Have to flush, have a few questions. +rep for help.

Clones need a moist medium. other than that they can only feed/breath through the leaves. What works for me is miost warm soil(i bottom water only if i have to) spray the leaves 2x a day with water, keep covered with plastic to hold humidity. they are on their own in 10 days. thanks for the rep.

find some 5gall buckets, or 3gall pail....put em in the tub fill, drain, fill etc...

seasmoke said:

Clones need a moist medium. other than that they can only feed/breath through the leaves. What works for me is miost warm soil(i bottom water only if i have to) spray the leaves 2x a day with water, keep covered with plastic to hold humidity. they are on their own in 10 days. thanks for the rep.

find some 5gall buckets, or 3gall pail....put em in the tub fill, drain, fill etc...

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I tried in soil and didn't do too good. Most didn't have any roots at 2 weeks. I did it a little differently though. I took a 14" saucer and filled it with water. I put the clippings in 16oz cups, put them in the saucer and put Pepsi Domes over them (cut the bottoms off of 2 litres). It kept the humidity at 99% so I didn't have to open the domes, I just treated the water daily with Hydrogen Peroxide to keep the mold from starting. The temp was steady in the mid 70s.

I ran out of pepsi domes so I bought a big red tub, filled the bottom with water, covered the top with saran wrap, and treated the water every day with Hydrogen Peroxide. The temp in the tub was a steady 80 degrees.

I have a 4 bulb 4' fluoro fixture and I could only get 39 clones under them that way. I got 50 in the rapid rooter tray, and I can fit 3 or 4 trays under the light so if it works it's a better deal because I can root more at the same time.

But the Rapid Rooter is standing water, it doens't have a pump or anything. Everyone told me it would root in 7 to 9 days but it aint working out that way. I have a heat pad under it with a heat regulator to keep it at 80 degrees, and it's usually a couple of degrees cooler in the dome. Constantly 95% to 99% humidity. But it stinks when I open the dome, maybe I should treat it with some of the Hydrogen Peroxide. I didn't see any mold/mildew though.

Also, the soil I was trying to root into was FFOF, maybe that had something to do with the slow rooting, never thought about it. Before I do anything to upgrade I'm gonna have to sell some of these clones off though. I have 6 rooted from the soil so I'm hoping to get a bunch out of this rapid rooter tray. If not I'm pretty much fucked.

I also treated the water in the tray with Mycorrhiza hoping that would help them root faster, but so far no go. Maybe I should have put a little Mycorrhiza into the holes in the plugs instead.

And to top it off (good & bad news) I just flushed one of the moms and found out that the reason why the leaves are curling downward is because they're root bound in the 5 gallon pots. They're only 6 weeks old, so I guess I'm gonna have to buy at least 10 gallon pots to transpant them into which is money I don't have to spend, but I have to. And I have no idea how to transplant from anything bigger than 16 oz. lol

BTW, the flushing exposed some of the root tips at the drainage holes. Is this something to worry about or will she be ok for a day or two?

I'm not one for the solid kind of nutrients get hold of some liquid kind much easyer to alter the ammount the plant will recive.If you are gonna use the solid kinds then mix with water and dilute with more water and check the ph after adding the nutrients.But my advice on feed would be stick to a good name there are plenty out there and there not that exspensive to buy.Make up the feed has you need it there is no need to make up lts of feed and have it laying around for weeks.Don't get lazy make it up on the day of the feed ph it after the feed has been added then wet the plants through with it.Once the plants have been watered try not to water again till the following week on the same day.You may need to add a little more about day 5 but only a little let the roots search out water this will give the plant a far better root mass and you a far better yeild.Watering in the way that i have said will give you time to keep the walls and floor clean i clean my grow room at least once every 2 week the cleaner the room the less chance of pest getting to the plants.I flush the plants every couple of week during flowering followed by feed a couple of hours later leave the plants in the bath so the water can freely run off.And no all the water will not harm the plants by doing this you will have far fewer problems.And while the plants are in the bath you can be cleaning the room.No matter how good the plants are flushed there will always be small trces left in the grow medium.The root mass will continue to grow all the way through it's life but it slows down after about week two of flowering.Flush all the plants at the same time it is poinless waiting for something to happen to the plant flush them all on the same day.Be careful when watering because alot of nutrient burns happen during this time through a little ammoung been spilt on the leaves............................................tyke...............................................

tyke1973 said:

I'm not one for the solid kind of nutrients get hold of some liquid kind much easyer to alter the ammount the plant will recive.If you are gonna use the solid kinds then mix with water and dilute with more water and check the ph after adding the nutrients.But my advice on feed would be stick to a good name there are plenty out there and there not that exspensive to buy.Make up the feed has you need it there is no need to make up lts of feed and have it laying around for weeks.Don't get lazy make it up on the day of the feed ph it after the feed has been added then wet the plants through with it.Once the plants have been watered try not to water again till the following week on the same day.You may need to add a little more about day 5 but only a little let the roots search out water this will give the plant a far better root mass and you a far better yeild.Watering in the way that i have said will give you time to keep the walls and floor clean i clean my grow room at least once every 2 week the cleaner the room the less chance of pest getting to the plants.I flush the plants every couple of week during flowering followed by feed a couple of hours later leave the plants in the bath so the water can freely run off.And no all the water will not harm the plants by doing this you will have far fewer problems.And while the plants are in the bath you can be cleaning the room.No matter how good the plants are flushed there will always be small trces left in the grow medium.The root mass will continue to grow all the way through it's life but it slows down after about week two of flowering.Flush all the plants at the same time it is poinless waiting for something to happen to the plant flush them all on the same day.Be careful when watering because alot of nutrient burns happen during this time through a little ammoung been spilt on the leaves............................................tyke...............................................

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Sorry man, I think you misunderstood. I'm a dirt grower, not hydro.

I'm using this Rapid Rooter to clone instead of dirt, but it's not really true hydro either. It's just a tray that holds water with a tray insert that holds the cubes with a humidity dome over it and a heating pad under it.

And the Mycorrhiza isn't really nutes, though it does have a small ammount of nutes. They're micro organisms that help with root colinazation & development. But since it's a micro organism you can't really use it in hydro, it will clog your lines just like algae would.

Thanks for the effort though.

Danny, try this.

Poke some holes in the bottom of 16 oz party cups, fill them 1/2 way full of wet promix. Poke holes in the center of the promix about one inch in. Take your cutting, dip it into water, then a root hormone then right into those holes you made. Use smaller cuttings so they fit in the cup, spray the leaves with water and be sure to wash off any dirt on the sides of the cup, you want the brilliant white inside the cup for reflection, and you want the outside clean of dirt so that plastic wrap will stick,Cover the top with saran wrap and place under some floros. Uncover the cup and spray the leaves, and inside of the cup, once a day...

seasmoke said:

Danny, try this.

Poke some holes in the bottom of 16 oz party cups, fill them 1/2 way full of wet promix. Poke holes in the center of the promix about one inch in. Take your cutting, dip it into water, then a root hormone then right into those holes you made. Use smaller cuttings so they fit in the cup, spray the leaves with water and be sure to wash off any dirt on the sides of the cup, you want the brilliant white inside the cup for reflection, and you want the outside clean of dirt so that plastic wrap will stick,Cover the top with saran wrap and place under some floros. Uncover the cup and spray the leaves, and inside of the cup, once a day...

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Thanks for the help. +rep

I'm not sure what Promix is, but I'm trying to get away from using cups because it cuts down on the number I can root at one time. I can do 50 in the Rapid Rooter tray and if I used cups I'd be lucky to do 20 in the same ammount of space.

If the Rapid Rooter doesn't start working, and if the Promix doesn't root any faster than dirt, then I'll probably go back to dirt. I might use the saran wrap over the top of the cup instead of the pepsi dome to save on space so I can do more at one time though.

Hopefully I'll be able to get the Rapid Rooter working so I can do 200 at a time under the light fixture I have.

Also, I want to try to do them in plugs. I just got a call today from a new dispensory that wants to do sea of green and needs a supply of clones in plugs so they can put them into the rock wool cubes that they use in their system. Rooting in anything other than plugs wouldn't work for the guy. He'll buy as many as I can produce at $10 to $15 ea.

I can fit 12, 16oz party cups on a regular cookie\baking sheet, I can fit 4 cookie sheets side by side under 3, 4ft shoplights, a total of 6 bulbs, 4 are 6500k daylites, and 2 are garden\aquarium type. Thats 48 clones in a tight area.

Don't leave the clones in standing water, it gets stagnent thats why it stinks and waterloggs the soil. You want the soil to drain freely. Spray only the leaves, if the cup feels light and needs water, pour a small amout on the tray and let them bottom feed....the roots will go for the water. Don't add anything but water while they are trying to root. Nothing but water untill you know they've rooted and less than 1\2 dose nutes even then. I know nothing of plugs, sorry can't help, good luck though.

seasmoke said:

I can fit 12, 16oz party cups on a regular cookie\baking sheet, I can fit 4 cookie sheets side by side under 3, 4ft shoplights, a total of 6 bulbs, 4 are 6500k daylites, and 2 are garden\aquarium type. Thats 48 clones in a tight area.

Don't leave the clones in standing water, it gets stagnent thats why it stinks and waterloggs the soil. You want the soil to drain freely. Spray only the leaves, if the cup feels light and needs water, pour a small amout on the tray and let them bottom feed....the roots will go for the water. Don't add anything but water while they are trying to root. Nothing but water untill you know they've rooted and less than 1\2 dose nutes even then. I know nothing of plugs, sorry can't help, good luck though.

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Is that a 4' x 2' space? The reason I ask is that's the area I have, and I can fit 5 maybe 6 Rapid Rooter trays in that same space, at 50 clones per tray. If I can get it to work that is.

I have no choice but to leave them in standing water, that's how this thing is supposed to work. The water comes up to the bottom of the plugs keeping the plugs constantly wet. I started treating the water with Hydrogen Peroxide and I'm hoping that will work to control standing water problems. I really don't know what else to do, except maybe take some more clones for dirt and see if I can't get it to work faster. But if those 50 clippings in the tray die, I'm up a creek. No 2 ways about it.

Are you sure its supposed to be standing water? Seems to me there ought to be a pump circulating the water around...

And yes, the area is 4x2, actually its 96"x16" with two sets of floros end to end. I use one end (48"x16") for clones and seedlings, the other end is for small vegging plants.

seasmoke said:

Are you sure its supposed to be standing water? Seems to me there ought to be a pump circulating the water around...

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Nope, just standing water. Here's a link for a local store that sells it. http://hydroponicshobby.com/rapidrootertray-50seedlingstarter.aspx

It says 7 to 9 days and it'll be 2 weeks this weekend and nothing yet. Plus a couple of clones had drooped and the leaves were resting on the plugs. The branches holding the leaves rotted (the ones that were laying on the plugs).

And if I can ask, if the clipping is completely brown, it's a goner right?

Also, I just took 18 clones and used your method. I also used Mycorrhiza to hopefully speed up the process. Hope it works, but it dawned on me when I was making them that spraying each one every day is going to be a major pain. lol

Yes its a little work keeping up with them but it won't be for long. Before you know it they'll be taking off. If all the cups are the same height, and are even on the tray, you can spread a sheet of wrap over the whole thing to cover them. Be sure each cup is sealed. The shit sticks together pretty bad though and can be a hassle taking it off and putting it back on.

Right now I am cloning 6 Burmese. I bought a 10 pk, got 3 females, took 2 clones off each. That was on 12/21/09, they are all pushing the plastic wrap up...I'll keep them under plactic another 4 days or so. I place the tray on top of my floros, right over the ballasts each evening. It keeps the soil warmer than the ambient air, roots like that, you can see the condensation on the inside of the plastic wrap. Thats just the way I want it.

Some browning is expected, but not the whole thing. There should be some greening in the center of the cutting, thats when you know they've taken. If it is completely brown, pull one and inspect it, see whats going on.

Don't give up on your rooter though, i'm sure someone on here has had good success and will help you. I don't use them and probably won't, this cheap, old fashioned method works for me.

Be sure the soil is moist, not water logged, and is warm(not hot)
spray the leaves, don't spray to water the soil. Bottom water when needed, let them suck up what they need.
Keep them covered, burping them 2x a day or so, so they can breathe a bit.
Then wait.


You are using a rooting hormone right? Root tone or Root gell?

seasmoke said:

Yes its a little work keeping up with them but it won't be for long. Before you know it they'll be taking off. If all the cups are the same height, and are even on the tray, you can spread a sheet of wrap over the whole thing to cover them. Be sure each cup is sealed. The shit sticks together pretty bad though and can be a hassle taking it off and putting it back on.

Right now I am cloning 6 Burmese. I bought a 10 pk, got 3 females, took 2 clones off each. That was on 12/21/09, they are all pushing the plastic wrap up...I'll keep them under plactic another 4 days or so. I place the tray on top of my floros, right over the ballasts each evening. It keeps the soil warmer than the ambient air, roots like that, you can see the condensation on the inside of the plastic wrap. Thats just the way I want it.

Some browning is expected, but not the whole thing. There should be some greening in the center of the cutting, thats when you know they've taken. If it is completely brown, pull one and inspect it, see whats going on.

Don't give up on your rooter though, i'm sure someone on here has had good success and will help you. I don't use them and probably won't, this cheap, old fashioned method works for me.

Be sure the soil is moist, not water logged, and is warm(not hot)
spray the leaves, don't spray to water the soil. Bottom water when needed, let them suck up what they need.
Keep them covered, burping them 2x a day or so, so they can breathe a bit.
Then wait.


You are using a rooting hormone right? Root tone or Root gell?

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Well I'm comparing the different methods now. I kinda like the pepsi dome method because if you put them in a 14" saucer filled with water and don't put holes in the cups, then you don't have to mist ever. And if you treat the water with Hydrogen Peroxide daily, then they'll root before you have to worry about mold/mildew. But they take 2 to 3 weeks to root and it takes up a lot of space.

Your method is kind of a pain in comparison, but it does save space. Until I have enough cash to get another couple of fixtures and a shelf system, space is very important.

Once I start getting harvests I wont be cloning nearly as much though.

Your right, someone already helped me with the Rapid Rooter. Even though the directions say to let the water stand you're really not supposed to. Just water when the plugs start looking a little dry, and then empty the tray. I just switched methods, hopefully I didn't kill too many of the clippings that are in there.

If it works, there's a dispensory that likes to do Sea of Green that will buy all I can make. But they have to be in cubes because they're running a hydro system. We'll just have to see what happens with the Rapid Rooter now that I'm doing it correctly (I hope) lol I'll have to pull the ones that are brown and put new clippings in there.

The 18 Opiums I just took were watered with 1/3 cup of pH'd water, and I used hormones and a micro organism that is supposed to speed up rooting. It's a micro organism though, so I can only use it for dirt clones. They'll clog hydro systems just like algae, except they're smaller and can live in the dark. lol

It's Mycorrhiza if you're wondering. Great stuff, the same stuff Fox Farm uses, but I use an additive that has a much higher concentration. You can look it up here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza

Thanks again for all your help.

Fine as kind my man. 2-3 weeks to take root seems like a long time. That would never work for me. We could be running two batches in that amount of time. But to each there own. Good luck with the dispensatory, we need all the support we can get.

I'm glad someone responded about the rapid rooter, letting them sit in water didn't sound right. Roots NEED oxygen to grow, you were drowning them. You just may be on your way to success.

seasmoke said:

Fine as kind my man. 2-3 weeks to take root seems like a long time. That would never work for me. We could be running two batches in that amount of time. But to each there own. Good luck with the dispensatory, we need all the support we can get.

I'm glad someone responded about the rapid rooter, letting them sit in water didn't sound right. Roots NEED oxygen to grow, you were drowning them. You just may be on your way to success.

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Sorry man, I was in a rush when I wrote that last message. I should have explained.....

I'm only cloning so heavy now because I need to keep afloat till my first harvest. I may have to get a job even though the Dr. says I shouldn't and if I get a job, I'm not going to want to mess with much more than the mothers when I get home. But I'm running the 18 clones in case the Rapid Rooters don't end up working. And if I can start making enough money with them so I don't have to work, then I can spend more time with them.

If I make some super plants, then I may start cloning on a large scale. Then time & maintenance may become an issue again, but only because I'll be cloning a lot. If that happens I'll probably get an aeration set up so I don't have to babysit 500 clones.

Thanks for your help, if the rapid rooters don't work, you method may end up saving my bacon.

Cool man... be sure and not neglect them...any of them. Good luck, and I hope you get better.

seasmoke said:

Cool man... be sure and not neglect them...any of them. Good luck, and I hope you get better.

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Don't worry, I never neglect my girls.

Just flushed my Rapid Rooter with a gallon of pH'd spring water. Ended up having to replace 8 or 9 that were too far gone. But it's looking a lot better now. So I'll know in 2 weeks if that thing works well. I'll try to post the results to this tread in case you ever want something more maintenance free. No guarantees at this point though.

Thanks for the concern. Lower extremity adema is a bitch. Could be caused by half a dozen things and no one wants to pay for the tests to diagnose the source. That includes my x-insurance company (Aetna), MCPN, and even the emergency room at University Hospital. But once I get in a couple of harvests I'll be able to get the tests done myself. Hopefully I'll survive long enough and the MJ laws don't change by then. lol Thanks for the concern though.

Your plants should be on their own by now...mine are starting to take off. Popped o couple out of the cups and all had root tips out to the edge. transplant tomorrow. Took 14 more clones today.

I haven't looked, but I'm pretty sure none are ready yet. I don't think any roots started when I had them in standing water (rapid rooter), so I may have basically started from scratch.

The ones I planted in dirt have only been in the dirt for a few days. They'll probably take another week and a half or so.

I hope something roots soon. lol

I made a homemade rooter yesterday. I got looking at them over online and figured i could build one...so i built two. Checked on them this morning and they look like they are doing the job.

I'd like to know how yours are doing.

Well I flushed it a couple of days ago with a gallon of pH'd water. I watered every plug then let it sit in the new water for a couple of hrs before dumping the water.

It seems a lot better, but that stagnant water smell has returned so I'm not sure how well they're really doing. I just keep misting & hoping for the best. I'll know more in a week and a half.

I had to replace a half dozen of them and when I did I rinsed the plugs out real good. So I'm confident that those 6 might work, just not sure about the other 44. lol