How to go from rooted clone-cutting to hydro? (noob)

joeg235

joeg235

Member
I am able to take clone cuttings and using my ez cloner-type machine get great starter roots growing off the shoots at about 2 weeks.
If I go to soil there is no problem, of course.
My question is if I wanted to use these cuttings in a hydro system.
What do the roots attach to?
Right now, in the ez cloner the cutting is inserted through a neoprene circle with a hole cut in the middle and the end of the cutting hangs down and is sprayed and grows roots.
How does this get rooted into a hydro system?"
 
homebrewer

homebrewer

Well-Known Member
I'll take cuttings in a similar manner as you. Once the roots are prominent, I plant in an 8oz container with soil and place in another humidity dome. As soon as the cuttings are rootbound and hardend off, I'll knock the dirt off the roots and go into rockwool cubes. This method is flawless for me but the takeaway is; get your cuttings hardend off with a good root structure and you're ok to go into any medium you'd like.
 
joeg235

joeg235

Member
I'm with you up to the nock the dirt off the roots and go into rockwool cubes
part
What size rockwool cubes? How to you "go into them" - sorry for all the q's - but I really what to make this work!~
 
homebrewer

homebrewer

Well-Known Member
For my future purposes of flood and drain, I prefer 6" cubes. All rockwool cubes have a circular opening on one side where the plant will be planted. Knocking off the dirt just makes the rootmass an appropriate size for said hole in the cubes.
 
1

1st timer crop man

Member
i have been given sum cutting that have alredi started flowering but are onli 5-6inches big is ther anyway i could stop them from budding and put bk into veg stage bongsmilie:eyesmoke:
 
joeg235

joeg235

Member
homebrewer said:
For my future purposes of flood and drain, I prefer 6" cubes. All rockwool cubes have a circular opening on one side where the plant will be planted. Knocking off the dirt just makes the rootmass an appropriate size for said hole in the cubes.
Click to expand...
OK so , you:
1. Take the rooted mass and knock the soil off (not all just most I would guess)
2. You insert the rooted mass into a 6" rockwool cube. The hole is at the top and the rootmass just sits in the hole, right?
Then this is placed in the hydro setup/net pot?
How long till the roots come out the sides of the rockwool and start getting fed?
They grow out/down from the rockwool correct?
 
homebrewer

homebrewer

Well-Known Member
joeg235 said:
OK so , you:
1. Take the rooted mass and knock the soil off (not all just most I would guess)
2. You insert the rooted mass into a 6" rockwool cube. The hole is at the top and the rootmass just sits in the hole, right?
Then this is placed in the hydro setup/net pot?
How long till the roots come out the sides of the rockwool and start getting fed?
They grow out/down from the rockwool correct?
Click to expand...
I take the rootbound cutting and knock as much soil off as I can, usually 70-80%. I then take the cutting (which is in a rapid rooter plug with roots and a little dirt hanging below) and place it in it's entirety into the hole in the rockwool cube. At this point, the top of the plug and the top of the cube are level. Then I'll place the 6" cube into one of the flood and drain gutters that I have in the veg room. The rookwool cubes do a great job of holding water and air so as soon as you flood them, the roots are getting fed. It makes maybe a week for roots to peek out of the bottom? Not sure really, I never check. The roots also keep to the cube as they don't need to travel far to find water and food, so you won't have 8 inches of roots hanging out of your cube, ever.
 
joeg235

joeg235

Member
thanks so much - I'll give it a try....

Your point here is to go to a rapid rooter and soil first to get hardened off then to hydro. You think that hardening off is better then going directly to rockwool for the cutting and into hydro?
 
homebrewer

homebrewer

Well-Known Member
joeg235 said:
thanks so much - I'll give it a try....

Your point here is to go to a rapid rooter and soil first to get hardened off then to hydro. You think that hardening off is better then going directly to rockwool for the cutting and into hydro?
Click to expand...
Cuttings need to be hardend off regardless of what medium they'll eventually go into. I've gone directly into hydro cubes from my clone dome but found it difficult to keep the humidity up while they were sitting in my gutter. I literally had either clear plastic cups over each cutting or gallon bags. The end result was the same but if my fan blew over a cup or a bag, I could potentially lose a cutting. There are many different methods and I use this one as it's easy and practical for my needs. Plus, by the time my cuttings are rootbound and hardend off, they're 4-6" tall and ready to rock-and-roll as soon as they hit that hydro cutter.
 
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