My first grow.. Closet, 400w HPS, a couple clones, and a couple seeds...

I dunno about the clippings.. This is what I did:

Clipped, immediately stuck in distilled water. Used a blade to take a shaving around the stem, around the whole stem, and about an inch up it. Dipped in rooting powder. Stuck right into a shot glass sized seedling pot of 50/50 vermic and perlite. Took a party cup and misted the inside, and got a clear cup cap to go over it - misted that too. Dropped the clippings in, and at the lower part of the veg box (less light) in with the seedlings.

So, they sat in the covered cups, stayed moist, 80°, and were on 18/6 since 11/5.

They are still bright green, and they have noticeably grown, but zero root growth. The stem on one looks like it did the day I clipped it, and the stem on the other MIGHT have something.. Tiny white brain like growth on the end of it.. Nothing looking like a root but might be..

I dunno. My buddy said that using hydro on clippings works much better. He has a box with his clippings. He showed me one after seven days and it had a crazy spaghetti roots already.. I dunno. For now I guess I'll stick with the seeds. :)

If they've grown, they're getting too much light.

Last strain I worked with was 11 days from cutting till roots protruded from a rapid rooter, very consistent. So you still may see success with these. If not...

The sites where you're hoping to grow your roots shouldn't be visible to you. You will know you've been successful when your roots protrude from the medium. If you can see the actual tissue where you want roots to grow, it's not well-enough covered with your medium, and it's not dark enough.

Rooting clones is a race. You're trying to grow roots before the warm, moist environment grows pathogens that will kill your clone (hence the hormone / rooting potion and low light). And, before dehydration (via transpiration through the leaves and stems, primarily) wilts your cutting (anti-wilt sprays, leaf trimming, humidity dome, and again, low light all help you with this.)

Get yourself some anti-wilt spray (I use Vita-Grow brand; it's just a food-grade wax coating) and get those cuts into near-darkness.

Also, you must be lab-grade clean. Sterilize cutting blades between subjects. make each cut on a fresh, sterile surface. Blades should be sharp, or better yet, new. Single-edge razor blades, or Exacto #11 (my fave) should be cleaned to remove any rust-inhibitive coatings (oils, etc.) that might be on the blades.

Rooting compounds can be contaminated, and they can "go bad." I once killed a whole tray of cuts with some Clonex ($$$) I had contaminated by dipping a diseased clone right into the bottle. I now use Dip-n-Grow (cheap), and mix a fresh shotglass-full each time. I'd advise against the "bark removal" trick when using a rooting hormone. You're creating potential infection sites and possibly damaging vascular tissue, as well as possibly removing the cellular material that you're trying to differentiate into root cells.

Although I have used many perlite-vermiculite mix ratios, I think the rapid rooters have helped my success. They're also a little neater; probably easier to maintain sterile conditions.

Your mix looked good, though--I bet it'll work fine if everything else is tuned in.

There's a section in one of stinkyattic's stickies about cloning. I'll try and find it. Cloning is like having a goose that lays golden eggs--100% known females, already mature at 4" tall. :thumbsup:

I guess I got some more practicing and reading on the clones! Thanks for the tips though...

Just some update pics on my first grow.

These plants were flipped to 12/12 on November 6th (17 days). They seem to be doing pretty good for my first shot!

They are under a 400w HPS. I only have three budding. One Nirvana Master Kush that I planted from seed. Got lucky on this one!

The Master Kush view from top:
http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/9260/86029413.jpg

Budz:
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/2527/47480321.jpg


Frisian Dew from a clone:
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/6407/70279787.jpg



And a Northern Berry x Blueberry from a clone:
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/598/33996224.jpg


Nutes are GH flora three part series, a little bit of Instant Karma, and Molasses. All were veg'd under the HPS which has an agro bulb for a little bit of the blue spectrum. They seem to love it!!! Can't wait till harvest!!!

i like what you have done im gonna watch how you go *bump*

Garden is realllly filling in nicely!! Hoping the buds start to really bulk up soonn!!! Day 20 of flowering.. I guess I'm a little under half-way there??

they do look nice,,
thanks for being an example of what i want..
please post more pics
-J

Day 24 of flowering. At the moment trying to figure out a small prob. Anyways, here's two nice bud pics.. The Frisian:
<P>http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/3985/14581105.jpg<P><P>
And the MK:<P>
http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/1962/88509619.jpg
<P><P>
'till next time :)

Day 26 of flowering.. Aside from the extensive yellowing, the buds are looking great.. I flushed/fed and gave some cal-mag in case it was a mag deficiency..

Anyway, just going to let nature take it's course from here and see what happens.

DreadedHermie - ended up finding a block of the Cocoa Coir.. I don't think it'll make it to this grow, but I got two Butterscotch Hawaiian plants, and one more fem'd Frisian Dew that are veg'ging right now. Next transplant all three will be going in the Cocoa.

Here's a bud pic from each of the three flowering plants:

Frisian Dew:
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1554/35470554.jpg

Northern Berry x Blueberry:
http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/8594/10104931.jpg

Master Kush:
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/4460/67771510.jpg

Any comments are welcome!

Hey if that was on a menu I would order it everyday! That Fdew looks so nice I think I am going shopping for one. Great job..good show:jointsmile:

Thanks Frosted! I really like the FD. This is a clone off of one my buddy harvested a few months ago. It is very tasty, earthy taste kinda.. Real nice. The buds are thick and dense as shit too. He had one plant pop off a cola that weighed almost an oz dry :D

In grow news - One of my ButterscotchxHawaiians looks like it might be a little boy. I should know tonight when the lights come on. If it is I'll finish it separately and get some sperm .

Which brings me to a Q - if I "paint" a bit of pollen on a single bud from each plant - will that stunt the plant at all? Or just that one bud? I'd like to do a little cross-pollination, but don't want to fuck up my end yield just to get a few beans.

Thanks!