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Newsletter - 2017-10-24

Tissue Culture and Cloning

Have you ever wondered how the biggest producers in the world ensure that they have a continuous supply of new plants?  The technique used is something called Tissue Culture.  A specialized lab is used to reproduce thousands of plants, just from one small piece of plant tissue.  This could be a piece of tissue even from the roots, although they usually prefer the part of the plant living above ground.  Have you ever eaten potatoes?  Then you've benefited from Tissue Culture!

But why do they like that one specific plant, and want more of it?  It's because the plant is expressing a phenotype (outward characteristic or trait) that the producer wants to see.   They would like the smell and taste, and decide that was a plant that they want to see more of.

Now, how does that affect the average grower who doesn't need thousands of plants?

It tells us that replicating a plant is a really common thing.  It's how our food is produced in such quantity, and with such predictable results.  It also tells us that cloning, not growing from seed, is the best way to be sure of the final genetics of the plant.

That being said, next week we want to show you how to clone, the easy way, with no special equipment needed.  We'll go over step by step instructions on how to clone, when to clone, and what you need to do it all.

 

Cheers,

Canadian Garden Supply

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Newsletter - Updated 2021-05-06

Cloning

Here is one way that works great for us and our customers!

What you will need:

Razor blade or scalpel, propagation tray and dome, a rooting hormone, a shallow dish, scissors, some peat pellets, plugs, or 1.5" or 2" rockwool cubes, and a T5 light fixture and bulb.

First: Fill the shallow dish with water.  Soak individual peat pellets or rockwool cubes in water.

Second: Pour some rooting hormone into its own lid.  You'll be dipping the cuttings into the rooting hormone here. 

Third: Cut a branch that has 3 to 4 leaves on it with your scissors.  Re-cut the bottom under water in the dish of water at a 45 degree angle with the razor blade.

Fourth: Dip the bottom that you re-cut into the rooting solution, and put it into the peat pellet or rockwool cube, pushing it in a little so that you can feel the cutting is secure.  Make sure that you push your cutting around 3/8" (1 cm) into the bottom of the pre-made hole in the peat pellet or cube.  Peat pellets may need a little more attention, where you can just push lightly on the peat pellet around the stem of the clone, to secure it better.

Fifth: Place the clones in your tray, put the dome on, and put underneath your fluorescent light fixture.  You can leave this light on for 24 hours per day, or use a timer and have an 18 hour on/ 6 hour off schedule.  The best location for rooting clones is a main floor or upstairs closet.  Here they will be the most warm.

Make sure that no clone's leaves are covering their neighbor's growth tip.  This will kill the plant that has its top covered.  Gently push the leaf down below the other plant's leaves to make sure both have their growth tip exposed to light.

Leave the dome on with the dome vents (if included) closed. Do this for the first 6 to 7 days. Lightly spray the clones once or twice a day to keep humidity levels higher. In ideal conditions you should start to see roots in 6 to 8 days. After the clones start rooting, you may notice that the cubes are getting lighter in colour and that they are less heavy; this indicates they are getting dryer.  Before they get dry, pour some water in the tray at one corner, and just tip it side to side and let the cubes absorb the water that they want.  Drain the excess.  It's better to water once or twice if you're not sure, than to let them dry out.  With experience you will know what they need. 

Once they grow roots you can start moving them out of the cloning tray. Do this slowly though as it will experience water stress if you take it out of the dome.  Each day leave the rooted clones in a tray that is uncovered, monitoring their behavior.  If one starts to look like it is stressing too much, put it back under the covered tray.  This is a type of conditioning of the plant to a normal humidity environment.

We hope that this newsletter has given you a method to be better at cloning.  If you like our newsletter, please share it with your friends!  Also, don't hesitate to call or email us with your questions.

Cheers,

Canadian Garden Supply

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Newsletter - 2018-01-02


Government Regulated and Approved Pesticides

If you are gardening and are consuming your product, you want to make sure that you're using pesticideds that are safe and approved for consumption.

Pest control is vital to get proper yields.  If your plants are fighting insects while they are trying to grow, it will take energy away from their fruits and flowers.

Monitoring your grow space for pests, and using preventative sprays throughout your crops is the best way to prevent infestations.

Health Canada has a list of registered pesticides that are approved for consumption with regard to inhaled products.

They list the following products as of September 13, 2017:

Actinovate SP
Agrotek Ascend Vaporized Sulphur
Bio-Ceres G WP
Bioprotec Caf
Bioprotec Plus
Botanigard 22 WP
Botanigard ES
Cyclone
Doktor Doom Formula 420 Professional Use 3-in-1
Influence LC
Kopa Insecticidal Soap
Lacto-San
MilStop Foliar Fungicide
Neudosan Commercial
Opal Insecticidal Soap
Prestop
Rootshield(R) WP Biological Fungicide
Rootshield HC Biological Fungicide Wettable Powder
Sirocco
Vegol Crop Oil

People do use different products than these listed above, and more are added by Health Canada as they investigate different brands.

There are also ways to control bugs with other bugs.  These are not regulated by Health Canada.  Predator mites are a mite that you can introduce to your room to eat the population of spider mites living there.  Nematodes can be used to eat pests that eat your roots.  There are also many more.

You can find the Health Canada Pesticides and Pest Management webpage here.

We hope that this newsletter has introduced you to different ways of controlling pests in your garden.  Do you have more pest or pesticide questions?  Call or email us any time!

- Inter Folia Fructus -

"Fruit Amongst the Leaves"

Cheers,

Canadian Garden Supply