Cloning Blueberries using an Aeroponic System - Help Needed
Jason
7 years ago
Hello All,
I built a simple aeroponic system to clone things like blueberries, mint, basil, ect. I took green cuttings from my neighbors bushes that produce very well. I cut the stems at a 45 degree angle and dipped them in clonex gel and let them sit a few minutes. I put them in 3" net pots using cloning collars. I didn't use a rapid rooter or anything like that in the pot as I think the collar is all I need.
I then put them into the system and let them go. I didnt do anything to the water. I just used tap water. Should I be adding maxigrow or any type of rooting enhancer? There is no need for an oxygen stone in the water correct? Is my process sound or is there anything else I need to do to get these ti propagate properly?
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Jason
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Al - I need help with soil mixtures for blueberries.
Comments (7)Connie - The advice I see from blueberry growers is to use a raised bed for clay soils. You do not need to build any sort of fancy structure. Lots & lots of commercial blueberry operations in Oregon & Washington have mounds of various growing mixtures on top of the native soil. Since blueberries have shallow root systems, you can easily build a big enough mound such that the roots are contained in the mound which is your raised bed. The growing mix allows you to control the pH and water dynamics which are very important. While there is slight variation from blueberry expert to expert, the consensus is pH 4.5 to 5.0 as the ideal range. There are plenty of pictures & descriptions in the book "Blueberries: For Growers, Gardeners and Promoters." I think it is the best $60 dollars you will spend to grow blueberries. Below are a whole series of links to different blueberry resources. While the 5-1-1 mix should work, you may decide on a different mix after a bit more reading. Here is a list of links to a number of free publications that I have found very helpful. I have been growing blueberries in pots very successfully for several years thanks to what I have learned in these & other publications. http://www.extension.org/blueberries http://www.extension.org/pages/30658/blueberry-online-resources-social-media-newsletters-websites-etc http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pdf/em/em8918.pdf http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/pdf/1422.pdf http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8207.html http://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1957/12202/ec1304.pdf;jsessionid=34C1D8724B28E1018BFDFB7C8DC84200?sequence=1 http://nysipm.cornell.edu/organic_guide/blueberry.pdf http://berrygrape.org/blueberry/ http://gardening.wsu.edu/library/smfr003/smfr003.htm You are fortunate that there is an excellent blueberry group at Washington State University. I believe you should be able to contact a blueberry person for advice through information found on this link. http://smallfarms.wsu.edu/crops/berries/blueberries.html or your WSU Extension office. http://extension.wsu.edu/locations/Pages/default.aspx For your mole and vole problems, you should find some very useful advice here: http://www.gopherslimited.com/ Good luck with those blueberries! Here is a link that might be useful: Blueberries: For Growers, Gardeners and Promoters...See MoreNeed Help with Blueberries
Comments (2)Blueberries require ericaceous soil, with a pH between 4.5, and 6, in order to thrive. They also require constant moisture around the root. If they are watered with hard water, that is, water that contains dissolved limestone, then the pH will rise to 7 or above, and the shrub will no longer take up nutrient from the soil. Since much of Wisconsin has calciferous soil, and hard water, it is a challenge to grow blueberries successfully. I don't know if your soil is draining or not. You could dig a hole, fill it with water, and see how long it takes to empty itself. Getting the soil tested for pH would be helpful, and the tap water needs to be tested, as well. If you have access to rainwater, such as a rainbarrel, it would be best to use this water on your blueberries. Agricultural sulfur can be used to lower soil pH, but you need to know the actual soil pH before applying sulfur. We have about 20 blueberry shrubs, and they are all doing pretty well. However, there was some sign of iron chlorosis in a few shrubs this spring, and a few shrubs had red/brown leaves, in the early spring, that indicates they are not taking up nitrogen. I put down sulfur, and also put down water amended with vinegar, to lower the pH. They are all looking better, but as I said, it is a challenge to keep them green and healthy here....See MoreNeed some Aeroponic help
Comments (25)hi, what you have is not a true aerophonic unit to be a true aerophonic unit you have to have a water pump and spraying head to spray the net pot about every three or four hours for about fifteen minutes, if you used grodan mini cubes you would cycle every five or even six hours you should have your fertilizer level about four or five inches below the net pot the roots will grow down and into the reservoir. best wishes les matzek...See MoreAeroponics and Hydroponics - I need the basics
Comments (2)"How does one know the light cycles needed for plants at different stages for the artificial lighting?" ANSWER: In nature, plants are able to recognize the length of time, probably even down to the minute, of sunlight in a day to gauge whether they should be growing their stems, leaves, and roots vigorously, or, when temperatures and other conditions such as nutrients permit, begin to produce abundant blooms and fruits. Now, in order to recreate this change in duration of light being emitted at your plants, you must know the magic number. Yes, there is a magic number under which all plants (whether they bloom with more than, or less than this magic number) obey. If one changes the amount of light a plant receives from 24 hours, being on all day, down to a smaller amount such as 18 hours, not much will happen! You have not gotten down to the magic number yet. What is important to know, is that no matter how close you get to this magic number, things don't start doing much till you actually reach it. It just so happens that when plants begin receiving 12, or some say 13, hours of light, and 12 or 11 hours of darkness, they are forced into what is called their flowering state. As previously stated, the plants will redirect their "hormones" and growth factors in a way such that the growth is now focusing on growing buds and blooms, and ultimately, tasty morsels for us to eat! And this all happens, again, at 12 hours of light per day! "What's the cheapest diy way to set up hydro/aero systems?" ANSWER: I prefer to use what is called the DWC, or Deep Water Culture type of setup because it is very easy to understand how it works, and is very economical. As to how I make them, that is very easy. If you don't mind some reading, reading from a MJ forum I might add, I have included a link to some invaluable instructions about how to create a DWC bucket: "Are there better systems for different types of plants?" ANSWER: Yes and no. I think it all really boils down to how much root space a plant needs. Obviously, a banana tree will be different than a rosemary bush, in many respects, but root space will determine which system would be more suited for the plant. I have no list of optimum systems for every plant out there, so I won't be of as much help here. Many people around this forum should be able to answer this question though. Here is a link that might be useful: DIY DWC Bucket...See MoreJason
7 years ago
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