True Stoner
Active Member
Hello fellow RIUer's i was noticing that some people are finding cloning difficult but im also a newbie and cloning seems very difficult to do........thats until i read this article that im about to type out. Its a High Time's article written by a fellow that goes by the name...Jef Tek. This article is simple and its very effective. This is a pic of a clone made using this simple method...........
Once your done reading this article ill explain how i followed this simple method but also i have added my own perks as well!! Read and enjoy and absorb the info!!!
Super Simple Cloning!!
You've germinated seeds. You've budded huge monsters outdoors as well as in. You can tell the sex of a cannabis plant from across a crowded growroom, as well as whether its saltiva or indica. But the mere thought of cloning causes brain strain, giving that tightness feeling in your chest or that familiar sleepy feeling. Wake up!!! This is my own tried and true , personal best method taking clones from my favorite mother plants. Best of all. its cheap and super simple, anyone with a healthy plant and a little desire can turn that one mother into literally thousands of duplicate cuttings that will have the exact same genetics and behavior as the original mom.
Cloning is the current word for what your grandmother used to call "taking cuttings" and just like her , the process hasnt changed much over the years. Some wild plants can be rooted by sticking them into a glass of water or directly into moist soil; cannabis wont root using this method, but the cuttings will survive for weeks in a glass of water until your ready to use them (just be sure to change the water from time to time).
From constant trail and error, i have fround that pure water or even a mild hydroponic spray will keep the cutting so moist that rooting is actually delayed-i.e., to much of a good thing. Rockwool is designed to provide a roughly 50/50 water-to-air ratio if its not overwatered, and experience has shown me that keeping rockwool on the dry side is advantageous to explosive rooting. The only problem here is that you're living on a razor's edge. Hydroponic plants will immediately wilt and sometimes die if the rockwool is allowed to dry out( or even get a touch to dry), but if you overwater it, fungus gnats, mold and green algae will have a field day devouring the nutrients in competition with your new clones, to say nothing of their tender new roots.
What To Do!!
First, forget about expensive, finicky and non-recyclable rockwool altogether. Its itchy and bitchy when it comes to over or underwatering. And forget those jiffy style peat pucks as well, the ones that come compressed and swell up in water. They work fine as far as it goes but only offer 1.5 to 2 inches of contact area for roots to form from the newly cut stem. Also, both rockwool and peat pucks need a tray and dome setup and those 10 by 20 inch plastic trays arent very durable. Sure if you're planning to grow for a little while and then quit, these minor expenses wont be enough to make or break you (and no i didnt say "wake and bake"..lol). But when you've been growing for a decade or more , you start to see areas where you can cut costs without cutting quality. And sometimes these cost cutting and time saving ideas will make for healthier, happier plants more so even then the expensive ways.
Heres one of them. Get yourself some 20 ounce plastic beer cups. They're usually red, sometimes blueand the stapl ingredient of any successful keg party, plus they cost about five bucks for a few hundred, and they are the key ingredient in this super simple cloning method.
Next get yourself a bag or bale of Pro-Mix HP or any other peat based soilless mix (like Sam's Club potting soil). This is all you'll need, except a razor blade or sharp scissors to make the final cut, and your favorite liquid nutrients.
Most rooting hormones, from Superthrive to willow bark , contain NAA (naphthylacetic acid), a hormone that regulates plant growth, while indole butyric acid (IBA) is the leading hormone used to promote the formation of roots in plants. Dip'N Grow utilizes both, and ive been using it exclusivelyfor years. Buts its up tp you to decide your needs and budget; this extra stuff is optional and not imperative at all.
The final choice you have to make is whether or not to poke holes in the bottom of your cups. If you dont have a drill or you just dont feel like it then dont. Fuck it!!! I said this method was super simple didnt i?
First fill your cups to the top with soilless mix. Then cut a long stemmed clone from your mother plant. Take a whole lower branch as these are chronologically the oldest and will root the fastest. Trim off all the lower branches on a steam at lease 6 inches long, but preferably 9 or more inches. You can even use a 12 inch long clone by simply bending the stem without breaking it, putting the loop into a cup and then filling the cup with soil. As long as you have a growing top and at lease two fan leaves, the clone will prosper.
Once each cup is filled with soil and youve inserted your cutting, simply water itwith 4 ounces of half strength vegetative growth food / water solution. Water each cupcevenly and then place it a couple inches beneath a fluorescent light.
In a week or two , the cuttings will have started to root. fertilize the plants lightly; when they start to grow bigger, you can give them a full-strength fertilization before transplanting them into the next size container. This method is great whether you have only one or two clones to maintain or want to do hundreds at a time. If you drill holes in your cups and put trays under them, you can also water from the bottom for even better root growth. With a minimum of 5 inches of stem touching moist soil, the little plant will just continue growing while busting roots. Humidity domes arent necessary here either: The plants is still pulling moisture from the stem, so the leaves arent trying to suck water from the air (thereby delaying proper root formation).
Why Is This Method So Versatile?
A rockwoll tray has to be filled all at once, whereas my method will accommodate any number of plants. If your cloning several varieties and growing them out in a communal area, you'll find that differant strains use nutrients and water at differant rates, which means that some will spread their roots into the slower growing strains area and by labeling the individual cuttings, you run the risk of damaging them. But with my method , the cups can be easily labeled and as soon as the new clone outgrows its cup, you can transplant it readily into any disired substrate. You can even rinse the roots vigorously under water if you want to transplant it into a totally hydroponic system.
Look, ive tried every method out there and even though ones man garbage is another mans gold, theres just nothing to be gained by constantly reinventing the wheel. From the start , ive tried to rely on only the easiest methods and most readily available supplies-exotic soils, nutrients and equipment only spell trouble in my line of work. You have to be flexible when you run out of rockwool on a Sunday night with a handful of healthy cuttings going to waste. Theres no room for such mistakes , especially when each cutting provides the medicine to keep you healthy, happy and able to share the fruits of your labours with others.
I like sharing, and i really like healthy clones. When they get over or underwatered or theres a nutrient imbalance, i feel sick for my plants. By carefully watching and monitoring many differant growing methods, ive evolved away from using harmful rockwool to peat puckas and back again, constantly searching for a primo cloning method that involves minimal stress on my plants. Try this one out for yourself and you'll see how easy it is. I guarantee it: If you do this once, you'll be hooked, and you will never fear the word "CLONE" again!!!!!
WOW its that simple belive it or not. I tried doing 2 clones and one didnt make it and the other strived to beauty. Jef explains that you dont have to drill holes in the bottoms but i suggest that you do for better drainage when wateriing. He also states that the 10 by 20 plastic trays arent very durable....well i have 14 plastic cups sitting in one of these trays. They are durable as long as your not constantly moving them around and i also use a humidity dome and also the key is to use a heat mat as well as the roots love warmth but if its too warm you can run into some issues. Well i have posted a couple of pics of my clone/ mother closet. Clones on top under 4 26 watt CFL's and 2 mothers on the bottom with 150 watts of cfl power. Im also using a 400 watt and a 600 watt HPS for veg and bloom. I hope this article helps you just as much as it helped me. Thanks again for looking!!
Once your done reading this article ill explain how i followed this simple method but also i have added my own perks as well!! Read and enjoy and absorb the info!!!
Super Simple Cloning!!
You've germinated seeds. You've budded huge monsters outdoors as well as in. You can tell the sex of a cannabis plant from across a crowded growroom, as well as whether its saltiva or indica. But the mere thought of cloning causes brain strain, giving that tightness feeling in your chest or that familiar sleepy feeling. Wake up!!! This is my own tried and true , personal best method taking clones from my favorite mother plants. Best of all. its cheap and super simple, anyone with a healthy plant and a little desire can turn that one mother into literally thousands of duplicate cuttings that will have the exact same genetics and behavior as the original mom.
Cloning is the current word for what your grandmother used to call "taking cuttings" and just like her , the process hasnt changed much over the years. Some wild plants can be rooted by sticking them into a glass of water or directly into moist soil; cannabis wont root using this method, but the cuttings will survive for weeks in a glass of water until your ready to use them (just be sure to change the water from time to time).
From constant trail and error, i have fround that pure water or even a mild hydroponic spray will keep the cutting so moist that rooting is actually delayed-i.e., to much of a good thing. Rockwool is designed to provide a roughly 50/50 water-to-air ratio if its not overwatered, and experience has shown me that keeping rockwool on the dry side is advantageous to explosive rooting. The only problem here is that you're living on a razor's edge. Hydroponic plants will immediately wilt and sometimes die if the rockwool is allowed to dry out( or even get a touch to dry), but if you overwater it, fungus gnats, mold and green algae will have a field day devouring the nutrients in competition with your new clones, to say nothing of their tender new roots.
What To Do!!
First, forget about expensive, finicky and non-recyclable rockwool altogether. Its itchy and bitchy when it comes to over or underwatering. And forget those jiffy style peat pucks as well, the ones that come compressed and swell up in water. They work fine as far as it goes but only offer 1.5 to 2 inches of contact area for roots to form from the newly cut stem. Also, both rockwool and peat pucks need a tray and dome setup and those 10 by 20 inch plastic trays arent very durable. Sure if you're planning to grow for a little while and then quit, these minor expenses wont be enough to make or break you (and no i didnt say "wake and bake"..lol). But when you've been growing for a decade or more , you start to see areas where you can cut costs without cutting quality. And sometimes these cost cutting and time saving ideas will make for healthier, happier plants more so even then the expensive ways.
Heres one of them. Get yourself some 20 ounce plastic beer cups. They're usually red, sometimes blueand the stapl ingredient of any successful keg party, plus they cost about five bucks for a few hundred, and they are the key ingredient in this super simple cloning method.
Next get yourself a bag or bale of Pro-Mix HP or any other peat based soilless mix (like Sam's Club potting soil). This is all you'll need, except a razor blade or sharp scissors to make the final cut, and your favorite liquid nutrients.
Most rooting hormones, from Superthrive to willow bark , contain NAA (naphthylacetic acid), a hormone that regulates plant growth, while indole butyric acid (IBA) is the leading hormone used to promote the formation of roots in plants. Dip'N Grow utilizes both, and ive been using it exclusivelyfor years. Buts its up tp you to decide your needs and budget; this extra stuff is optional and not imperative at all.
The final choice you have to make is whether or not to poke holes in the bottom of your cups. If you dont have a drill or you just dont feel like it then dont. Fuck it!!! I said this method was super simple didnt i?
First fill your cups to the top with soilless mix. Then cut a long stemmed clone from your mother plant. Take a whole lower branch as these are chronologically the oldest and will root the fastest. Trim off all the lower branches on a steam at lease 6 inches long, but preferably 9 or more inches. You can even use a 12 inch long clone by simply bending the stem without breaking it, putting the loop into a cup and then filling the cup with soil. As long as you have a growing top and at lease two fan leaves, the clone will prosper.
Once each cup is filled with soil and youve inserted your cutting, simply water itwith 4 ounces of half strength vegetative growth food / water solution. Water each cupcevenly and then place it a couple inches beneath a fluorescent light.
In a week or two , the cuttings will have started to root. fertilize the plants lightly; when they start to grow bigger, you can give them a full-strength fertilization before transplanting them into the next size container. This method is great whether you have only one or two clones to maintain or want to do hundreds at a time. If you drill holes in your cups and put trays under them, you can also water from the bottom for even better root growth. With a minimum of 5 inches of stem touching moist soil, the little plant will just continue growing while busting roots. Humidity domes arent necessary here either: The plants is still pulling moisture from the stem, so the leaves arent trying to suck water from the air (thereby delaying proper root formation).
Why Is This Method So Versatile?
A rockwoll tray has to be filled all at once, whereas my method will accommodate any number of plants. If your cloning several varieties and growing them out in a communal area, you'll find that differant strains use nutrients and water at differant rates, which means that some will spread their roots into the slower growing strains area and by labeling the individual cuttings, you run the risk of damaging them. But with my method , the cups can be easily labeled and as soon as the new clone outgrows its cup, you can transplant it readily into any disired substrate. You can even rinse the roots vigorously under water if you want to transplant it into a totally hydroponic system.
Look, ive tried every method out there and even though ones man garbage is another mans gold, theres just nothing to be gained by constantly reinventing the wheel. From the start , ive tried to rely on only the easiest methods and most readily available supplies-exotic soils, nutrients and equipment only spell trouble in my line of work. You have to be flexible when you run out of rockwool on a Sunday night with a handful of healthy cuttings going to waste. Theres no room for such mistakes , especially when each cutting provides the medicine to keep you healthy, happy and able to share the fruits of your labours with others.
I like sharing, and i really like healthy clones. When they get over or underwatered or theres a nutrient imbalance, i feel sick for my plants. By carefully watching and monitoring many differant growing methods, ive evolved away from using harmful rockwool to peat puckas and back again, constantly searching for a primo cloning method that involves minimal stress on my plants. Try this one out for yourself and you'll see how easy it is. I guarantee it: If you do this once, you'll be hooked, and you will never fear the word "CLONE" again!!!!!
WOW its that simple belive it or not. I tried doing 2 clones and one didnt make it and the other strived to beauty. Jef explains that you dont have to drill holes in the bottoms but i suggest that you do for better drainage when wateriing. He also states that the 10 by 20 plastic trays arent very durable....well i have 14 plastic cups sitting in one of these trays. They are durable as long as your not constantly moving them around and i also use a humidity dome and also the key is to use a heat mat as well as the roots love warmth but if its too warm you can run into some issues. Well i have posted a couple of pics of my clone/ mother closet. Clones on top under 4 26 watt CFL's and 2 mothers on the bottom with 150 watts of cfl power. Im also using a 400 watt and a 600 watt HPS for veg and bloom. I hope this article helps you just as much as it helped me. Thanks again for looking!!
