2 Liter DWC - WHAT to do after root formation?

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

Yeah, I am starting to think maybe keeping the roots dark isn't as critical as it appears. I want to try just an air stone in water and see what the results are...

JARG

[Jupe]

Ultra-violet light kills germs...in the wild, they just fall over anywheres, even right into the streams.

I use tap water, but try and use wide-mouthed jars, as much as possible, for better oxygen exchange...(too lazy to use a bubbler, but you can root anything, with a bubbler, oxygen is what keeps the water healthy....even finger oils can leave a film on water, which then seals it....vavoom...rot city...(been there)


I've tried 20-30 cuttings in 5 gallon buckets....in the cold of winter (southern  cali) temps are like 40-50F at night, and then 50-70F in the day....worked ok, better than summer...it just seemed to take along time....i would shoot the garden hose into the bucket once every few days or so, mix up the water...etc.....

cold water holds more oxygen than warm, so that "may" have been it....

I've had the most troubles using plastic, I can't seem to get of rot once it starts.... I used wide mouthed quart sized yogurt containers......

I've also tried horizontal rooting, in a shallow tray...that worked ok...but got too many small plants that I couldn't plant very deeply, and they needed too much water....



something I DO recommend however, is to get your roots as LONG as you possibly can, 1-2" inches is great, before putting them into soil, and the give that first soil and MAJOR  drink of water....and then let them rest for abit, before full light is given......that way the water pressure is kept up..as they have been growing in 100% soil moisture as cuttings, so anything less than that is a shock....

of course  YMMV!!! and exceptions abound!!  .....cwazy plant.....

I have pics for all of this stuff....if anyone ever wants any "proof" haha....pics are a pain to post sometimes....

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

Lots of good information there Jupe!

Tonight I took two more cuttings and put them in the 2L DWC system minus the perlite. I want to see what happens. I also transferred two other cuttings that I had in perlite with roots just starting to appear into the no perlite contraption.... I didn't cover the rooting area with anything to block the light either. This would be a little simpler setup if it works good. I end up getting perlite everywhere! It's also easier to see the roots when they start to appear cause I can just look right at them! No perlite to get in the way.

JARG

[darkshadow]

well im stumped i have a cutting in the dwc system for a week and no sign of root growth is it supose to be in the water or let the water bubble up around it, and ive tried puting cuttings in water directly and they turn black and die with natural light

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

In the bubbler system, the cutting's stem should be immersed in water completely. Bubbles go through the water all around the stem. Some of my cuttings have taken a week or more to show roots. I've always had good root formation by two weeks though. If it is still green then it is still alive and should grow roots. Are you using distilled water or tap water?

JARG

[darkshadow]

distilled

[darkshadow]

what im saying is the ones i put in plain water no dwc bottle just die

[Defenestrate]

I've worked out a pretty good method of transferring cuttings to soil. I find that minimal root damage and stress is key to a cutting surviving and growing vigorously. This method helps adapt cuttings from a very wet environment to a soil environment slower than other methods, aiding in its low shock nature.

-You need a rooted cutting, worm castings, gravel, duct tape, a bucket, powder mycorhizae, the pot you want the cutting to end up in, and a pot just a bit bigger then the roots on the cutting.

1. First, tape the drain holes on the bottom of your small pot shut, seal it well, but make sure you can easily remove the tape later.
2. Fill the bottom of the taped pot with coarse gravel, followed by a small layer of worm castings, and then a pinch of mycorhizae to inoculate your cutting with. Remember, it wont take much mycorhizae to get the job done. I like to measure it out by using only as much as i can pick up with a dime.
3. Now, this is where it can get tricky. Add enough water to the pot to fill it halfway, and place your cutting in the pot. You'll need to hold the cutting and the pot with one hand now, to keep the cutting steady. Start to add more worm castings into the pot, a little at a time, making sure to spread it evenly and let it settle through the water and around the roots. Add more water as needed to keep the castings muddy, and shake the cutting and pot a bit to settle all that good stuff into whatever root ball might exist.
4. Once the roots have been covered significantly, buried by about an inch of muddy castings, you can hold the pot over a bucket, and remove the tape. Depending on how wet the castings were, some wonderful worm casting tea will filter out through the gravel, as well as some of the mycorhizae spores. The worm castings should settle down, and leave your cutting in a great soil environment.
5. Once the castings have dried out enough, you can either re-pot it to its final pot, to soil, or leave it in the small pot. The castings will provide about a two months supply worth of nutrients, and mycorhizae will love all the organic matter.

Notes:

-You can collect the run off from potting your cuttings, and water your other plants with it. Its nutrient rich, organic, will never burn your plants, and loaded with mycorhizae spores that will inoculate whatever you water. I call it Root Juice, I'm not sure why.
-Try adding a spoonful of molasses to your watering schedule after the cuttings have recovered from their journey, it really kicks off the mycorhizae. The happier the mycorhizae, the happier the plant.
-Smaller cuttings tend to take better to this method than larger ones. Their much easier to work with, and smaller cuttings mean more cuttings from the same plant or branch.
-If your careful, you can do six at a time with one of those black six spot plant trays everyone seems to accumulate when gardening. Rather the sealing the drain holes, place it in a bucket with water, and follow the same steps for each plant location as you would for a single pot. When you have finished, simply lift the tray out of the bucket to drain, and you have a compact six pack of cuttings that fits easily under a single compact fluorescent.
-To help prepare your cuttings for the big transfer, try adding a bit of worm castings to the rooting cuttings water or rooting medium, to completely minimize the nutrient shock of going from no nutrients to the super rich castings.

Thats all I've got the will to write right now.

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

Wow, nice! [Genius +]

Your methoid would indeed let the roots and all the little hairs on them settle in nicely without getting pinched or crushed.

JARG