simple heated propagation trays.

[white_cluster]

Howdy. this is a quick guide to making a propagation tray thats heated has a thermostat and is aerated, and costs way less than the hydro store bought heated propagation trays. In the area I come from its almost impossible to clone in winter, takes alot longer, keeping the tray at a constant 24deg celcius temp can mean a difference of 4 days to root or 3 weeks to root.

 

pic at right is of the materials, not pictured is a drill, medium, pots for medium if needed, water, bloom nutes, and mother plants to clone off. The main costs involved are the fish tank heater and the airpump which is optional. The aquarium heater is a 75w one and was under $15 I think from a pet store, the airpump is a precision 7500 which usually costs $13 or so from a pet store, but you could use any airpump, the airpump I use is probably too big even, but I already owned it before I used it for this. The tub and kitty litter tray both come from crazy clarks, the kitty litter trays cost $2 at crazy clarks and other shitty shops, and the tub is about 25ltrs I think and was cheap. Best to get tub and tray on same day so you can check they fit before buying. The pots are sterilized nursery pots from plants I bought.

 

anyhoo, you dont need to wrap the tub like I have, thats like that from a DWC grow ages ago (they were way too small). first step is to sit your nutrient heater in the tub, stick it straight on the bottom not on the sides, it'll fall off and crack otherwise, trust me, I've made the mistakes to save you from it. then stick your pots into the tub right way up so they can direct most of the bubbling into the tray and also hold up the kitty litter tray, then get your kitty litter tray drill a heap of holes in the bottom with a drill bit around 6mm or bigger, drill one hole through the side of the lip of the kitty litter tray for the heaters cord to go through. then sit your kitty litter tray in the tub on top of the pots, and thread airline (I use 4mm black poly) through holes in the kitty litter tray into the pots, then put airstone on end inside pot and connect other end to airpump which is raised above the tub by a foot at least. You put the airstones in the pots so the air is all directed into the kitty litter tray and not out around the sides of the tray. anyway then your done, fill it with water so the water sits a bit above the kitty litter trays, with 1" rockwool cubes you only want a few mm's of water which I think makes them a hard to maintain medium, 4" rockwool is easier and will like 10mm or so then let run down to 1mm then top up to 10mm again.

The medium I use for cloning is perlite usually, sometimes perlite with a bit of vermiculite, but usually just straight perlite out of ease, watered as the directions above for 4" rw say. For water use Hydroponic bloom/flowering nutrients at 20% of full strength directions whether cloning or germinating. I always use 2/1 perlite/vermiculite for germing. I put the perlite in cheap arse styrofoam drinking caps, the 125ml ones. you can fit 24 in a kitty litter tray. give clones a bit of a mist for first few days after cutting but dont stress about it, and dont fuck around with humidity covers, clones are usually ready for planting into similar medium after 4-5 days strain dependant, but for bubblers I wait till a root shows out the bottom of a hole in the styro cup, about 10 days, to ensure there is another root mass there to handle a bit of a change. The clones in the pic are past ready to go into my crop but that is because they are not going in, they are clones of 4 females I just sexed waiting for there turn.

[Guest Wilderbud]

Nice propagator. I decided to do a similar thing as that but for the heat I will use the heat from the mother chamber below my clone chamber. Heres what my clone tray is like;

 

1 small 6-pack esky holds an aerator stone and has a cutlery tray in it upside down [fits perfect]. Into this I put 6 plastic cups filled with perlite. I will fill the esky so 10mm sits in water then put the esky ontop of the heated surface [flower chamber roof]. Cost probably $50 all up but I had everything.

 

Ill check the water temperature when I start cloning and if its not 25C Ill probably add a heater and possibly raise the esky above the heated surface if its too hot. Ive never thought about temperature of the soil too much but if it should be room temperature then Ill make sure it is.