"Bubble Cloning" Bubble Cloning is a simple hydropnic tecnique that has been developed by the new hydroponic cultavators of today from the old cloning method of rooting cuttings in a glass of water to a simple, easy-to-use, stress free and cost effetive hydroponic system. With little maintenance the system can be used and maintained for years; simple and cost effecient since it requires no misting, no humidity domes, no rooting agents and no pH adjusting; making this excellent for new and old growers a like. "How to root cuttings in 5 to 7 days with your existing hydroponic equipment?" Follow the basic concepts for growing hydroponicly and their should be no problems rooting cutting's quicker then any other way found to date. Your hydroponic system will provide an excellent enviorment for the cuttings while they are rooting. The oxiegenated water provides everything your cutting(s) will need to root in as little as 5 to 7 day's. NOTE: longer times have been noticed with different strains and enviormental conditions. System: The main thing to remember is to keep everything clean and follow the basic concept of hydroponic caltuvation. Simply use your dwc or swc systems for rooting; just raise the water leavel in your res to submerge the cutting's stem. 5 or 10 galons... - 5 galon bucket w/ lid - 10 galon wisper air pump - 2 1 inch air stones - 1 aquarium air "T" - Aquarium air hose - Net pot(s) - 10 gallon plastic Stirlite tub w/ lid - 20 gallon Whisper air pump - 4 1 inch air stones. - 2 aqurium air "T's" - Aquarium air hose - Net pot(s) This is the basic DWC system; the only difference is while the cutting(s) are rooting you do not add nutrient or pH adjust. Any size reservoir can be used - it can even be clear, lighting will not couse algie to grow since the water is nutrient free. SWC systems work just as well but I find the larger the ammount of water used, the cooler and more stable the res water stays providing a more desired enviorment for rooting. Using 1 inch air stones will greatly increase the aeration and amount of bubbles in the res, but any size air stones or bubble curtain can be used. Other hydroponic systems such as Ebb & FLOW/NFT can be used to to root cuttings in the same mannor. Nutrients and Conditions: Plain tap water with a starting ppm of 50 (@.5) up to 300 (@.5) and a PH of 7.0 can be used. Nutrient: No nutrient should not be added to the res water, this will not couse cuttings to root faster, adding nutrient will couse stem rot and plant failure. Folier feeding will help cuttings stay green. pH: Lowering the pH from my experience is pointless and since pH buffers are actully a nutrient they can also couse stem rot. Temps: "Temps are key!!" Max your DO levels (Dissolved Oxygen) by keeping nutrient temps cool: 65 to 74 is ideal. Use an air pump 2 times the size of the res (ie for a 10 gallon res use an air pump good for 20 gallons). RH (Relative Humidity) 45% to 60% is ideal, higher or lower wont hurt. Misting to create high humidity or using humidity domes is not needed. Plant's will not wilt in this enviorment and they do not need high humidity leavels to survive. Raising the humidity beyond 60% can couse the plant to decay. Medium: Mediumless (no medium, suspended in air), grow rocks, lava rocks and coco coir among others can be used. Setup & Maintenance: After you take your cuttings, make sure the stem is submerged at least 1 inch into the res water until roots or root bumps can be seen. Several depths of stem submersion up to 4 inches can work and have found no problems with rooting. Keep the system clean by dumping, washing and refilling the res every 7 to 10 days. Adding h202 @ 1 tsp to 1 tbsp a gallon (or 5 to 15 mls a gallon) (H2O2 = Hydrogen Peroxide) every few days will help keep the system clean & will add oxygen to the res. No need to add any rooting hormones into the system or to the cuttings stem however, water soluble gels or solutions like Rootec or Olivia can be used (I have noticed no difference in rooting times). Lighting: CFLs or Fluro tubes are best, HID lamps can be used if at the correct distance about 3 to 4 foot away. Even incandesent lamps can be used. Strong lighting will aid in rooting but also forces the cutting to use stored nutrient cousing yellowing of the leaves. After rooting... Once the cutting(s) has rooted, you can place the cutting into the medium of choice. They can be added to soil, soiless or another hydroponic system. They can also be left to grow in the same system they were rooted in. Soil or Soilless Mediums: If the cutting is being tranplanted into soil or a soilless medium, water heavily the 1st time with plain tap water, pH of 6.5 to 7.0 then allow the medium to dry out completely before watering again so the root mass will seek the medium. After the medium has been left to dry out about 75% dry, water agin with a week bloom nutrient will help aid in rooting and stress. Keep the medium moist for 2 weeks or so befor allowing the medium to dry out again. Start feeding with a week vegative nutrient for healthy plant growth. A week B-1 will also help aid in rooting, water/nutrient uptake and with stress. Hydroponic: After cutting(s) has rooted they can also be placed into a hydroponic system of choise, add a week 200 to 300 ppms (.5) of Bloom nutrient and a B-1 to the res. The bloom nutrient will help with rooting. Keeping the roots submerged for at least 2 weeks will help them deal with stress and help them from keeping from drying out. Once they are 2 weeks old, lower the res water only keeping 1/2 of the root mass submerged - the rest get the aeroponic effect and begin vegative nutrient feedings.
