CLONING: A pictorial guide to what I do that works.

[TheTommyK]

I have just finished creating a bunch of clones, and I have pictorially documented it. I thought Id share that with everyone here.
So a few things first; I consider myself an intermediate grower at 3 years (roughly) of growing experience (at the time I write this).
I learned half of what I put forth here from trial and error (lots of error) and the other half would be from forums like this and the very few people I am able to discuss such matters with.

I am going to detail the steps I took to create 55 Bubba Kush clones.

• I have 5 BK mothers which I take clones from.

• I have cleaned my Jiffy Tray and have filled it with the pucks, and then added about 2L of 6.0 pH nutrient solution. the solution I use is the DNF GRO at 1/3 strength. 30ml GRO per 20L Water. I have also added a piece of masking tape underneath so I can have a legend as to which clones are from which mother. I will be cloning My BK momma 3 and 5
• It is not so obvious here but I have packed (with my fingers) the little preformed hole that the pellets have, such that the hole is filed with the peat. it is now firm without a hole in the top of it. I have been told that the clones stems need to be in contact with the pellet medium so that the nutrients as well as the needed oxygen can transfer well. Its just habit now ... I don't want to tempt fate by not.

• Next I need to take my Clipings to Clone.

I will Take all my clippings first then I will Put them in the Jiffy Pellets.Here is a typical size and spot I will clip from.

I try to clip them on a 45Deg angle but if I dont first snip them off at a 45 ... I re snip them to be 45.

• I collect what I would like to clone in the clear dome of the jiffy tray. I spray them with the solution to keep them hydrated. I do this because I had read that some guys take clones and submerge them in water to prevent a air bubble from forming in the open stem which is said to prevent the rooting.

My clippings range in size, here are the largest and smallest I took. This CAN play a role in how fast the clone vegs's to a mature enough size to set flower. not always but it CAN play a role in my experience.

 

[TheTommyK]

sorry .... there is more .... pushed the wrong button.

• next I clip back the fan leaves. I have been told that they drain more energy from the plan than they produce ... so cutting them back by approx 1/3 to 1/2 helps

I do this individually as I "plant" them.

Before

After

***THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I WILL BE CLONING WITH THE LEAVES CLIPPED.***

• I now dip the clipping in the rooting stimulating powder #2

Before

After

• The clipping is now ready to be planted

Push it in gently.

Rinse and Repeat !!!

Notice that on the tape at the front i have labeled what I have cloned .... damn I'm good. I guess if I was smart i would put the date too. I do have a calendar journal that I keep to keep these things straight though.....

I repeated the process with my BK 5 Mother and filled the other side.

• I will continue updating this thread over the next two weeks to show the progress.
  For me these will all root by day 14.... ok about 98% will .....

 

[TheTommyK]

I guess one more point to make is that I leave the tray 1" under a bank of 5 CFL lights for 18/6 for the 2 weeks. I burp them once a day, and spray them after day 4. I will lift one corner of the dome if I feel that they are to wet.

More posts to come....

 

[JAWS]

good run through dude and its about typical on how most of us do/take our rooting when useing ant type of medium other then hydro/water....

only thing i see that i would advise against is the dipping your root end into your rooting poweder container, id pour some in a dish and then just discard the remains once i was done.....dont want to contaminate your whole container of rooting powder....


very nice:)

 

[TheTommyK]

Jaws ... i have been told that before .... But what is it going to get contaminated with?
I have never had a problem .... But I would agree that it cant hurt.

 

[JAWS]

im guessing any contaminat that MIGHT be on the cutting, id say the main reason is moisture getting into your container....as you dip the wet/damp snipped end into the powder there is small moisture droplets fall from the cut and into the surounding powder kinda like small dough balls form....its just something i was told long ago and to avoid it just pour a bit out on a dish for useage......the powder is fairly cheap so for me i just take the safe road and try to keep things as clean as possible, thats all.....



peace:)

 

[TheTommyK]

Gotcha.

This sounds like sound advice kids ....

 

[spacebomb]

Nice tutorial man. I'm not to good at cloning:-) this will help me a lot. Thank you man :-)

 

[Bannacis]

I add water to the powder and make a thin paste, sometimes you can get too much on an it will cake up.IME.
and right on about the contaminating with water, or possible disease from other clones.
i geta little hand full of those Ketchup cups at Micky D's those are perfect for mixing..and tossing.
But other than that...kudos on the cloning.
Your mommas are pretty tall, you can always start new mothers too. I always had the problem of too many, too big...lol

 

[spacebomb]

Is the green house Bubba nice mate? .

 

[TheTommyK]

Yes..... The bubba is good. It takes 8 weeks to flower. I will be using hps to flower this time..... As a novice, I had been using MH. I will also be supercropping ..... But that's another thread

 

[spacebomb]

Nice, must be if your running 5,PHENOS. Might give it a try.

 

[organicozarks]

You can get rooted clones in 10 days on most varieties of cannabis without synthetic rooting hormones. The key is temperatures (about 80F) and humidity(high as hell). Rooting hormones are just not necessary for the majority of cannabis varieties. I have not experienced one plant that I feel dictates the use of a cloning assistant.

 

[spacebomb]

Do you bury 2 pairs of nodes ?like 1,near the cut you make and another node a little further up? Like 1, cm or something for faster results with roots? .

 

[TheTommyK]

Interesting,..... I will experiment without the rooting stim. i guess I have had good results because of the temp. That is where I have my temp (something I neglected to mention).
As for rooting times, I have 2 other strains that I clone (a sativa and an Indica) which both root much quicker than the BK (hybrid).
As for multiple Phenos, I have not had enough cycles with the BK yet, but I have had in the past 5 of my Indicas (seeds I got from a HQ of Juicy Fruit). I had one that was naturally short and bushy with natural mutiple colas and the rest were Christmas trees. But yes the consistency of the characteristics in clones, was really cool to see. I am a little geeky about the gardening aspect of cannabis.The end product is almost a happy accident.

 

[We Solidarity]

give your moms carbs a few days before you take cuttings, and take your cuttings as early as possibly in the light cycle. This is when carbohydrate concentrations are highest in the plant, and carbs are what provide the cutting with energy to form roots. I usually see roots in 4-6 days and transplant day 10 or 12, whenever the roots are over an inch long.

 

[TheTommyK]

SB: I'm not sure I understand the question....

Do you butt 2, pairs of nodes ?like 1,near the cut you make and another node a little further up? Like 1, cm or something for faster results with roots? .

 

[TheTommyK]

give your moms carbs a few days before you take cuttings, and take your cuttings as early as possibly in the light cycle. This is when carbohydrate concentrations are highest in the plant, and carbs are what provide the cutting with energy to form roots. I usually see roots in 4-6 days and transplant day 10 or 12, whenever the roots are over an inch long.

Sounds like Good advise kids

 

[spacebomb]

Yeah sorry man. I just seen it :-)lol I have corrected it tho:-)

 

[TheTommyK]

I don't generally bury a node. its just stem.