Cloning with Aloe no more clonex

[ska 3,019]

I thought it would be nice to share my (I'm not the first to do it) method for making clones without clonex or powder just using Aloe Vera gel. For a while now I've been growing notill organic but still was depending on clonex for rooting clones.  Really wanted to get away from using it and after a couple of very successful tries with Aloe I here I am sharing info. Most of this isn't new information and the method used here is gona be Ot1s method. Although this works well with jiffy pellets. I get an abundance of roots showing out of the jiffy after about 8 days, keeping the humidity at 100%. I forget the name of the active ingredient in the aloe that helps in rooting perhaps someone who reads this and knows could let me know and I'll add it to the info, with credit to that person of course

 

I start by soaking the clones in mix of blended aloe gel and water for 24 hours, at this point they are already sliced and trimmed ready to dip into gel and plant. 

 

 

 

Next I wash a slice of fresh aloe plant and get it ready for dipping, I usually run a knife through the gel to get it nice an gooey

 

 

 

Next I take a clone and dip the clones into the gel and get a nice coating on the bottom of the clone.

 

 

 

Next I put the clone into a prepared hole in a mix of soil which has 35% perlite. (it's less than the 50% in the original method, but I try to use as little as possible this is the only stage I add it to my grow)

 

 

I put 4 per pot

 

 

Finally the pot gets bagged and tagged 

 

 

I'll take the bags off in aprox 12 days to check on them by that point most if not all of them will have nice roots.

 

This is an oldtimes clone I took 8 days ago just been planted into some soil with a sprinkle of covercrop seed. She's a little pale but in a few days she'll be looking great and ready for more light. Unfortuneately I planted her before I grabbed the camera so I don't have a pic of her roots but I'll post the roots of the ones I took today once they are finished.

 

 

 

I always have aloe plants around I use a  mix of water and aloe gel, and alga as a foliar feed so this method of cloning comes at little extra cost and is as natural as it comes.

I hope someone may find this interesting I found a few vids of youtube about it and it really interested me.

 

Edited January 27, 2017 by ska

[marcjuna 1,816]

Used organic cutting liquid before and that was basically aloe vera gel and spray products that are yucca plant product.

[Guest]

Cracking post @ska, giving it a bump   Salicylic acid  is the ingredient in Aloe that makes it so good for cloning apparently.

[ska 3,019]

9 minutes ago, bobnudd said:

Cracking post @ska, giving it a bump   Salicylic acid  is the ingredient in Aloe that makes it so good for cloning apparently.

Thanks man @bobnudd, couldn't remember for the life of me  unfortunately I can no longer edit the original post to add the info but hopefully people will see your post.  

Edited February 3, 2017 by ska

[Fragg 10,075]

@skagreat post man, been using aloe for a couple of years as an early feed for seedlings too in my setup. Always looking for things I can grow to help my plants rather than bottles.

 

One of the ingredients @bobnudd it's more common name is aspirin and one the first organic compound I ever made many moons ago when I did Chemistry. Not very 'organic' crumbling up an asprin tablet for top dressing

Edited February 3, 2017 by Fragg

[ska 3,019]

7 minutes ago, Fragg said:

@ska great post man, been using aloe for a couple of years as an early feed for seedlings too in my setup. Always looking for things I can grow to help my plants rather than bottles.

 

One of the ingredients @bobnudd it's more common name is aspirin and one the first organic compound I ever made many moons ago when I did Chemistry. Not very 'organic' crumbling up an asprin tablet for top dressing

 

Thanks man @Fragg, nice to hear others experiences. I love it as a foliar feed, blended fresh aloe gel and coconut water mixed with bubbled water, works amazingly the new growth the next day is always a shocker, in a good way!  

The only bottle I use these days is Alga-mic but it's only cold pressed kelp, everything else is SST, compost tea and mulch, I love it , would never go back to bottled nutes. 

Edited February 3, 2017 by ska

[Fragg 10,075]

@ska yep organic ftw mate, seaweed is easier from a bottle I use PM Catalyst which smells as if it has abit of Molasses too. How do you source coconut water as I read it's best to be from fresh(green) coconuts and the climate here in Cumbria is a fucker for coconut cultivation  

[ska 3,019]

@Fragg I've heard that PM catalyst is cool but I'm in Spain and I can't get it locally, Alga mic is available at my local grow shop. I buy coconut water in from the supermarket, they have both organic and non organic available, the difference is that the non organic one have a natural coconut aroma added but their both 100% natural and the plants respond well to both. I only use 1/4 cup per gallon so it's totally affordable, plus I like drinking it, especially after some exercise, beats any sports drinks for hydration  

[Peregrine 2,317]

I have a few Aloe Vera plants in my garden, gonna try the Aloe goo instead of Clonex next time I take some cuts. The goo is great as a moisturiser.

[ska 3,019]

32 minutes ago, Peregrine said:

I have a few Aloe Vera plants in my garden, gonna try the Aloe goo instead of Clonex next time I take some cuts. The goo is great as a moisturiser.

Do it mate, but first get the clones compleately ready (sliced and trimmed) for putting into your cloning medium (jiffy etc..) and leave them in standing in a mix of aloe gel and water for 24 hours, then 24 hours later dip them into more gel and plant in your medium. That'll give you the best results.  

Edited February 10, 2017 by ska

[Guest]

@ska do you see any increased droop or yellowing during the soak ?

[ska 3,019]

15 minutes ago, Breezus said:

@ska do you see any increased droop or yellowing during the soak ?

Not at all, if you start with a good clone from a healthy plant, as you normally would anyway, not at all. According to the internet, there are  75 nutrients, 20 minerals, 12 vitamins, 18 amino acids, and 200 active enzymes in aloe vera so I can imagine the clones are really happy and the  Salicylic acid   encourages the cut to start forming roots.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, ska said:

Not at all, if you start with a good clone from a healthy plant, as you normally would anyway, not at all. According to the internet, there are  75 nutrients, 20 minerals, 12 vitamins, 18 amino acids, and 200 active enzymes in aloe vera so I can imagine the clones are really happy and the  Salicylic acid   encourages the cut to start forming roots.

A veritable plethora of horticultural info mate , top stuff ! Will be using this method next time 

Thanks mate 

[Sasquatch 11,573]

Another way of using salicylic acid for your cuttings is willow water : simply steep some willow twigs/branches in water - now being ideal time of year when they have fat buds full of the stuff- and stand your cuttings in it for 24 hours. Watering them with it is supposed to help too.

I seem to recall Arnold using it. I've got willow on my allotment, any old twig will root every time.

[ska 3,019]

3 hours ago, Sasquatch said:

Another way of using salicylic acid for your cuttings is willow water : simply steep some willow twigs/branches in water - now being ideal time of year when they have fat buds full of the stuff- and stand your cuttings in it for 24 hours. Watering them with it is supposed to help too.

I seem to recall Arnold using it. I've got willow on my allotment, any old twig will root every time.

Interesting stuff,  here there are not many willow trees around for me to use that method but definitely one to remember thanks

 

Side note thanks @oldtimer1 for the message. Not gona delete this thread, I'll get some more pics done and reup them.