DIY Cloning chamber on the cheep

tastyness · Aug 13, 2012

Inspired by Dan K. Liberty's chicken cloner I decided to get creative for my first round of clones I really want to have live. These are from my plants that are ready to go to flower and I'm since I've got a bunch of girls I wanted to preserve them for posterity.

I took a standard blue Ikea box: (Gles) 1.99 CAD
hxxp://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/57192396/

And some leftover 3M window film (you know the kind you use when you have single pane windows - blow on with hair dryer type). (About 5-7 dollars)

So just cut a piece of the plastic film to cover the box.
use the cool double sided re-stickable tape that comes with the kit.
Put a piece on each end and voila!

it is great because some air escapes from the sides keeping humidity at a steady 99%. you can lift or fold back easily for more air.
I'm going to add some perlite/or hydroton to the bottom just so they don't get soggy.

I've got a second bin with clones in soil that is also doing fabulous.
I'll keep you posted on the results- but so far they are working great.

I forgot to mist last night and one got down to 70% humidity so a few of the cuttings in there look a little sad- but they seem to be bouncing back.

Old_SSSC_Guy · Aug 13, 2012

Looks like a great start tasty. Keep us posted...

And be sure that blue tub is rated for food-grade use. Cheap plastics are evil when it comes to passing along evil.

ozzydiodude · Aug 13, 2012

nice little clone box.

tastyness · Aug 13, 2012

Ozzie -Thanks- I'm loving it so far and the price is right!

OLDSSSCGuy- I'm usually leery of using plastic for anything. Not sure which number tells me it is food grade? I've had these forever, so I'm thinking any bad stuff has already leached away.

tastyness · Aug 18, 2012

Both clone boxes are doing great. Box 2 -The soil one has the healthier looking plants- maybe because it is farther away and I don't mess with it as much.

Box 1 The rockwool/coco cube bunch are doing well 3-4 are looking a little weak. But all still appear very viable. I added a layer off very coarse perlite to the bottom of this box - gives a little more control to keep them upright. That is why they were out of the box when I snapped this picture.

Cover is holding up well, I open the boxes for about 15 minute each day after day 4. They seal back up easily. This film would allow you to turn any container into an easy clone box.

I hope the slight yellowing leaves are because they are using energy to root. If not that's ok I'm really learning a lot and gaining confidence in my cloning skills.

Box 1 all received a brief dip in 1/4 strength organic tea solution. Box 2 was given light watering on Day 6 with same 1/4 strength solution.

Boxes are misted twice a day.

Old_SSSC_Guy · Aug 18, 2012

Cool labels!

tastyness · Aug 18, 2012

Old_SSSC_Guy said:
Cool labels!

Thanks. That label maker was one of the best things I ever bought. Didn't use it when doing the plants the first time-used markers and color coded them. But I like these because they show up better in the photos. Mine was like 29.00 at staples. I stocked up on labels when local big box office supply store was going out of business.

pcduck · Aug 18, 2012

Nice set up and nice clones:aok:

That is a nifty label maker. Mine get smeared and unreadable most the time.

tastyness · Aug 30, 2012

Ooooh- just when I was thinking what am I gonna do with all these clones....

I was trying to get the clones ready for transplant in two days.
I decided to leave the top off for the whole day....and then ignored them like I usually do.
When I checked this morning, the coir pucks were TOTALLY dry.
I've given them a dip (in some water to moisten the coir) and a spray.

I can still see lots of white roots poking through but not as many as before.
Will they bounce back?

What is the scoop with air, roots and water when cloning these awesome plants?

pcduck · Aug 30, 2012

They should bounce back. I acclimatize mine by taking the cover off a few times a day. When I see them droopy I replace cover and check the moisture content of grow media. There is quite a bit difference from nearly 100% humidity to 40%. with the amount of air moisture being gone the roots are now sucking up the water from the media instead of their leaves using a lot more. As long as you got white roots still that is good.

tastyness · Aug 30, 2012

pcduck- I'm hoping they do. I meant to check them before going to bed just to be sure but fell asleep on the couch.

I've been progressively uncovering them a bit more each day and wanted so see how they would do. There was no real water in the perlite below them which is the back up plan.

The "super simple" method doesn't even use a dome so they never get much more than 50% RH.

ozzydiodude · Aug 30, 2012

If you see white roots poking thru then start a light nute feed and start moving them a little closer to the lights. They are rooted and need to feed on light and nutes.

The coir pucks IMO need planted in the final homes as soon as 2 or 3 roots are thru the puck.

DIY Cloning chamber on the cheep

tastyness

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Old_SSSC_Guy

incorrigible reprobate

ozzydiodude

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tastyness

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tastyness

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Old_SSSC_Guy

incorrigible reprobate

tastyness

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pcduck

Feed the soil, not the plant

tastyness

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pcduck

Feed the soil, not the plant

tastyness

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ozzydiodude

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