cloning in rockwool?

[loylty gets u nothing]

hey hey

i love to clone

i get usually 100% strike rate

with jiffys and powder hormone

but im tackling rockwool atm

personally i hate the stuff never had a success with it

so i soaked me cubes in ph water at 4.5

this time the ph reading this morn is 6.2

is that ok for taking clones?

any liitle tid bits that make it easier

please dont hesitate to share..

take care and stay safe

bill

[Indycar]

I've had results from rockwool that makes me more than happy billo.

Only reason i've lost any is prolly due moreso to the slackness on my behalf, if any.

 

All i usually do, is soak the small cubes (40mm square) for a 15-20 minutes. Then give em a gentle squeeze to remove excess water, 'n get me clone gel 'n inject the little hole in cube with about 3-5ml of gel. I usually have the cubes prepared before taking' any clones.

 

Once i'm up 'n ready, I'll take a few cuttings 'n get em straight into a glass of PH balanced water and keep em in while i'll trim em up, ready to be a clone, then insert into cube, while closing in the top of the cube around the stem of the clone.

 

Then straight into humid-e-crib 'n give em a good spray with PH balanced water. Then fill up the bottom tray with a batch of growth nutes with an EC of 0.6, If it's during the colder months. I'll slip the heat pad under the lot, but if it's summer. I won't bother.

 

Then the only follow up, after that is to keep the tray topped up and give them a spray, twice a day with either PH balanced water, soda water or even just plain fresh rainwater, if i've managed to gather some.

 

EDIT: I do use a 30cm air stone 'n pump with the humid-e-crib, just to flick water up, to the underside of cubes to keep the cubes moist.

 

Edited April 25, 2008 by Indycar

[Chronmasta]

G`day billo,

 

This is how i go about cloning in any medium and i get 100% strike rate

 

i soak the cubes/pucks in a lukewarm solution of "seed`n clone" as directed on the bottle(5ml to 1ltr water), then let them drain the excess water out......

 

Then once i`ve made the cuts i simply set them in my ("watts in the box") that has 36w cfl`s

They go straight onto the grilled tray in the domes with a damp heat mat under them, and give them a mist of the "seed`n clone"

(1ml to 1ltr water)....first few days i keep the vents on the domes closed and then open them untill they strike......misting them once every couple of days.....

 

I can tell when the cubes are due for a drink from the weight....I use the same spray bottle thats used for misting to water the cubes from the bottom.

(same as first dose..... 5ml seed`n clone to 1ltr water)

 

Hope that makes sence mate - i only been awake for about 1hr

 

All the best,

Chron

[RobbieGanjaSeed]

I recently had the pleasure of seeing Bill's clone method with jiffy pots, and was totally blown away by the fucking amazing root structrue he gets. I think you should do a "how" to" guide for us Bill, on how to use Jiffy pots. I've tried them over the years and had shit all luck with them. But if I ever could get root grwoth like I saw on yours, I'd change over quick smart. Although given I dont use coco, i dont know how I'd tranfer them, but they are great clones for sure.

 

Rockwool has always been so easier for me mate. The only part I find important once you pre-soak them is to be sure they don't get overly wet. They need to stay on the fine line between damp and dry, damp and wet...and you wont have any problems.

 

I think pre=soaking them with low PH is paramount, although I read the process of making rockwool was undergoing change, rockwoll's process of maufacture has always had onemajor drawback, and that is ubelievably high Ph.and it's insitence to contune drifting back "up there" no matter what u do. I believe i thas to do with a wettting agent used, and simply the process of spinning the rock into the substrate m aking it thus. Soaking the substarte is both to prepare the cube so it's evenly wet and to remove the wetting agent from the block. In the past (and I imagine this still applies at least to the cheaper brands), it was always alvised to wash the blocks, allowing a good w\rinse of water to run through the block, washing away the agents, and rock partciles that make the Ph so high. With so many people saying they don't bother, maybe they've corrected this.

 

testing the PH of the rockwool however, if you're so interested is best done after they've soaked in whatever you're using for 24 hours, and using a syringe without a sharp attahed, draw moisture straight up out of the block.

 

this is all full scale effort, but just relating what I know to be written up and commonly done over the years. these days I soak them in Ph water of 4 and a half as you've done for a day prior, and simply squeez excess water out. I too like to use the seed and clone struff. Although I've been assured it's simple weak nutrient solution, for ten bux a bottle of it goes a long way and it is easy to use.

 

I hope you have anywhere near the success u have had with jiffys bill.

 

rob

[sunnycoaststoner]

well thanks for opening my eyes dudes, i realize now why my clones have been taking so long to take off. they have been suffering from a lock out caused by the ph of my rockwool. the old stuff never had a problem with it but the new stuff really needs to be washed first before putting your clones into it. the new growth on my clones has been consistantly small untill they get into the box where the 15 minute waterings every hour gradually washes them clean and the ph rises to a better level and then the plants take off. had me buggared for ages, trying to think what i was doing differently but"its not me" yaaaaae...... thanks for your help.

[loylty gets u nothing]

cheers guys

i pretty much do the same thing indy

might try that seed n clone stuff 1 day chron,cheers

but for now,im just soaking in ph water as robbie described

i prefer to shake the water out ...

ill take some and lets see how long it will take to strike

using multicrop rootstrike p0wder..

i really wanna try dutch masters replica clone gel though

im not fused on the others powder has always worked for me

thanks again ill let u guys know wat ratio i get with the cubes

bil

[RobbieGanjaSeed]

Yeah I always use gel, not powder. Dunno what difference rockwool and jiffy pots would have in that regard. I would imagine the powder might scrape off easier placing it in the cubes than it might in the jiffy pots, but that's just guessing. I believe the clones gels are all much of a muchness in chemical composition. the big dif that can make a help is how thick the stuff is. I've seen double strength clone gel in a greenhouse mag that is designed for hardwood cuttings,and wondered what that might be like.

 

Some people say use the cheapest you can find, usually that clonex purple...I've had my faves, but I imagine anything dutchmaster makes can't be too bad ey?

 

Seems I'm using "Pro Gel" presently. must be good, it's "pro" . I can't think of the brand I was very fond of a few years ago when I was much more active in taking clones. I know it was basically just the thickest stuff around. it was like treacle. Just so it stays attached to the end of the clone as long as possible.

 

I did read a tute a while back that warned against excessive amounts of clone gel being used. I used so much at one stage I had it on my fingers and dripping off he upper parts of the cutting. i forget the reason for the warning, it might have had to do with it drying out the cutting, but can't be sure. Why I mentioned this is because I did experience a problem period with my clones striking, and I think it was while I was using ridiculous amounts of the stuff. I'll see if I can find that tutorial that mentioned the danger of excessive amounts of gel, just to find out why they said so.

 

I reckon flicking the excess out would be the shot mate. Squeezing it is a bit harsh on the blocks. Although it is an indication of how much to squeeze out. Squish out enough moisture without damaging the integrity of the block is somewhat about the right moisture to start with. that gives u a couple days of mpisture excess to begin with while the clones begins to settle in. But another way that I was just thinking of that might be really good to get them just right is one of those lettuce leaf driers that tupperwear makes. it's a colander type of arrangement, with an upper and lower cage comming together . After u wash the leaves of lettuce, i suppose the idea if that u slip the leaves into this machine and turn the handle, this spinning the whole cage, and sending the water flying off thte washed lettuce leaves.

 

I havent ever seen one, i just heard my wife talking about the device after attending a tupperwear "party" one day. If we could score one, and put rockwool blocks in it and crankit, itmight be just the shot to get the exess out without damaging the blocks.

I'm gonna look into that.

 

rob

 

PS. Inds description has great benifits in cold months f ros ure. I'm sure the idea works great just as said, and I'll give it more of a go. But I've done avarriation of it through inter just to make consistent temperatures in the humidycrib. I've had it where the heater pad has been on, and I'm still unhappy with how cold the blocks are, because they're seperated by the rack. this has happened more so when I have a lot of fans blowing int he same area for other plant reasons. Putting a glass of water in the bottom of the tray warms the whole thing up to a single even temp. Good idea that indy.

[BentBuddha]

Hey guys. If you humid crib is 24deg, and humidity 90%, is there any point spraying the plants twice a day?

 

bb

[bingoMadness]

Prob not needed, unless you are spraying with nutrients.