Send in the clones...

Well, I've made most of my biggest bone-headed mistakes already (I hope!), and built a completely new grow area with plenty of space, light, air, etc., and the ladies are doin' just fine. The pistils have begun to change color, and I'm just starting to see some crystaline frost on the buds and leaves. I'm hoping that in a few more weeks I'll be able to make my first harvest, so I'm already starting to think and plan for my next grow.

When I first decided to try my hand at growing, there were two axioms I wanted to try and keep to: 1) Learn something new with each grow, and 2) make each grow better than the last.This next time around, I'm going to try and clone, the eventual goal being to have a perpetual grow going, somewhere far, far down the line. The 'shoebox' I originally started in would be completely perfect for the new cuttings after some modificatons. The grow books I have do a pretty good job of explaining how to clone,and my question is more along the lines of rooting gels and clone solutions. Are there any brands out there that have worked particularly well, or even poorly, for you? (Doesn't hurt to know what to stay away from, as well as what works...) Or are they all pretty much the same? Naturally, they ALL claim to be the best, but I much prefer the input from more experienced growers than I.

Now, this is something I wouldn't do, but I'm curious...could you use, for example, Clonex gel to start the rooting, and then Olivia's clone solution for the feeding? Mixing and matching doesn't strike me as an especially good idea, assuming each brand is formlated to work best with itself, but as I said, just curious. After scouring my home state, I've finally found a garden and hydro shop that has absolutely anything and everything I could want or need, and if they don't carry it, they say they'll get it. (I wish they meant MJ seeds, but cloning gels and solutions will do for now, LOL .)

 

Fukkin excelent Herbal! I use Dip n Grow. Im not shure who makes it but I got it at KMart. Like you said, Im not to shure who makes the best. I think everyone finds the best for themselvs. Im not shure how to tell ya how to clone because I dont use any normal method. I root prepaired cuttings directly into rocks in 3" net pots in bubble bukkits. After I take a cutting off my plant I give it a steril 45 degree cut and I lightly scar my stem with my razor knife. Then I dip it in Dip n Grow while I take my next cut, I leave my next cut in a glass of water while I take the dip n Grow cutting out of the Dip n Ggow and hold it in place in the center of a pot while I use my other hand to skoop up steril rocks and dumpem around the stem to hold it in place in the pot. Then I putem in my bubbler with 6.4 water and wait for the roots that usually appear in 10 days or so. 100% sucess rate! Then I switch the bukkit from underim to a bukkit with Fox Farm Grow Big 3-2-6 in it and bubbleem in there for 2 more weeks to vegem. I put the 3-2-6 in the bukkit untill the ph goes down to 6.4 but I never givem more than 10 tsps per 5 gal bukkit. My water comes out at 7.3 so it only takes 5-6 tsps to bring my ph down to 6.4 but then it rises again sometimes in a fyew hours even and Il put more FFGB in the bukkit till my ph goes down to 6.4. When I need to bring my ph down and I already used the max of 10 tsps per 5gal of the FFGB I bring it down with Gen Hydro ph down. Ya gotta keep an eye on it for a while and adjust the ph up or down whitchever it needs and itl ballance out in a fyew days. Then just mix yer FFGB3-2-6 in a gallon jug,adjust it to 6.4 and top off yer bukkits when ya need to. This is just what I do and I wouldnt expect ya to do it like this but mabey you can glean some tek from this. If your growin in dirt mabey you can use a bubble bukkit to get roots but mabey use neopreen puks to hold your cuttings in place in the 3" holes instead of net pots and rocks and then when ya get roots mabey ya can just takem from the bukkit and stikem in your dirt and do some "New rooted cuttings in dirt" routeens. I started a thread in the tekneeks and methods section about vegetave growth in bubble bukkits, mabey youd like to check it out,its so easy its goofey! Blessins on ya Herbal!

 

Thank ya kindly Lumpy. Yeah, your post has given me some ideas and info. Thanks! I did also read the thread you're talking about, 'cause even tho I'm growin' in dirt, your posts on hydro growing are always worth a look so I keep an eye out for 'em. (And every time I read one, I gotta admit, you tempt me to go hydro ...you really know your stuff!) But first things first, I gotta get familiar with just growing this stuff right.

I picked up yet another grow book yesterday after I posted here (Cervante's Indoor MJ Hort.) and buried my nose in it. It's packed with far more specific info than the other books I have, and includes a lotta stuff regarding brands and such. I'd been under the impression before checking it out that it was the gels and powders that were used to stimulate root growth, and that the solutions were to be used for foliar feeding until they grew in sufficiently. JC's book leads me to think that the solutions are actually just the liquid forms of the gels/powders. Is that correct, or are there 'feeding solutions' and 'rooting solutions'?

Peace, funky plants, and a King George free world to ya.

 

Hey Howdy Herbal! Im not shure but I bet they make something for everything. I dont use any of it. I make my cuts and treatem, then I rootem rite into the rocks after just treatenem with the Dip n Grow and I just keep the water at 6.4, in 2 weeks easy I got roots good enoughf to feed. I dont use humidity domes or sprayem or nothin, prety much I just make shure the water stays 6.4 and I dont let it get under the net pot level. Works everytime! I I just dont know how you would take care ofem once ya stukem in the dirt. Blessins on ya Brudda, your gonna grow it good!

 

Thanks for the vote of confidence, amigo . I'm tryin', anyways, LOL. I think I may either go with the Dip N Grow, or maybe Olivia's. At the moment I'm rebuilding the small cabinet for the shoots, and it'll take a while, so I have the time to think everything over. (Just wish I had more cash with which to do it!) Estimated time to first harvest is Feb 16th. Yahoo!
Saw the pics of your grow area (gorgeous plants, btw), and if you happen to peek at this thread again...what kind of lights do you use in your system?

 

Hey hows it goin Bud! I becha either Olivias or Dip n Grow would work great! Cool that ya got time to think things threw. Go over the steps in yer head over an over a fyew times for practice. Ive always got great roots like I discribed and maby you can root clones off your mom and if you still wanna grow in dirt you could prolly just read up a bit on transplantin fresh rooted clones into dirt and do as described . I got 4 double flouro light fixtures over 3 bubble bukkits wich makes up my entire grow, root and veg aria. Then they go into the flower room where I got 3 X 400 watt HPS's over 3 to 4 flowering bins depending on the time. Each bin holds 4 clone flowers. Its like jugglin ! Blessins on Ya Brudda!

 

Thats the name of the game Herbal,pragmatics;a constant changing of things for a easier and more rewarding experience.

 

I've come to see exactly whatcha mean over the course of this grow, MG. And there's always more to learn .