In the 70s I worked as a forrester for one of the big lumber companies. My crew would go into the clearcuts and replant trees. We would also plant pot as we went along -- acres and acres of rooted clones in private tree farm land. The cloning process for the effort was really neat and really similar to what you're describing here, except we needed repeatability instead of a one-shot deal. Here's how we solved it:Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueDragonSmoke
Instead of punching thru the lid of a container, we'd make "strings" of 48 1/2" plastic tubing about a foot long, connected with duc tape to resemble a picket fence. We'd roll the string of tubes into bundles that fit in big tubs of nute-laced water. Then we'd drop the cuttings into the tubes. The leaves held them up in the tubes, and the water was brought up to a reasonable level. We could pack in as many cuttings as the tub would hold tubes. Crowding didn't seem to be an issue. I don't remember if we used rooting hormones on them or not, but considering that it was the 70s and this was being done on a huge scale, I suspect we did not.
The plants weren't directly handled after going into the tubes. If we were interested in how their roots were doing, we'd pull out the bundle and look through the tubes. When a string of cuttings showed roots, we gently pushed each as far into the tube as the leaves would allow and headed up the clearcuts with them. Each was protected by its tube, and they were easy to pull out and plant. The bundles of 48 were a perfect size to handle and carry along with the required sling bag of treelings. We'd bring back the empty strings and repeat for many thousands of plants.
Just another variation on the theme . . .