So two weeks ago, I was given a marvelously cool thing: seven cuttings of Cali Connection "Pre-98 Bubba Kush" feminized.
This inspired me to make a cloner. Eleven years ago I had good success using a cheapo cloner I made from a small Rubbermaid container and a couple of airstones. I recreated it more or less, but discovered that my air combo (a pump rated at ~300 gph driving a 4" round airstone, the sort that looks like an air hockey puck) didn't make enough mist. The next morning, my cuttings were drooping badly and one was wilted practically flat. So i quickly put the cuttings into a small tub, a vase essentially, of tap water fortified with a splash of K-L-N and some peroxide. Remarkably, even the wilted-flat cutting recovered most of the way. I'd already dumped it in the trash, but the person who'd given them to me gave me very sage advice: Try to revive it; you'd be amazed. I was amazed, and that cutting is still in play!
I also decided that I was going to build an aerocloner modeled after the popular units, both commercial and DIY, that use water pumps and Raindrip spray heads. I already had the water pump from my abortive rDWC attempt, and 1/2" PVC pipe and bits are cheap. So I cut three 4 5/8" lengths for the manifold's legs, since I dedn't want to rely on the pump as a load-bearing member. Here is the finished manifold ...
... and with the pump on. I'd planned on using Red Hot Blue Glue for plumbing, but the fit of the pats is nice and tight, and the unit ran leak-free after a dry assembly. So I didn't bother gluing. I'm actually relieved, because I cannot imagine that Red Hot Blue Glue is exactly a plant tonic. The stuff reeks of tetrahydrofuran, an aggressive and somewhat toxic solvent. No glue; yay!
The babies went into 1 1/2" neoprene collars that I'd snipped a small wedge-shaped hole into, because to my fingers the unmodded cruciform cut in the collars was a bit tight. They'd survived in their vase, but had not formed roots.
So May 31st I got the Béâärocloner 1.1 up and running. The cuttings liked it and maintained their turgor after the first night, and the next ...
Today I checked them. They are starting to yellow somewhat, and only one of the seven shows root bumplies. in fact, a couple had some bacterial slime on their cut ends.
So I drained the cloner (the manifold by simply popping off an end cap and slowly twirling the manifold until no more water came out) and sponged everything down with a solution of dish soap and a splash of 29% peroxide. I refilled the tub with ~3 gal tap water (mine is typically about 100 ppm, so I didn't bother setting up the RO unit) and added 20 ml of the peroxide.
I also delicately de-scummed the cuttings that had picked up a bit of slime, and I gently rubbed some rooting powder (0.1% indolebutyric acid) on the six stems that didn't yet show root bumplies.
Here they are, assembled. The (unfortunately blurry) close-up shows the one with the incipient roots. It's the one by the pump's power cord.
The unit fully assembled, luxuriating under two CFLs in the dedicated clone/reveg closet.
I sure hope these youngsters all develop roots! I'm heartened that one of them has started.
I am also trying to plan this grow. I didn't really intend to have a grow on during The Hot, since I try to save money on the AC by running it as infrequently as possible. This house isn't insulated,
So now my big question is: another soil grow, or soillless? I was very pleased with the Fox Farm "Happy Frog" soil initially, but it ran out of nutrient halfway through the grow, and I had to nute it like a hydro grow. That worked, but I'm wondering if I should go soilless. The clone source was running Sunshine Mix #4, and I was impressed with how easy it was to handle. Feeding was essentially just pouring nutrient into each pot and letting the waste drain into a catch bucket under an e&f tray.
So I'm wondering ... which is the better tactic for a grow under hot conditions? Soil, or soilless?
cn
but what I grew didn't work for my pain so for me there's no reason to produce more bud that doesn't help.
