trouble with ezclone machine

Well I have 1 of these bucket ez clone machine but never bothered to use it.Its still in the closet as after looking at it I saw more problems then easy so went back to rockwool and trays and my 100% 6 day clone ways. I can suggest dumping the cfls for 48 inch florescent tube lighting but I see with these unless you can keep a humidity dome on there may be problems. Got a picture of what yours looks like

thanx for the help, no pix, and no dome. my local grow shopkeeper tells me the domes are gimmick. knowing that humidity is crucial i wonder why he thinx that?

Well, everything sounds just grand, except one thing that I noticed. Your lights are 17 inches above the tops of the plants? That sounds like it's too far for the flourescent light to reach. I know rooting cuttings don't need much light, but I keep my tubes almost touching the dome, and when I remove the dome I move the tubes closer.

HTH

If you are using florescent tubes I keep them as close as I can cfl those spiral type bulbs I dont know I dont think much of them for growing and have no idea how close those can get but a florescent tube can almost touch the tops. And the local guy is an idiot if he told you that.

Fletch, I've never needed a humidome. My clonebox has an exhaust fan which runs 24/7, so the box is not trapping much humidity.



My box is there mainly to contain light and help keep the rockwool cubes slightly warm as they sit on their heatmat.

Humidomes are supposed to slow transpiration to prevent wilting, but for some odd reason, my clones never wilt.

I'm not sure I'd go so far as to call humidomes 'hokum' as the hydro shop guy did, but I'm getting by without any.

*shrug*

Originally Posted by artfern

without fail 6-7 days in, no roots and the leaves begin to yellow.

Sounds like pythium or other pathogen causing stem rot. Stem tips going squishy?

Add hydrogen peroxide (50% horticultural type) @ 1ml/litre of water in your cloner (which I presume is some type of aerocloner) and add the same every 3-4 days. Should keep pathogens down long enough to get some roots.

Alternatively, you could go to 1" rockwool cubes on a heatmat in a lighted box of some flavour.

the tips, yes they are going squishy. it is an aerocloner. i'll try the hydro-per. thanx

Originally Posted by artfern

need help. i have an ezclone cloning machine and i can't get it to work.

i take cuttings according to the ways i've read about.
1/4 inch below node, 45 degree angle, dipping immediately in clonex. the cuttings are 4-5 inches tall, a couple of leaves on top. i've read about wounding but haven't tried it---yet. the mothers are healthy, in vegative state. i have read something about the ma's shouldn't be hyped up with nitrogen. this could be a problem. i've been using a grow juice with lots of nitrogen. i've decided to flush with pure water a couple of waterings before taking anymore cuttings.
into the machine they go.
there are compact flourescents, a 6 bulb fixture. its raised to 17 inches above the top of the machine. i leave the lights on 24/7.
my ph averages 5.5-5.7, water temp--well i have a problem with that. it goes up, but on average it measures 71-78. air temp 79, relative humidity 48 percent.
i have a timer on the spray, 1 on 3 off i think is the cycle.
i'm using a root stimulator i bought from a local grow shop.
without fail 6-7 days in, no roots and the leaves begin to yellow.
i think that's about it.
any suggestions?
thanx in advance!

I have had problems with my aero cloner and with cloning in general the first few times around, but this time I got roots in three days. This is what I did differently: After taking cuttings I dipped them in clonex and left them in the clonex for about 15 to 20 minutes. I had never left them in there this long. I also read something about changing the water in the cloner every day. This helps to prevent bacteria growth and stem rott.
I thought it sounded like a bit of a pain in the ass but I was willing to try. Also, in the past I have mixed some cloning solution in the water. Since I was gonna be changing the water every day, I decided against putting anything in the water. Plus that shit is expensive.
I saw the first sign of roots on Tuesday night. I took the cuttings on Sunday. That is the fastest I have ever gotten roots. So it appears that changing the water and keeping the cuttings in the cloning gel for a longer period really did the trick this time!