Propagation Station Set-Up

hello and welcome to the HDI propogation series my name is Harley Smith and this is my propagation station as you can see we built a shelving unit divided into three sections the top section is for trays of clones the middle section is for a clone machine and the lower shelf is for trays of seedlings once you've planted your seeds or stuck your cuttings simply slide the tray under a bank full-spectrum grow lights and wait until they are well rooted personally I like to leave the lights on 24 hours a day but if you want to use a timer a 16 to 18 hour light cycle works fine a heating mat can also be helpful especially for germinating tropical seeds such as tomatoes and peppers the correct germination temperature is preset at the factory but an optional thermostat can be added for more precise temperature control a little bottom heat is also good for clones but be careful not to overcook them 68 to 75 degrees is plenty so in my multi-tiered system I don't use a heat mat for my clones the lights on the lower shelf produce all the bottom heat needed for the upper trace to keep clones from wilting it's best to miss them and keep them under a humidity dome especially for the first few days but once the plants are established you can remove the dome completely in about a week to ten days the clones should be well rooted and ready to transplant the fastest and easiest way to produce bare-root clones is to use a clone machine the cuttings are held in neoprene inserts and the bare roots grow in a highly oxygenated mist chamber this kind of system is also called an aeroponic system since the roots are suspended in air with just a fine mist spray down the roots setting up a clone machine is easy first fill the reservoir with tap water until the water level is just below the misting manifold just be careful not to cover the misters next at a mild fertilizer typically formulated for tender clones and seedlings clone ex clone solution is an excellent choice it has all the minerals that young plants need with a little bit of root stimulant measure the appropriate amount and add the fertilizer to the reservoir the last step is to adjust the pH to 6.0 slowly add just enough pH lower to hit your target of 6.0 perfect now take your cuttings as usual dip them in cloning gel and insert them directly into the neoprene inserts one nice thing about the clone machine is that you can often choose two nodes for rooting instead of just one most of the roots come from the nodes so two nodes provide twice the roots nice now just place the insert back into the top and turn on the machine the humidity will be nearly 100% at the root zone so wilting is rarely a problem but an occasional misting is sometimes helpful one last tip after about three to four days a callus will start to form on the cut ends this is the perfect time to add a little root stimulant I like to measure the atotal amount required for the clone machine and dilute it down just a little then i squirt the concentrated solution directly on the bare stems and let it drip into the reservoir root stimulants are different than cloning gels cloning gels have the hormones that say make roots but root stimulants have the cofactors that say make more roots in a short period of time you should see an explosion of lateral root growth with more root mass so there you have it if you don't have your own propagation station start planning one today with a little practice you'll soon have excellent results that's all for now if you want more advice on propagation please contact us at hydro dynamics or watch the rest of this series until next time good luck good drawing

Channel: HydrodynamicsIntl

Views: 68,419

Rating: 4.9609122 out of 5

Keywords: Hydroponics, Hydro, Indoor Gardening, Clonex, Root Riot, Hydrodynamics, Hydrodynamics International, HDI, Clone, Propagation station

Id: UF8JwsGquqw

Length: 4min 30sec (270 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 14 2012