LUI Day 22 And A Lesson in Cloning
LUI Day 22
tonight we top cloned our babes . . .
if we’re fortunate enough to get a 100% success rate at rooting this will provide us with a prefect set of back-up clones so the original babes can be moved to bloom . . . our soil mix for clones is the same mix as seedlings . . . 1 part vermiculite, 1 part perlite, and 2 parts good organic soil . . . we suggest wetting down the vermiculite and perlite before mixing to cut down on potentially hazardous dust . . . and we also suggest wearing a protective mask . . . gloves aren’t a bad idea either when mixing soil . . . though to be honest we kind like putting our hands in the dirt like the original seedlings . . . we’ll again use the square 4 1/2″ planters . . . each planter is filled to the top with soil mix and then soaked very thoroughly . . . a broken piece of bamboo stake is used to prepare the hole in the center of each planter for the cutting . . . and then we get ready for some action as the powdered rooting hormone is dumped out onto a plastic lid . . .
clone-step-one—prep-the-soil
clone-step-two—prep-the-hole
clone-step-three—prep-the-root-hormone
when top-cloning seedlings it’s important to begin keeping specific track of individual plants . . . so we label each LUI with a number 1 thru 13 and create 2 sets of labeled ID stakes . . . one for the clone and one for the original parent . . . while the original seedlings move through the bloom cycle we’ll be able to nurture their back-ups and save the keepers . . . in essence this top-clone will turn into a “mother” plant for any keepers we might select . . . we use a exact o knife with a razor sharp edge to actually take our cuttings . . . any razor blade edge should work . . . we’ve also tried using pruning shears and other similar scissors type implements but found that they cause more “crushing” plant damage and result in a lower rooting success rate . . . the actual cutting is taken at an angle across the stem . . . immediately after the cutting is taken the entire freshly cut top is dropped into a waiting pitcher of plain room temperature water . . . we get all of our garden water from two sources . . . straight from the cold water tap or from our dehumidifier . . . we always let our tap water sit at least 24 hours to adjust to room temp . . .
clone-step-four—prep-labels
clone-step-five—take-cutting
clone-step-six—cuttings-into-water
the next step after letting the fresh cutting sit in water for a few moments is to prep the cutting itself . . . we tend to take fairly long cuttings and trim off at least one node of leaf growth . . . our experience is that roots can develop all along the surface of the cutting which is underground . . . but the first roots usually start showing where the original cut was made and where other leaf nodes have been trimmed . . . we use a plastic lid to hold our rooting powder since it is flexible and can be gently curled around the cutting to help coat what will be the underground portions of the stem . . . we use a nice thick layer of powdered rooting hormone all around the stem . . . the powdered rooting hormone sticks nicely to the freshly wet stem . . . with the holes already prepared all that’s left to do is place our cuttings into their new homes and gently push the wet soil into contact with the plant stem . . . it’s that simple! we have great success with this cloning technique and rarely have anything less than a 90% success rate . . . and finally a pic of a pair of finished clones . . . nestled into soil and ready to start shooting out roots
clone-step-seven—prep-cutting
clone-step-eight—roll-in-powder
clone-step-nine—put-in-soil
finished-clones
Oops, sorry to break the apparent trend, but I have a slightly technical question . . . I’m just curious about your opinion of the Age Old nutes . . . I see you have used them already (I think . . . . . . . . . not completely sober right now) . . .
the Age Old Organics look to be very good ferts . . . in a direct comparison to their most popular competitors (FoxFarm and EarthJuice) we’d say that the Age Old Organics beat the FoxFarm “hands down” in terms of overall quality . . . They beat the EarthJuice in terms of ease of use the EarthJuice line of products will likely remain our primary choice for complete fertilizers . . . but we certainly wouldn’t steer anyone away from the AgeOld Organics . . . and for folks who have issues with odor or dificulty mixing fertilizer mixes in advance . . . then the Age Old would become the choice . . .
Hey do you use a dome with your clones, or spray them with water?
the correct answer is . . . . . . . . . C - none of the above we don’t use a dome (we found them more trouble than they were worth) and we don’t mist our clones either (ditto) . . . we just keep them in a moist high humidity environment . . . for the first few days after cutting we’ll maintain an inch or two of water in the bottom of the nursery flats that the 4 1/2″ pots are in . . . it keeps the soil damp and relative humidity high w/o the bother of a dome or misting . . . for the record we’ll be keeping an eye on the clones too as part of the “grow along” and reporting on their progress and care . . . so we’ll keep everyone informed about both sets of babes!
Table of contents for Growing LUI /the3LB
- Growing LUI W/ the 3LB - Intro
- Growing LUI W/ the 3LB - Soil & Seed
- LUI Day 2
- Growing LUI W/ the 3LB - Day 1
- Growing LUI W/ the 3lb - Planting/germination
- LUI Day 3
- LUI Day 4
- LUI Day 5
- LUI Day 6, Day 7
- LUI-Day-8
- LUI-Day-9
- LUI Day 10
- LUI Day 11
- LUI Day 12
- LUI Day 13
- LUI Day 14
- LUI Day 15
- LUI Day 16
- LUI Day 17
- LUI Day 18
- LUI Day 19
- LUI Day 20
- LUI Day 21
- LUI Day 22 And A Lesson in Cloning
- LUI Day 23
- LUI Day 24
- LUI Day 25
- LUI Day 26
- LUI DAY 27 And Day 28
- LUI Day 29
- LUI Day 30
- LUI Day 31
- LUI Day 32
- LUI Day 33
- LUI Day 34
- LUI Day 35
- LUI Day 36 And Friends
- LUI Day 37
- LUI Day 39 - the Backup Clones
- LUI Day 40 - Day 1 Flowering
- LUI Day 41
- LUI Day 42
- LUI Day 43
- LUI Day 44
- LUI Day 45
- LUI Day 46
- LUI Day 47
- LUI Day 48
- LUI Day 50
- LUI Day 51
- LUI - Day 52
- LUI Day 53
- LUI Day 54
- LUI Day 55
- LUI Day 56
- LUI Day 57
- LUI Day 58
- LUI Day 59
- LUI Day 60
- LUI Day 61,62
- Legend’s Ultimate Indica
- LUI Day 63
- LUI Day 64
- LUI Day 65
- LUI Day 66
- LUI Day 67 And Clones
- LUI Day 68
- LUI Day 69
- LUI Day 70
- LUI Day 72 - Day 33 of Bloom
- LUI Day 73
- LUI Day 74
- LUI Day 71
- LUI Day 75
- LUI Day 76
- LUI-Day-77
- LUI Day 80
- LUI Day 78
- LUI Day 79
- LUI Day 81
- LUI Day 82
- LUI Day 83
- LUI Day 84
- LUI Day 85
- LUI Day 86
- LUI Day 87
- LUI Day 88
- LUI Day 89
- LUI Day 90
- From the 3LB Archives - Canopy of LUI
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