Northern Light from Bulldog Seeds (clones forced by the deer)

[Cannabissapean]

The deer and the slugs have finally destroyed my best specimen in the field.  The slugs pretty much ate the stems and leaves, one by one from the ground up, while the deer nipped off all the stems and leaves from the top down, and left only the very top node and its tiny leaves.  But the deer didn't eat the foliage, but rather simply dropped them on the ground around the plant.

 

This must have happened just minutes before my arrival to water the plant, as the stems and leaves were still flexible, not dried-out.  So I gathered them up, brought them home and put them in a glass of water and set them in a sunny spot under a hedge, and promptly forgot all about them. 

 

A week later, I went to inspect the forgotten "deer-forced" clones, thinking that I would find a dried-out glass and brown dried leaves.  But no.  They lived.  Not just that, but they had started to produce tiny white root buds.  So I decided to proceed with another Northern Light clone grow.

 

When deer throw you lemons, make clones.

[Cannabissapean]

The bubble cloner has a ring-shaped airstone in the bottom, fed air by an Aquarium air-pump.  I used just regular tap-water that appeared to have a little rust in it and certainly also a bit of calcium.  I ran the bubbler for a week before processing the clones.

 

Yesterday, I used Nitric Acid 35% to adjust the pH from 8,5 down to about 6,4.  In the bubbler reservoir, I added 2 or 3 drops of 1-Triacontanol colloidal suspension and about 2 ml of BioBizz Bloom nutrient.  After processing the last of the clones, I also poured-in the remaining water from the glass that the clones had been sitting in.

 

I processed the deer clippings for my bubble cloner:  Clipped away the stems and leaves from the lower nodes of each, clipped away the damaged leaves and the outer half of each leaflet, dipped each clone for about 5 to 10 minutes in a cloning gel, then set each in its place in my bubble cloner.  Some of the pictures show the tiny white root buds on the stem of one of the clones.

 

Here are the clones sitting in their foam holders with their rooting stems hanging in the bubbling mist.  These are clones of a clone from last year, one of the two seeds I had used from this package.  I still have 3 seeds remaining.

 

I use Fluorescent bulbs, one CoolWhite and one GrowSpectrum in the Veg Tent for seedlings, motherplants and clones.  If the Veg Tent becomes full, I can turn on a second identical set of two Fluorescent bulbs as well.

[Cannabissapean]

The smallest clone died, now down to 5.   It took about 3 weeks before a root finally appeared, but only on the biggest clone so far.

 

I planted it in a large-size paper cup, which is great for the FIRST planting of a rooted clone.  The circumference-to-depth ratio is just right for a Cannabis plant to develop a long tapping root.  Credit goes to the fast-food industry for this perfect shape and porous, bio-degradable cloning cup.  They work quite well, and are basically free.  One can find these wonderful clone planters literally everywhere in the western world (littering the roadways and sidewalks).  Just be sure to put about 5 pencil-sized holes in the bottom for drainage, and maybe a few holes in the sides for a bit more air at the roots.

 

Obviously such a cup is not appropriate for the entire life of the plant.  It's just the first step, and the plant will be transferred to a larger pot later.

[Tokage]

When did Burger king start to make clone cups?
Looking good bro, you always have a nice show.
 

[Cannabissapean]

On or about 22 August, I noticed that two of the remaining clones had sprouted roots.  I decided to let them sit in the bubbler for a few more days.

 

 

[Cannabissapean]

Today, I checked them again.  Seems it was a good idea to leave them.

 

pH measured 9,4.  Adjusted back to around 6,2.  Put in a couple drops of Bio Heaven and a couple drops of Root Juice and a little bit of rainwater to bring the reservoir level up again.  I'll leave them for a while longer to see how far they will go in this bubbler.

[Pi2]

Very nice job...That aircloner is great..I have to visit my pet shop and make one....

Thanks for sharing...

[Cannabissapean]

The bubble-cloner consists not only of the Aquarium airpump and the ring-shapd airstone and associated hose, but also:

 

The pot is a plastic flowerpot without bottom holes.  The top is made by cutting holes into a plastic undersetter (plastic saucer for plant-pots) that fits nicely on the top, such that light cannot enter.  They are both available from most any home improvement center or gardening shop.  No particular Brand-Name, just whatever works.

 

Although there are foam plant holders available from hydroponics shops, I fabricated my own using a child's swimming noodle purchased from a local sports shop.  The hydroponics shop's foam holders may be better as they are virtually opaque to light, but they are also relatively expensive.  One swimming noodle cost only 2,50 to 3,00 and it gave me enough material to build 3 or 4 bubble cloners.  I would have preferred dark gray or black, but I could not find any.  Among the various colours that might be exciting for a child to see in a swimming pool, I chose green, hoping that the light leaking through its translucency would be less harmful to root development than the other colours.  Obviously, if you can find an opaque gray or black, that would be even better.

[crossroad90]

clones looks nice! aerocloner is really work! I  plan to use it too) how many air per hour u giving in cloner ?

[Cannabissapean]

You don't need a lot of air.  Just buy a small aquarium pump.

 

There are many different brands of aquarium air pumps...   Eheim100 or Eheim200 should work fine.  You only need to provide enough air to create the bubbles which, upon bursting on the surface of the water, cause a small drop of water to leap about, some of which will land on the clone's exposed stem hanging down just above the water's surface.

 

Personal experience:  The Eheim100 seems to have a design error somehow.  When I had purchased the Eheim100 for smaller aquariums, each had stopped to function after about a year or two (right about the time that the warranty expires).  I have noticed better service-life from the Eheim200, and significantly better service-life from the Eheim400.

 

Tipp:  If you wish to run two or more cloners, consider buying a dual aquarium air pump.  To expand to 3 or more cloners, simply re-configure the tubing using T-adapters that fit the tubing.  The T-adapters are usually available from an auto-parts store or auto-parts supply store.  The T-adapters are commonly used in automotive for routing vacuum lines or the windshield washer fluid.  Go ahead and get a pack of 10 or so.  They're not expensive and they come in handy for many different projects. 

[Cannabissapean]

In the first week of September, I transferred the second successfully rooted clone to its first soil cup.

 

The third clone that had sprouted the single root a week before had lost that root, possibly because of the shock from the pH adjustment from 9,4 to 6,2.  So, three potential plants remain in the bubble-cloner.  And the one in the back appears to have started a tiny root.

 

Here are some pics.

[Cannabissapean]

The Little clone that had sprouted a tiny root grew that root to about 6 or 7 cm long.  (Sorry no pic of the root)  I didnt want to take any further Chance on losing another root, so I transferred it to a cup (smaller cup).

 

Here are pics of the latest (and quite meager) soiled clone.  That leaves two potential plants remaining in the bubble cloner.

 

And here are pics of the first two clones.  They have recovered quite well and are growing nicely in the tall cups. 

[Cannabissapean]

Well, after more that 2 months in the bubble cloner, one of those last 2 clones finally sprouted a tiny root with 3 or 4 tiny fingers.  Two days later, the fingers started to turn dindgy, so I decided to put both of the last clones into their soil cups whether they had roots or not.

 

Here are the current pics.  We'll see if they make it or not.

 

Finally, I can turn the airpump off and clean-out the bubble cloner.

[denjo]

hey, maybe I can give you some tips I have a such a cloner myself. How often did you change water? What temperature is the water? Most of the time, the temps are the key. Since I have a heating pen in the water, I get roots within 4-5 days easy

[Cannabissapean]

Thanks denjo,

that is a good idea.  Do you have a part number of your heating pen?  Is it adjustable to specific temperatures?  Is it available at Aquarium Shops or from someone in eBay?

[Cannabissapean]

About 10 October, I transplanted the two largest of the North Lights into their flowering buckets, and I transferred them to the flowering room.  After another 10 days or so, I took these Pictures.

 

The cloning cups did their job well, but they are now ready to retire. 

[Cannabissapean]

The three smaller sisters had been doing well, but because I was away for a while, one of them got a bit dried out.

 

I snipped away the worst dried-out parts and watered the three smaller sisters, hopefully they would get back on their feet.

[Cannabissapean]

The two older sisters of the Deer-forced clones have grown into the lamp during my Absence.  So, I snipped-away the burned tops.  This should encourage the plant to develop more buds in all the remaining tips.

 

After throwing away the Brown burned leaves, the remaining tops made a nice salad for the evening.  Slept nice.

[Cannabissapean]

Ahh, yes, the dried-out clone has recovered nicely.

[Cannabissapean]

Yes, the flowering older sisters have responded well.  The topping has encouraged greater activity at all the other tips, and they have begun stretching again.

 

Now it is time for some additional LST, but my LST is rather drastic.  The LST can be seen in the next posting.

 

See also my GreenHouse Kushes and Kaia Kushes in the contest.  Here's the link.

http://forums.strainhunters.com/topic/9522-green-house-kush-test-compared-against-kaia-kush-each-comparing-short-powder-feeding-against-advanced-hydroponics-nutrients-by-cannabissapean/page-4

[Cannabissapean]

I sharply bend or even break ALL of the branches under about the 2nd, 3rd or 4th node from the tip, pointing the tips downwards.

 

The plant will respond by creating growth and reproductive hormones/enzymes and distributing them throughout the entire plant.  In the areas of severe bending or breakage, the plant will repair itself with even more mass and nutrient-carrying tissues.  When repaired, these strengthened points will be able to carry even more nutrients than undamaged areas.

 

Feeding now using nutrient solutions siphoned from the reservoirs of the Vegg room (Advanced Hydroponics Reservoir and the Powderfeeding Reservoir) mixed together with additional nutrients for flowering (Bio-Bizz Top-Max and Bio-Bizz Heaven).

 

So, I'll let these two Ladies go for a while and see how they respond.

[FIM]

Nice idea with those clones

 

Regarding the heating for your water, any standard Aquarium Heating Tube will do it, they all cost 29,99€ in any mart, 100,200 or 300W are actually same price but differ in length. For up to 30L 100w is ok, then 200w till 70L etc..   Adjust the water to 25-27°C to promote roots, later on keep it cooler.

The beast of DWC is the PH value !   Keep a close eye on it, several times a day and the bigger the container ( loop them, daisychain like ) the more stable it will become over a period of time.

 

Like the way you bend them. I basically did the same with Urban Poison some time back, the more I twisted and bent her the more it boosted the lady.

 

Despite that, I know the NL strain and it seems to me that you have too little foiliage !?   Am I wrong or is your clone / pheno very sativa like with longer internodes and a generally more sativa appearance. The NL's I know are very Indica like and a lot denser in fiolage and would actually not be the strain one chooses for LST at all, rather a straight shooter.

Any idea why,  pheno ?  environment ( heat) ?  light (LED) ?   

 

Hvae you ever tried small rockwool cubes to make cuttlings ?  It's very cheap, 100 cubes go for 9,99 per tray, and with some rooting gel they usually root in less than 7 days for the first 1/3 of the clones and the others usually root withing another week.  A lot less space needed, 50 - 60 clones fit in a small greenhouse 40x20cm. Keep it around 25°C is the key

 

Any info on those LED lights you use ?   I am still looking hor HPS/MH replacement but they all still say stay away from LED cause the harvest is about 1/3 less in bud mass

though if the LEDs are good the quality is said to be excellent. Quality vs. Quantity.  What are your findings so far with your setup ?

[Cannabissapean]

Yeah, denjo had used the term "heating pen".  So I thought, "OK, hmmm, a new technology Gadget.  I like to investigate new Gadgets." 

 

So, yes, of course, a basic aquarium heater sounds like just the thing.  Thanks, FIM, for the tipp.

 

And, yes, I do know that pH is crucial for growth of MJ, especially in Hydroponics.  But I have already burned through two pH-meters, and my current one seems also to be on the brink, so I am becoming a bit reluctant to buy another one until I find or hear of one that is more reliable.  That means that I may be a bit lax at the moment in my holding tightly to the proper pH ranges.

 

Yes, this pheno (actually all the plants of the three seeds that I have so far cracked from this package) exhibits strong Sativa characteristics.  The package from which these seeds came can be seen in my second post of this thread.

 

If you wish to see how this same batch of seeds grows in the wild, then the same mother and a couple of her sisters from the same Bulldog package can also be viewed if you go to my Thread in "Grow Journals Outdoor", entitled - "Disasterous Outdoor this Year".

 

I HAVE used roockwool cubes for cloning.  I make my own because I have an overabundance of the material left-over from insulation Projects.  I used the bubble-cloner this time because I had just built it, and I was eager to see how or if it works.  I feel certain that warmer temps will produce faster results.

 

As for the LED lamps in the flowering room, I had provided details about them sometime earlier in another thread, but I forget where or when.  So, I'll pull together some info and re-post here in a few days.

[Cannabissapean]

Two of the three Baby sister clones are showing signs that they want some water, so I fed them from the dual Reservoirs (a mixture of Advanced Hydroponics and Powderfeeding Solutions).  They should look better tomorrow.

 

And they look ready for transplanting into their flowering pots.  I'll do that tomorrow.

[Cannabissapean]

~30Nov2015

The 3 Baby clone sisters recovered nicely from the slight drought.  I decided to go ahead and transplant them into their soil Containers.

 

My soil is a mixture of various purchased gardening soils, lots of my own compost consisting of garden-waste and food-waste allowing the Worms and bugs to work on it for about 2 years, lots of Perlite and some Ton-balls from older grows, various amendments like horn-meal, and some Mychorrhizae to help form a beneficial micro-cosm.  

 

The smallest sister, I kept in the Vegg tent to grow a bit longer.  The other two small sisters, I put straight into the Flowering room.