Do I Really Need a Clone Machine?

I'm a relatively new grower. I have only grown from seeds thus far. And I only grow for myself and wife. A very small operation.

I'm about 3 weeks away from taking my first set of clones (I'll take about 6). Do I really need a clone machine, or is cloning in rockwool cubes reliable enough? I'd like to keep things as simple as possible, with no more equipment than necesary. But if I need one, I 'll get one. What do you think?

Thanks

honestly i have way better luck with rockwool cubes. if you decide to get a machine get/make a bubbleponics cloner using airstones. have seen better results from bubble than aero

i cut, dip in clonex gel, stick in wet rockwool cube, sprinkle cloning powder on top and water it into the cubes
works every time for me now that i do it that way

You don't need one but I prefer to use one. It wasn't very expinsive to make and doesn't take up much room. Plenty of people tho have good luck not using one I just find it easier myself. I take about 20 clones each time I cut tho.

using rockwool in a small heated propagator has always worked for me, imo you dont need a machine unless you cant be attentive to your girls, the main things for me in cloning are heat and climate along with tlc lol.....

drolove said:

i cut, dip in clonex gel, stick in wet rockwool cube, sprinkle cloning powder on top and water it into the cubes
works every time for me now that i do it that way

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What is cloning powder? I've got some Clonex, but I've never heard of cloning powder.

Thanks

BillyBonnie said:

What is cloning powder? I've got some Clonex, but I've never heard of cloning powder.

Thanks

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I do everything BUT the cloning powder. There is really no need IMO.

All you need is the RW cubes, clonex gel AND the clonex solution for watering the RW cubes. I use T-12 lights and plastic shoeboxes from the $ store.

Has worked well for over 30 years.

Wet

generally you choose between cloning powder or something like clonex gel. It's all the same stuff, just one is in a gel form and one's in a powder form.

I like to use willow water for my cuttings instead of powders or gels. But I have a willow tree on my property so it's just easier and cheaper for me lol.

I find an aquarium with a florescent hood and some gravel on the bottom works just fine. I stick my cuttings in root tone and plant them in MiracleGro, splash a little water on the gravel, leave the light on 24hrs. Perfect humidy, no drafts, 100% success.

Way cheaper and very nearly just as good, is a clone dome, $10.00, or make one yourself.

Your "small operation" sounds exactly like mine. I've never spent the money on a clone machine and have never really felt like I needed to. I typically take around 6 clones at a time. I take a razor and carefully shave the end of the stem (where it was cut) on one side to expose more of the inside of its stem. This gives more area from which roots can form giving your clone a better chance at survival. I immediately dip the cutting in cloning gel and put it in a jiffy pellet. I put them in a propagator on a heating mat under a 32w cfl. Typically they all root but I never end up with less than 4.

i love my clone machine, but not needed. i like it because i mainly do hydro in hydroton, but i can put it in dirt as well with no adverse affect. i dont like a clone in rockwool put in soil (imo) the soil likes to wash away from it in my experiance. imo if your in dirt use jiffy pellets, they also have things called rootshoots that are pretty cool it even comes with a packet of clonex gel an premoistend. but if you do go this route u need a propagator tray, humidity dome, the plugs (rockwool cube, jiffy pellets) and a heat mat goes a long way. The bad side to this method you need to maintain a high humidty like 90% an up, spraying them also goes along way to there health as well as checking them everyday. Also you have to watch overwatering causes roting of the stem. with a homemade cloner to an ez clone machine you cut, dip, stick an away you clone. theres no humidity dome required or heat mat, an you dont have to buy plugs everytime but initial cost is pricey unless you make it your self. i have a homemade cloner made outa poly tubing, red top sprayers (12) a pump that has a gph of atleast 300, a roughneck tote, an a filter bag for the pump (this is a must because sprayers get clogged). i roughly built mine for 50 buck an a little bit of time. ive seen pvc pipe instead of tubing but attaching it to the pump get rough. look around if u build one pretty great ideas out there. but ne ways which ever way u go good luck an have a growtastic day.

Here's how I get great success. Rubbermaid brute 20 gallon. Danner pond pump. Go to drsfostersmith.com for this, get the one that draws about 25 watts for a single pail or the larger one that draws approx. 100 watts for enough air for ten or more of these pails. Acquire an 8" round aluminum oxide air stone from the same website. Connect the air stone with this conduit schedule in this order: Pump, 3/4" vinyl tube (6" long) 3/4" x 1/2" hose barb x hose barb reducer, 1/2" vinyl hose ( approx. 6') ,1/2" hose barb x 1/2" mpt adapter, 1/2" fpt x 1/2" socket pvc. sch. 40 adapter, 1/2" x 1/2" socket 90 degree adapter, 1/2" pvc ball valve pvc.sch.40, approx. 20" of straight 1/2" pvc. sch. 40 pipe, 1/2" socket x 1/2" fpt adapter, 1/2" mpt x 1/2" hose barb adapter, approx. 8" of 3/8" blue weighted tubing (also available on drsfostersmith.com, check the pond supply links) connected to your airstones 3/8" hose barb adapter with no less than 2 black zipties on each side. Don't forget to put teflon tape on your threaded joints and pick up some pvc glue and primer. Don't use stainless steel hose clamps under water because they are much harder than the plastic surface of the res and could scratch things up. Adjust the ball valve for optimal bubbling.
Lose the lid on the 20 gallon rubbermaid container and use a round piece of 3/4" polyshield foam as a lid. Remove the clear side plastic coating so there is no plastic film on the underside. Reflective side up, of course. Poke 1/8" holes, preferably with a 1/8" hex head t-handle grip allen key. You will comfortably fit 59 clones on a small foot print. Graph the lid with a straight edge and neatly mark your holes to be punched being careful to evenly space them the best you possibly can. Save this first foam lid as a template for all other lids. Do your best to control the water level, in the case of using this air stone, the bubbling will be so vigorous that you can be as far away as 4" from the bottom of the clone to the top of the water level with no problems. No sprayers necessary. Just the worlds most superior air stone for a rubbermaid pail dwc with the most suitable pump.

fuk no .

I cloned for several years without one with no problems but it did take me about 4 weeks to get nice roots on them and about 70% of them lived. Then in 2001 when the e-z clone came out my local hydro store cut me a very good deal one so I could let him know how good it worked so he could let others have a real growers opinion. After the first couple of weeks I was very pleased with the incredible speed and the amount of heavy long root system it was producing with usually 100% of them living. I'm not saying everyone needs one but for me it works great and has paid for itself about 30 times over. The main thing I like about it is that even tho clones have some roots after 5 to 10 days and could be put in the dirt then I like to leave them for almost 3 weeks so I get massive roots going so the plants grow real fast and yield alot better. I'll have a clone that's 6 inches tall but will have tons of roots that are a foot long easy and almost fill a 1 gallon container and will need to be transplanted again within the next 10 days. It's cut alot of my veg time down and improved my yields about an oz per plant. I've replaced the pump about 4 years ago and other than that no issues at all and it's been running healthy clones non stop going back to 2001.

a plastic propagator or humidity dome, they cost about £2 from any garden store
they will root clones in 8-14 days depending on strain

peace

I plan on making a bubble cloner in the near future just to try and see, but I've always started clones in dirt (FFOF) in clear 12 oz cups. I like to see the roots fill up the cup, use a dome for the 1st wk, then open, by 14 days the cups are full of roots and need transplant..... and so the veg begins. It's not rocket science.

One note with soil clones, they will look like they are dieing before they kick out roots.

I go with a cheap plastic dome from the hydro/garden store and the dirt pucks that expand in water. Cut on 45 degree, scrape and score stem, dip in rooting gel and insert into puck. Squeeze of extra water from the top down ensuring that the dirt squeezes firmly arround the clones stem and dome it. I keep mine coverd with a white towel that allows ambient light for the first 3 days(i read that this allows the plant to focus on root developement and less on photosynthesis for the first few days) then remove it. On day 5, I move the dome top a couple of inches away from my fluorescents. As long as your room temp is right (mid 70's to mid 80's) and the moisture level of the rooting medium(pucks, rockwool etc) is kept damp dry....NEVER dripping wet, then you should have fast results with good sucess. I cut 20 clones at a time, every 4-6 weeks, and in over a year have had only 1 single failure using this method.

Maybe I had beginner's luck, but I took 4 cuttings, stripped the top layer off the part that goes in the ground, let them sit in plain tap water for a few minutes, put them right into 5" plastic pots filled with good ole miracle gro soil, and cut the leaves down a little more than halfway. I then kept them under a small t5 flouro at night, in the daytime i set them outside in full sun. I was 4 for 4. Rooting hormone is not necessary. They are growing great; however, they're growing a bit retarded. Alot of 1 leaf nodes and 3 leaf nodes. Hopefully they will straighten up.