Jack's Home-Built Cloner & Master Grower Tips

JACK: I use a home-built aeroponic cloner.  The parts and plans are all available online; Google search 'Do-it-yourself aeroponic cloner.'  But this is mine and it's made out of an 18-gallon Rubbermaid tub.

I used a two-inch hole saw to drill holes in the top of it, and then placed two-inch net pots with the bottoms cut off and glued those on the top.  They accept the little two-inch neoprene pucks.
 
The drive system is an Active Aqua AAPW 400-gallon-per-hour pump.  Don't ask me why I have that one.  I just use it; it works.
 
I then constructed a misting system that attaches to the pump out of, I think it's half-inch PVC, in a configuration. 
 
I have ten 360-degree fan jet micromisters.
 
I painted the top of the cloner white, just to make it look clean and also for a little bit of reflectivity.  The reason it's wrapped up on the outside with -- that's reflective ducting tape and regular duct tape -- is to keep light from going inside the cloner.
 
You want to have your cloner as light-tight as possible; it will keep any algae from growing in there and it also, the darkness encourages the roots to grow.
 
So, how this works is you would take a bare cutting, place it in between the little neoprene pucks that open up like a Pac-Man and clamp down on the clone, holding it upright.  And then when the pump is on, it pulls water from the inside and sprays continuously, creating a dark, damp environment that is going to encourage root growth.

You want to encourage as cold of water as possible, but when the pump is running continuously it will heat the water up.  So, if you can get a timer that turns off every once in a while instead of running it all the time, I find that to be better.  But keep an eye on your temperatures; 60 degrees and lower is better.
 
Another good trick to do is keep a couple of frozen plastic water bottles and place them inside the cloner, keep the water cool.
 
Warmer water, I found it to make the plants take longer to root.
 
With this cloner I get a hundred percent success rate.  It's very, very easy to do, once you have it troubleshooted.

Recent Clone Delivery

• BlackWater Strain: Mostly Indica. Mendo Purps x SFV OG Kush

• Critical Jack Strain: Sativa Dominant. Critical Mass x Jack Herrer 

• Vanilla Kush Strain: Indica Origins. Kashmir x Afghani 

Please click on pictures for larger views.

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1. Usually after taking a cutting it goes into the cloner, but sometimes people request a cut that is not rooted and they will root it themselves. This is how I provide to those people.

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2. Healthy branches are selected for cutting, and those cuts are placed into a keg cup with water to soak and become turgid. Here are some Critical Jack cuttings that are soaking in a cloning solution prior to transfer.

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3. In this case I used an old film canister that I drilled three holes in the lid. Here I am filling the film canister with the cloning solution the cuttings were soaking in.

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4. Cleaning the area of loose material prevents rot. A medical scalpel makes this job much easier.

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5. To ensure no bugs are transferred I dip the clones into a miticide.  Here I am using White Wash from Green Planet Nutes.

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6. Shaking off the excess White Wash.

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7. Film canister with three holes drilled in the top, converted to clone transport.

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8. Each clone stem is inserted into a hole in the film canister top. This will feed the clones while in transport.

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9. Three cuts in one film canister allows plenty of room.

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10. Film canister is placed into a standard keg cup to provide support for the clones and help ensure the film canister doesn't tip over.

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11. Critical Jack is ready to go.

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12. Vanilla Kush, Critical Jack, BlackWater

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13. Boxed for delivery.

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An Introduction from The Pot Hole Gang

Strain: StrawDawg 2010
Montana Grown

Welcome to the NorthWest Pot Hole.  With Throwback Thursday a few hours away, we are celebrating in high style with photos from past grows.  Please click on the photos for larger views.

This introductory blog post serves to outline what you, the readers, can expect from the NorthWest Pot Hole.  Please contact us at NWPotHole@gmail.com with any questions, comments, or suggestions.

NorthWest Pot Hole is an informational and services blog managed with oversight by Jack, a dedicated and licensed medical grower in Washington State.  Jack has spent over a decade of self-study and application of various growing methodologies, such as Soil, Hydro, Coco, SOG (Sea of Green), and others.  As a tenured Sole Medical Grower, his range of experience covers cloning and propagation, strain cultivation, soil modification, nutrient development, equipment engineering, quality control, marketing and sales, troubleshooting, and researching of various industry matters.