are talking about. Maybe it's just getting overcomplicated.

 

[SweetnSourMad]

I have also found the best way for me to clone is by just putting the cutting into a cup of water under one 4 ft T8 floro w/ horti. lights. on 24/7. With this I get roots in anywhere from 7-21 days, depending on certain factors.

This way is the best for me, because I only grow with a 400 watt digital HPS w/ MH conversion bulb, and only run about 8-12 plants at a time. In doing this, I can supply myself with potential mothers, more clones to gift to patients, and when the time is right I can start to fill my flower chamber because I put rooted cuttings in the same area till rootbound in large red Solo cups. Redneck growing at its finest. I've had great results, better than using gels and peat/starters.

This method works for me ONLY because I am not in constant need for new clones UNTIL I get my new place where I can start 2 flowering chambers alongside a Veg/clone room. When that time comes, I have heard some good results with coco coir. Growing is an adventure, not a contest.

 

[erwingruber]

We have a lift off ,

Just a few days after i set my water temps to 25,5 Celsius
and i got my roots thanks Scrogerman .


@ FreezerBoy - if i can make it anyone can make it .

2 watt airpump
1,5 gallon tap unphed water @ 200 ppm moreless
4 days after setting temp to 25,5 celsius i have roots poping

 

[Scrogerman]

We have a lift off ,

Just a few days after i set my water temps to 25,5 Celsius
and i got my roots thanks Scrogerman .


@ FreezerBoy - if i can make it anyone can make it .

2 watt airpump
1,5 gallon tap unphed water @ 200 ppm moreless
4 days after setting temp to 25,5 celsius i have roots poping

Your welcome Erwin,
G'Luck with your new cuts bro! there gonna be needing a little food very soon, i start with food myself, some strains need the charge instantly(low EC is good 0.2-0.4), others can wait a few days, temps slowly dropped back down to 68-70f over a few days(3+). Great start man!
Best o luck!

 

[Marn]

I just took some cuttings for the first time ever. I wanted to keep it simple and went with a dip in some clonex > rockwool cubes > propagation dome. The one thing i'm lacking is a heat pad. I hope they stay warm enough. Anyone have any problems with getting og kush and/or trainwreck to root?

 

[oneeyewilly]

i believe you can tell from them stem softer stems roots faster than hard woody stems

 

[pezmasterelite]

Hi,

I have a question and thought I could toss it here as it kinda fits in.

I clone with 1" rockwool cubes soaked in 1/2 strength GO line nutrients. I use trays with propogation mats with domes the first week and open the second week.

My question is what temperature should I set my thermostat to for the propogation mats?

The default is 80F, the thermostat waits until it is 78F, then turns on the mats. It will run to about 80.1 or 80.3F, and then kick off and cool down.

Should I have it set to 83F like scroggerman is suggesting for DWC bubble cloner, and then decrease the temp when I remove the dome?

I have roots between 5 and 7 days, I slowly open the vents on the dome after 4-5 days. When I remove the dome, some clones are exploding with roots out all sides of the cubes at like 10 days, the slowest are almost always done by 14 days when I transplant them.

Thank You, to anyone for their ideas or temperatures they use for propogation mats for cannabis cloning.

Peace all.

 

[Scrogerman]

Hi,

I have a question and thought I could toss it here as it kinda fits in.

I clone with 1" rockwool cubes soaked in 1/2 strength GO line nutrients. I use trays with propogation mats with domes the first week and open the second week.

My question is what temperature should I set my thermostat to for the propogation mats?

The default is 80F, the thermostat waits until it is 78F, then turns on the mats. It will run to about 80.1 or 80.3F, and then kick off and cool down.

Should I have it set to 83F like scroggerman is suggesting for DWC bubble cloner, and then decrease the temp when I remove the dome?

I have roots between 5 and 7 days, I slowly open the vents on the dome after 4-5 days. When I remove the dome, some clones are exploding with roots out all sides of the cubes at like 10 days, the slowest are almost always done by 14 days when I transplant them.

Thank You, to anyone for their ideas or temperatures they use for propogation mats for cannabis cloning.

Peace all.

If it aint broke dont try to fix it, is the old adage. Low 80's is fine man & as your having good success i wouldnt bother personally. Maybe try it n see idk? you may find you lose a day & they root a little quicker. Your explination seems pretty textbook stuff for rooting in RW, slowly weaning the plantlets into lower RH & temps etc.
You'll find Bubblecloning a little faster & less hassle, no misting propagator/lids etc. Give it a try bro!
G'Luck!

 

[qbert]

Plugs work great. I've tried a few other methods but I keep going back to plugs. I get 100% with plugs without even trying.

ive always been hesitant myself to try and build a cloner. I've been having great success with root riots...

but they take about two weeks so if i could possibly get roots in 5 days, id be stoked!
maybe i should give it a shot...

 

[de145]

Dude my experience was almost exactly the same, built all sorts of contraptions, tried every method in the official cloning diy-orama linked to by others (including the cuttings in a glass of water method and cuttings with a bubbler method). Nothing worked better than just sticking them in potting soil and managing the moisture properly.

By the way you can easily stick anything to the bottom of a plastic tub with duct tape, put it on when everything is dry and cleaned with an alcohol wipe and it will stick forever no matter how wet it gets yet easily removed later on.