ORGANIC CLONES IN PERLITE
- Thread starter moses wellfleet
- Start date
JediMasterVon
Member
I have trief many and the best results I have had comes from
50% peat
50% EWC
Perlite
Soak the cutd in Aloe vera with Ful-power. If you want you could dip them if you want.
J
50% peat
50% EWC
Perlite
Soak the cutd in Aloe vera with Ful-power. If you want you could dip them if you want.
J
About 5 years ago, I did a comparison experiment using every growing/rooting medium I could lay my hands on. The consistent winner for speed/structure was....orchid bark. Roots protruded first, always big and snow white--but the problem was always "transplanting" to a more stable grow medium.
I don't have my notes handy, but I recall perlite was always lack luster. Never first and more times than not--last. The combo I ended up selecting was 50/50 PromixBX and bark. It gave me great result....until I tried 100% PromixBX (no bark) about a year or so ago; IMHO, it is the best for me.
Using my routine, about half of my clones/cuttings are advanced enough for transplanting to a charged grow medium after 6 days in 100% humidity (plastic dome)...I use the tiny "net basket" filled with nothing but moist PromixBX. The balance of my clones usually need an extra week or so (for total of 10-14 days). Remember, I soak my cuttings 48 hours in tap water before dipping in rooting solution and placing them in PromixBX...which means my clones go from mama to a charged grow medium in as little as 8 days....with nearly 100% success. (I lost 2 this past run do to laziness...oh well, 2 out of 50 is 96% success...easy schmeezy).
Suggestion for those that want to do their own experiment...use clear 5 oz plastic cups with a few holes drilled in the bottom. The root development and changes in the rooting mediums can be easily observed.
BTW, I compared the plant's health, number of new leavers, height, thickness of stalk/branches, and rootball size of my "testers" on "day 14" after transplant to "charged grow medium" (which means the cutting is only 21-28 days "old"). The best one was plain old PromixBX moistened with water to be 60% moist. It event beat orchid bark--which always showed signs of roots first, but was always "so so" on "day 14"....it also was better than my earlier choice: 50/50 Promix & bark.
Diatoms...now those did exceptionally well in my experiment, almost as good as PromixBX, but required more effort and since I did not use diatoms, it would be another product that I would have buy and inventory (something I do not prefer...why add more things to my shelf--if not necessary?). Since PromixBX is about 18% of my custom grow medium, and a bale costs me less than $30...the cost of using it as my rooting medium is almost nothing...especially compared to those rooting cubes that cost around $0.25 each.
Cheers!
I don't have my notes handy, but I recall perlite was always lack luster. Never first and more times than not--last. The combo I ended up selecting was 50/50 PromixBX and bark. It gave me great result....until I tried 100% PromixBX (no bark) about a year or so ago; IMHO, it is the best for me.
Using my routine, about half of my clones/cuttings are advanced enough for transplanting to a charged grow medium after 6 days in 100% humidity (plastic dome)...I use the tiny "net basket" filled with nothing but moist PromixBX. The balance of my clones usually need an extra week or so (for total of 10-14 days). Remember, I soak my cuttings 48 hours in tap water before dipping in rooting solution and placing them in PromixBX...which means my clones go from mama to a charged grow medium in as little as 8 days....with nearly 100% success. (I lost 2 this past run do to laziness...oh well, 2 out of 50 is 96% success...easy schmeezy).
Suggestion for those that want to do their own experiment...use clear 5 oz plastic cups with a few holes drilled in the bottom. The root development and changes in the rooting mediums can be easily observed.
BTW, I compared the plant's health, number of new leavers, height, thickness of stalk/branches, and rootball size of my "testers" on "day 14" after transplant to "charged grow medium" (which means the cutting is only 21-28 days "old"). The best one was plain old PromixBX moistened with water to be 60% moist. It event beat orchid bark--which always showed signs of roots first, but was always "so so" on "day 14"....it also was better than my earlier choice: 50/50 Promix & bark.
Diatoms...now those did exceptionally well in my experiment, almost as good as PromixBX, but required more effort and since I did not use diatoms, it would be another product that I would have buy and inventory (something I do not prefer...why add more things to my shelf--if not necessary?). Since PromixBX is about 18% of my custom grow medium, and a bale costs me less than $30...the cost of using it as my rooting medium is almost nothing...especially compared to those rooting cubes that cost around $0.25 each.
Cheers!
T
thesloppy
I use perilite & water in 12"x2" pencil holders. 12 clones per pencil holder, spaced an inch apart. 4 pencil holders in my cab, rotated every 2 weeks. I also use some water soluble IBA rooting hormone pellets (so, probably not organic). Been using this method for right about 5 years now. I get probably about 90% success with this method, and I only use 8 clones per run, so I pick the best and toss the rest. Swish the roots in some mycorhizae, and into the pots!
Thanks guys. Let me start with something I was told many moons ago: No one person has a monopoly on "good ideas", and most "great ideas" were stolen from someone else...lol.
These are the 2" net pots I use to hold the moist Promix rooting medium...and will work with bark, but the transplant bark thing never worked for me, could not figure it out. I paid about a dime each and easy to clean.
There is a plastic tray with 50 spots (10 x 5) that hold the 2" net pots perfectly. Since I use those plastic domes, the spots closest to the dome are not used resulting in each tray holding 24 cuttings.
Since Promix is about 15% moist (goal is 55-60%) additional water of around 40-45% will be needed...and it remains moist (under dome) for 10 days or so. Checking on the root progress is as easy as picking up the basket and taking a peek underneath; those that say "I am ready" get promoted earlier; I cull all runts, problem children, and slow pokes--less aggravation!
Cheers!
These are the 2" net pots I use to hold the moist Promix rooting medium...and will work with bark, but the transplant bark thing never worked for me, could not figure it out. I paid about a dime each and easy to clean.
There is a plastic tray with 50 spots (10 x 5) that hold the 2" net pots perfectly. Since I use those plastic domes, the spots closest to the dome are not used resulting in each tray holding 24 cuttings.
Since Promix is about 15% moist (goal is 55-60%) additional water of around 40-45% will be needed...and it remains moist (under dome) for 10 days or so. Checking on the root progress is as easy as picking up the basket and taking a peek underneath; those that say "I am ready" get promoted earlier; I cull all runts, problem children, and slow pokes--less aggravation!
Cheers!
Couldn't wait any longer. I checked about a third of my 54 cuttings, starting with the ones that don't look as good as the average.
All except 1 of the ones I gave a gentle tug offered resistance. The one that came right out is the one I pulled out on Halloween, Thurs., night. It had a root that was about 1/8" long. In the next couple of days I'll dump the perlite out and pot up those that are rooted. I'll wait till then to call it a success or failure, but I think I know what the call will be.
I changed domes. I put on the one that I've cut out squares on all 4 sides and taped nylon screen over the holes. I may heavily mist them, incl. perlite, tomorrow night [10th day]. Will report. -granger
All except 1 of the ones I gave a gentle tug offered resistance. The one that came right out is the one I pulled out on Halloween, Thurs., night. It had a root that was about 1/8" long. In the next couple of days I'll dump the perlite out and pot up those that are rooted. I'll wait till then to call it a success or failure, but I think I know what the call will be.
I changed domes. I put on the one that I've cut out squares on all 4 sides and taped nylon screen over the holes. I may heavily mist them, incl. perlite, tomorrow night [10th day]. Will report. -granger
Last night was 14 days. Using perlite was a success. I plan to use this method next time with a few adjustments to the method. Maybe I had too much water in the bottom, a few had clear slime on the bottom, and a few had blue/gray/green mold on the bottom with roots higher up the stem. I cut that off. What I learned:
Perlite is slower than coco, so I won't monkey with them till 14 days.
I won't stick the cut all the way to the bottom.
VitaGrow is an excellent product, but Dip n Grow has same formula, more concentrated, so cheaper. 15 second dip.
If I hadn't screwed with them starting at 7 days, I would have gotten a better success rate. Still got 85%. This method is way easier than the way I did it with coco. -granger
Perlite is slower than coco, so I won't monkey with them till 14 days.
I won't stick the cut all the way to the bottom.
VitaGrow is an excellent product, but Dip n Grow has same formula, more concentrated, so cheaper. 15 second dip.
If I hadn't screwed with them starting at 7 days, I would have gotten a better success rate. Still got 85%. This method is way easier than the way I did it with coco. -granger
Way to go Granger! Don't forget to foliar spray with Rhizotonic; I use 7.5ml/gal rate and spray every day. Big roots and faster turnaround are my results.
If you have the time/space, do try my Promix routine (with 48 hour water soak). I just did another round and all them went 9 days from "snip from mama" to "transplant to soil"; 100%...even the weeny one I tried as an experiment (less than 3" tall). Yeah, it takes two days to "clone"--but right now, I kinda have "more time than money", so it works for me.
Cheers!
If you have the time/space, do try my Promix routine (with 48 hour water soak). I just did another round and all them went 9 days from "snip from mama" to "transplant to soil"; 100%...even the weeny one I tried as an experiment (less than 3" tall). Yeah, it takes two days to "clone"--but right now, I kinda have "more time than money", so it works for me.
Cheers!
Glad you had some success Granger.I'm pretty lazy and this is easy so clones in perlite and me go good together.After like day 8 or ten I empty out the water and let them finish.
Seem to do well with only moisture in my tubs.When a leaf or two yellow,it's time.
Good luck with your clones in the future.
Seem to do well with only moisture in my tubs.When a leaf or two yellow,it's time.
Good luck with your clones in the future.
Granger--
Yep, the water soak trick is simple--
1. Take cutting from mama (scissor)
2. Recut at 45 degree angle with razor blade...this is the final cut.
3. Place cutting stem in water (tap water with chlorine) making sure no leaf material is in the water.
4. Wait 2 days (48 hours...no water change)--I place the cuttings in my veg environment without any dome.
5. Remove cutting from water--and continue your normal clone routine.
What I do at this point is:
1. Using a small test tube (10ml size) from an soil testing kit, I add undiluted Hormex (about 7.5 ml).
2. Remove cutting from the water, place the stem in the Hormex test tube...while counting to 60, I trim the fan leaves and mist the leaves with water.
3. Remove cutting from Hormex and dip stem in rooting powder.
4. Place the stem in those tiny 2" net-baskets filled with PromixBX (50% moisten with filtered water) and cover with dome.
5. Spray 1-2x each day with Rhizotonic (7.5ml/gal rate)...I do not use Rhizotonic for soil feeding--just for clone foliar spraying.
6. In about 6 days, roots will start protruding through the baskets--some 1 to 1 1/2 inches long and are ready for their first transplant. You can also remove the dome for a few hours to verify which candidates are ready to transplant...the flaccid ones are obviously not ready and require a few more days to set up.
I found the top few inches of 500ml plastic water bottles are perfect DIY "stem holders".
1. Cut the top of the water bottle (3-4 inches).
2. Using another cup (5oz plastic cup) with about the same diameter of the water bottle, position the water bottle top so it slips inside the cup such that the bottle top is resting on top, and fill with tap water. The smaller opening (bottle top) will support the cuttings upright and will prevent the stems from slipping out of the water (no bueno).
The growing medium that I transplant the cutting to is my basic "custom medium" sans any fertilizer...in about 14 days it is transplanted to 1/2 gallon container with all the normal fertility/nutrition (when plant is about 9" tall).....and so goes the routine.
My primary objective is to reduce the time between "snip from mama" to "transplant to charged soil" (1/2 gallon container)...and so far, I am averaging 21-28 days or so with nearly 100% success.
Hope this helps...Cheers!
Yep, the water soak trick is simple--
1. Take cutting from mama (scissor)
2. Recut at 45 degree angle with razor blade...this is the final cut.
3. Place cutting stem in water (tap water with chlorine) making sure no leaf material is in the water.
4. Wait 2 days (48 hours...no water change)--I place the cuttings in my veg environment without any dome.
5. Remove cutting from water--and continue your normal clone routine.
What I do at this point is:
1. Using a small test tube (10ml size) from an soil testing kit, I add undiluted Hormex (about 7.5 ml).
2. Remove cutting from the water, place the stem in the Hormex test tube...while counting to 60, I trim the fan leaves and mist the leaves with water.
3. Remove cutting from Hormex and dip stem in rooting powder.
4. Place the stem in those tiny 2" net-baskets filled with PromixBX (50% moisten with filtered water) and cover with dome.
5. Spray 1-2x each day with Rhizotonic (7.5ml/gal rate)...I do not use Rhizotonic for soil feeding--just for clone foliar spraying.
6. In about 6 days, roots will start protruding through the baskets--some 1 to 1 1/2 inches long and are ready for their first transplant. You can also remove the dome for a few hours to verify which candidates are ready to transplant...the flaccid ones are obviously not ready and require a few more days to set up.
I found the top few inches of 500ml plastic water bottles are perfect DIY "stem holders".
1. Cut the top of the water bottle (3-4 inches).
2. Using another cup (5oz plastic cup) with about the same diameter of the water bottle, position the water bottle top so it slips inside the cup such that the bottle top is resting on top, and fill with tap water. The smaller opening (bottle top) will support the cuttings upright and will prevent the stems from slipping out of the water (no bueno).
The growing medium that I transplant the cutting to is my basic "custom medium" sans any fertilizer...in about 14 days it is transplanted to 1/2 gallon container with all the normal fertility/nutrition (when plant is about 9" tall).....and so goes the routine.
My primary objective is to reduce the time between "snip from mama" to "transplant to charged soil" (1/2 gallon container)...and so far, I am averaging 21-28 days or so with nearly 100% success.
Hope this helps...Cheers!
