Category: Nursery & Cloning

We recommend a two step process that will optimize your germination rates. For the 1st step, you will pre-soak your seeds directly in water for 24 hours. Then you will complete germination by folding your seeds in damp paper towels for approximately 48-72 hours. The 2 step process helps you get the highest germination rates from your seeds by providing ideal exposure to water, air and heat.

The goal of the 1st step, soaking your seeds in glasses of water, is for ensuring water penetrates your seeds’ hard outer shell barrier. Cannabis seeds in the wild naturally have a hard outer shell because they are shed in the fall and need to survive the whole winter before sprouting in the spring. Water must penetrate the protective shell and reach the embryo for germination to start. A 24 hour soak allows water to penetrate even stubborn seeds, to begin the process of germination.

If seeds are left in water for longer than 24 hours there is a chance they will get waterlogged and the embryos will drown. To avoid killing seeds, after 24 hours move them to damp paper towels instead. Damp paper towels continue to provide moisture which is critical for germination, and they also prevent drowning by allowing some air to reach the seeds as well.

Some growers use only the paper towel step for germination. This will work for most seeds. However, by adding a pre-soak at the beginning, our recommended 2 step process increases your germination rates because it does a better job at delivering moisture for your outlier seeds that have tougher than average outer shells. 

Step 1: Pre-Soak Your Seeds In Water

Add water and seeds to clean glasses that have been washed and thoroughly rinsed with no soap residue. You can use tap water if you adjust pH to 5.8 and dechlorinate it first. Or you can use distilled water which is already pH neutral and has no chlorine. It’s best to add only a small  amount of water because less water makes it easier to retrieve the seeds from the glasses later. Leave the water to stand until it reaches room temperature before you add seeds to it.

For higher germination rates, add kelp extract at a rate of 0.2 gram per gallon to the water. Kelp extract contains gibberellic acid which helps seeds germinate. Older seeds especially will benefit from adding kelp to the pre-soak water.

Seeds must be warm or else they won’t germinate. Place the glasses of seeds on a heat mat to add warmth, with a towel down on the heat mat first to prevent the bottoms of the glasses from getting too hot. Drape another towel over the glasses to trap in warmth and block light.

After 24 hours, remove your seeds from the glasses. Pour the seeds and water out of the glass, being careful not to lose the seeds in the process. If you filled the glasses shallowly, it shouldn’t be difficult to extract the seeds with your fingers. If you need to pour some water out of the glasses to get the seeds, do it over a bowl or use a strainer so the seeds don’t escape with the wastewater. When using your fingers to move the seeds be careful not to cause any damage to any taproots that have emerged. Move the seeds right away to damp paper towels

Step 2: Germinate Seeds In Damp Paper Towels

Prepare paper towels by folding them into small squares. Soak them with distilled water, or tap water that has been pH balanced to 5.8 and dechlorinated. The paper towels should be moist, but not waterlogged. The right level of moisture is when they are wet, but there is no pooling water, or water dripping off of them. If you need to get rid of some water give the paper towels a light squeeze.

Fold your seeds inside the folded damp paper towels and put the paper towels with the seeds into plastic bags. Leave the bags open to allow some air to get in.  

A very small amount of excess water inside the bags is okay because it helps prevent the paper towels from drying out from evaporation. Not too much water though, because pooling water can cause your seeds to drown.

Next, fold the seed bags inside a tea towel, then place the tea towel onto a heat mat. The tea towel acts as a buffer, preventing excessive heat. The heat mat should keep the seeds at the ideal temperature of 20° – 26°C (68 – 78°F). Lower temperatures can stunt germination.

The damp paper towels should stay moist for up to 2 days, which is usually enough time to complete germination. If the seeds need more time and the paper towels start to dry out, replace them with fresh damp ones.

All your seeds should be spouted and ready for planting within 48-72 hours in the paper towels. Check your seeds every 12-24 hours and plant them when the the tap roots are approximately 0.25” – 0.5”, (0.75 – 1.25 cm). If the taproot gets too long it is more difficult to plant, and more likely to get damaged. Transplant immediately when sprouts are the ideal length.

A clone is a section of branch that gets cut off a mother plant and rooted, transforming it into a new plant. It’s called a clone because it is genetically identical to the mother.

Because clones are genetically identical to their mother plant they will all grow the same way. For example, their rate of growth, node spacing, and leaf shape will be the same. 

A primary benefit of genetically identical plants is when they are grown together in a group their heights all stay the same, making it easier to light their canopy. When plants all grow at different rates, shorter sections of the canopy receive less light than the taller sections, resulting in underdeveloped buds on the parts of the canopy that don’t get enough light. 

Clones also allow you to grow only the very best plants. Plants grown from seed are compared for positive attributes such as yield size and quality through a process called phenotyping. The best plants are chosen as mothers and their genetically identical children become production plants.  

Preparation

Cuttings are especially vulnerable to bacteria, mold and viruses. A clean work environment and tools helps to prevent contaminations. Before taking cuttings, scrub down the entire work space with paper towels soaked in a solution of 10% bleach and 90% water. Disinfect scissors by wiping the ends with paper towels dipped in isopropyl alcohol. Wear a clean pair of plastic gloves while you are cleaning and while you are taking cuttings.

Fill a freshly washed jug with clean water for temporarily holding cuttings during the process of extracting clones. Extracted clones can be held in a jug, just like fresh cut flowers in a vase. This prevents the ends from drying out during the extraction process.

Prepare for a cloning session by adding some root stimulant powder to a freshly washed small glass for dipping the stems of cuttings in. 

Root stimulant powder is a commercially available product that contains chemicals that stimulate new roots to begin growing from a severed stem.

Never dip clones directly into the bulk supply container of root stimulant because the entire container could get contaminated. For same reason, after a cloning session don’t put unused power back into the bulk supply container. Throw it out.

Preparing Rockwool

Clones will have trouble rooting if pH is not within a specific range. Rockwool does not natively have the right pH balance and needs to be prepared in advanced by soaking it in dechlorinated and pH balanced water. 

To prepare Rockwool, pH balance water to 5.5 using pH up and pH down solutions. pH up and down are very concentrated. A 3 ml dispensing syringe makes it easier to dispense it one drop at a time.

Dechlorinate water using a water filter or with Vitamin C (ascorbic acid). 

After the water’s pH is adjusted to 5.5, soak rockwool cubes in it overnight. This will correct the pH of the rock wool.

Rockwool is made up of spun glass fibres that are not healthy to breath in. Use a dust mask when handling dry rockwool because the fibres can become airborne. Rockwool is safer to handle when it is wet.

Preparing Net Pots

Nest rockwool cubes inside 4” net pots filled with hydroton. 

Rockwool cubes are slightly over saturated after soaking in solution overnight. Oversaturated cubes run a risk of rotting plant stems when they are inserted in the rockwool. After soaking, give rock wool cubes a light squeeze to eliminate a small amount of excess water before adding them to the net pots. 

Removing Clones From Mother Plant

To take a clone, remove the top part of a branch by cutting just below a node. The cutting should have 3 nodes plus the top canopy. 

Trim all the shoots and leaves off the stem of the clone. Leave only the top growth intact.

Stripping away the bark around the bottom node to expose the underlying tissue promotes more robust root growth.

Setting Cuttings In Net Pots

Dip the bottoms of the clones in the shot glass containing the root stimulation powder. 

Push the plant stem into the rockwool cube after coating the ends with root stimulation powder.

Trim the leaf tips of the cuttings. If you don’t, the leaves tend to become rotten or mouldy during the rooting process. Trimming the ends also reduces the transpiration function of the clone, leaving it with more energy for growing new roots.

Rooting Cuttings

Cuttings are rooted and become clones inside a humidity dome. A humidity is like a life support system for your clones because it provides an environment with high humidity and temperature. Outside of the humidity dome, cuttings can die because they have no roots to draw up water. Inside the humidity dome, high humidity levels allows them to absorb water through their stem and leaves. 

Clones root fastest with temperatures between 24° – 30°C (75 – 85°F), with the ideal temperature around 25°C (78°F). A large heat mat kept under the clone dome helps raise its temperature. If the heat mat is too powerful and the humidity dome gets too warm, set an electricity timer to switch the heat mat on and off automatically until the correct temperature is reached, or place a towel over the heat mat to dull the heat. Temperature is an important detail because the faster clones root, the higher their survival rate is. 

To set up the humidity dome and net pots, add enough water to the bottom of the humidity dome so that the hydroton in the net pots is submerged in the water, but the rockwool cube is above the water line. The hydroton can draw water up using its wicking action to maintain the rockwool, keeping it moist. 

Adding a bed of loose hydroton to the bottom of the humidity dome will help anchor the net pots in place and reduce light exposure to the clone’s roots once they emerge from the net pots.

The humidity dome should be kept as clean as possible to prevent fungi build up. Clones are very vulnerable to harm resulting from an unsanitary condition. Every week, empty all the water from the humidity dome and replace with fresh water. Changing over the water also has an affect of oxygenating the water which is beneficial for the clones. 

Water & Nutrients For Clones

For the first week, the water in the humidity dome doesn’t need any nutrients. pH balance the water to 5.5, dechlorinate it, and add sodium benzonate at a concentration of .13 gram / 100 litres to prevent fungi infections.

After the first week, prepare the water as above, and also add vegetative growth fertilizer at the following concentration:

Clone & Seedling:

350 – 500 TDS

0.7 – 1 EC

Foliar sprays are very beneficial for clones. Apply a foliar spray up to 3 times per day, spraying the canopy of the clones while avoiding drenching the rockwool cube. Clones can draw water and nutrients through their foliage and this is very helpful for them before their new roots have grown in.

Prepare a foliar spray with 5 parts humic acid to 2 parts kelp.

Lighting For Clones

Maintain light levels for 24 hours per day for the full rooting period.

Use a full spectrum light with emphasis on blue wavelengths, 400 nm – 500 nm. Blue light discourages stem elongation and encourages root growth.

Clones:

100 PPFD

5,000 – 7,000 LUX