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Cloning Your Plants
An easy guide to clone at home with no special equipment
This guide is a simple method I've been using for many years that is great for small home gardens. This method scales well but might be better off adapted to cloning plug machines for very large scale production. The basic methodology is the same.
Material list
You will need a few things to get started. I like to use a cheap peat based germination mix with good drainage and water retention, a good cloning gel, a clean sterilized sharp blade, and some plastic cups.
I use a bleach solution of 30% or more and a torch on the blade as well. The effort to keep sterile is to prevent contamination that could interfere with the cloning, and to prevent the spread of viriods and disease. If you re use any containers, trays or blades they need to be well cleaned.
Take your clean plastic cups and cut the top rim off half of them, the other half make drain homes in the bottom.
Gather your cuttings. They should be about 3-5 inches long and preferably have at least one node on the stem. I clean them with a solution of JADAM sulpher, but a 30% bleach solution also works, then rinse them off and place in a cup with fresh water.
Fill up the cups and I moisten the media with boiling water. This sterilizes the planting media. Poke holes and let cool to room temperature.
I clean up cuttings and the nodes and make a angled cut at the bottom of the stem as pictured, then dip the cutting to the deapth of planting in rooting gel. Place the cutting in the cups and water them in. I use a very mild organic fertilized water ph'ed to 6.5-7 or so (0-1-1 NPK 1ml per half gallon).
Take the caps you made from cutting the lids and use them as humidity domes. Use paper towels underneath to absorb excess water so the media is overly soggy if needed. Place the domed cuttings in a dimly lit warm area. I like upper 70f-85f temps and use a heating mat set to 78f. Atr 3, and 5 days vent and recover. At day 7 leave the cover slightly ajar until you see root. Move into a bit brighter light. If its stubborn or sensitive and wilts re-cover for a bit longer.
When they root leave the lids ajar for a few days longer so they can adjust to the humidity of your grow room and grow enough roots to be happy again. Place in full veg light. You can then remove the lids, and your off and growing!
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