When you get your new 8 site clone bucket test the pump before you do anything else. First, run the pump with tap water for a few hours and then lift each one up and make sure ALL plugs are getting completely wet. If the bottom of any plug is not wet, move the pump so that the plug gets wet, dry off each plug and run the pump for a couple hours or better yet, over night and check again to make sure all the plugs are getting wet. It is very important you get the pump positioned so that all the cuttings will get water. You only need to do this one time, then the pump will stay in that position forever. I ran the pump over the weekend to make sure it worked before taking cuttings. I have never had a problem with products from HTGSupply.com before but you don’t want to take your cuttings and find out the pump does not work.
The plugs are a very nice component of the 8 cuts bucket. They have preformed slits that hold the cuttings in place and make it easy to put the cuttings in. You can also order them separately if you loose or rip them. They also come in different colors which is a great thing if you are taking cuttings from different varieties of the same species of plant… the colors will be a marker so you know which cutting is from which mother plant
I have written about cuttings before. Make sure when you take the cutting you put the stem in water (or the clone bucket) as soon as possible. I took the bucket into my greenhouse where I had some tomato plants growing under a 600 W HPS with secondary lighting of diffuse sunlight. As soon as I took all 8 cuttings I put them in my grow tent and put them under the UFO LED and plugged in the pump.
Make sure when you put the plants in the plugs a few cm (1-4 inches) of stem are getting wet below the plug. I would suggest that you cut the leaves off a node and have the node under the plug (getting wet) as well. Many plants will produce roots at the node. I used only tap water in the bucket for the first two days, and then decided to use Hormex to improve my odds of clone success. I added a few ml of Hormex to the water reservoir on the second day. I was not going to use a rooting hormone as tomatoes are pretty easy to take cuttings from, but I saw it on the shelf and figured I might as well use it.
On day four I saw roots beginning to form on some plants. There was some brown ‘funk’ that developed on some stems, but after I added the Hormex, and some fertilizer I only saw health white roots in the next couple days.
When you first take your cuttings, you may notice they are a bit droopy or wilty. This is ok for one or a few days. It might help your success to mist the plants, but make sure they have a chance to dry off before you mist them again or you may have fungal growth. Also, you do not want to have too much airflow. I like the grow tent because it is easy to control the small environment. Some wilting is o.k. but he leaves of your cuttings should have some turgor pressure (they should not be totally limp, and look dead). Once roots start to form the plants will be able to take water in and the leaves should start to perk up a bit. As I said, I had healthy established tomato roots the end of one week.
Good Growing,
Dr. E.R. Myers
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