Aeroponic cloning

I wanted to clone six tomato plants for a late crop in the greenhouse and had read a claim for an aeroponic cloning unit that read as follows:

" The Clone King Cloning Machine Utilizes An Aeroponic Cloning Method To Make Successful Cloning

Quick And Easy. Plant Cuttings Are Suspended In Mid-Air Where They Are Sprayed Continuously By

A Highly-Oxygenated Aeroponic Mist. Friction On The Stem Caused By The Mist And Water Run Off

Forces The Cutting To Start Producing Rooting Hormones. In As Little As 3-5 Days Roots Will Start To

Appear For Most Varieties. In 10-14 Days Your Newly Rooted Plants Are Ready To Transplant Into Any

Type Of Growth Medium Or Environment You Prefer. "

I wanted to try the method, but did not want to buy a unit; as I had almost everything I needed I decided to build my own. All I needed was the 1/2" PVC pipe and fittings, which I purchased at Home Depot for four dollars and change. In about an hour I had my unit and placed six cuttings in it, I added two gallons of plain water and turned it on. They were right, in only five days the cuttings are rooting. I plan on using the unit to also grow basil and lettuce to completion by adding nutrients.

 

I rooted a tom cutting by the usual means a few weeks ago.
It took about a week to root at this time of the year.

I think your method might be better used on plants that are difficult from cuttings or slow rooters.

 

I agree totally. Tomatoes are easy and root in a week anyway. I built two more units and I have blueberry cuttings in one and an arbequina olive cutting in the other. It should be an interesting experiment.

 

The problem I had with an aeroponic propagator was acclimatising the rooted cuttings to soil - I lost quite a few at that stage - so now I prefer to root them in soil/compost as I am more successful when potting them on.

 

For cloning and basic aero you dont need anything special. Here`s my "thrown together for 2013" sprinklerponics setup comprising a single spinner on a 15w fountain pump in a 220L. waterbutt. The roots in the pic are 31" long. Not much point to cloning aeroponically if you plan to put them in soil as the roots will take time to adapt.. so you lose the time you gained
.

 

As I grow everything hydroponically, I do not expect that to be an issue. My past experience with olive cuttings is that they are difficult and unpredictable, however, in only five days in the cloning device I see signs of roots forming on both sides of a node. I am now a believer in aeroponic cloning.

 

Hi HG,
I was aiming that one at Kristen
I do most of my cloning using mains water, which comes out of the tap at 75psi. Its a pretty basic design, 70L tub with 18 sites, 4 nozzles attached to a 12v solenoid controlled by a homebrew 12v cycle timer.

 

Yes, I agree I had a go at aeroponic propagation as I thought it might increase the percentage "take" that I got from all sorts of cuttings that I wanted to try, but in practice I am getting much better results with mist propagation (given that my final medium is soil, rather than hydroponics)

 

Yesterday I removed six beautiful tomato clones that were started less than two weeks ago from the cloner. Today I reactivated the cloner to grow basil to completion. There is no sense in just letting it sit idle.

 

You might find 6 is too many when the roots get going

 

The roots are now into the reservoir and the basil will really take off now. My wife loves basil and she purchased two more packets of seed yesterday; Lemon Mrs. Burns and Purple Petra, so it looks like I will be growing basil for awhile. This is not my first basil crop, or aeroponic crop, I have been at this daily for about ten years.

 

Six is just about perfect for this type of system.