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Vermont Green MTN State

How could I keep a clone through the winter? I have lights & heat pad and also some indoor greenhouses. Anyone else have luck???? Would love to try this out, but how do you keep a plant healthy and under control?

8/10/2004 11:46:24 AM

[email protected]

We kept several in our greenhouse last winter. They were doing very well until an animal ripped into it to escape the -4F temperatures one night. All but 3 were immediatley dead. Two succumbed later. The 845 Bobier that survived is out best plant right now.

A three season porch might be good, but I've seen growers wrestle with Mildew like crazy under grow lights.

Some points to consider that come to mind I wish I'd known before I got started.

>Indoors is lame!!! Too much Powdery Mildew.
>Do you want to spray fungicides indoors? I don't.
>Greenhouse or basement, fungicides cause damage to tips.
>cool nightly lows around 48F were good - less PM.
>daytime highs of 65F & they grew too fast. Cooler is OK.
>48" window boxes were good. Depth didn't matter.
>Shallow boxes use less soil. Hint Hint
>Wallpaper pans might be even more economical.
>Whiteflies & aphids are a bother. Use Merit before collecting.
>We're only growing the last 1-4 feet at any time.
>All pesticide sprays are thus very dicey.
>Plan ahead. It takes more space than we think it will.

continued

8/10/2004 12:10:14 PM

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>Allocate 8 feet long minimum since 2 4' boxes end to end for vine jumps.
>Some secondary vines look too good to prune off & toss, so now we need another 3-4 feet at a right angle to the first 2 boxes. See the space getting used up?
>Befriend someone who is growing your dream seed (that you know you'll never get) this year & is having good results. If the parent is exhibitting good habits, so too should the cutting next year.
>Our cutting has so far exhibitted longer stems than it's "parent" did.
>Plan ahead for collecting a cutting(s) now. The first frost will terminate everything fast.
>Your cutting donor will want to cleanup & prep the patch for next year as soon as the fruit are harvested. Be ready to move quickly.
>It's better to bury your first box long before the cut date so roots have had time to form.
>Network, network, network!!! You need some veteran growers help more than they need to be bothered. LOL

>>I'll do it again this winter for sure. The greenhouse improvements are in the works for better temperature regulation.

8/10/2004 12:11:36 PM

Jackson Twp, Ohio

I didn't have a Powdery mildew problem in my basement after the first month or so. I have begun collections for the coming winter and plan on making sure they are mildew free coming into the house. Whiteflies were a tremendous bother though. Hopefully not this year.

Nick

8/10/2004 12:26:04 PM

Massillon, Ohio

considering it is your house, your parents wont have a problem with the mess. lol !! (messy is often a problem at my house, hence njh does our clone winter stuff).

8/10/2004 1:05:04 PM

Vermont Green MTN State

:( looks like I may not beable to do it. I may not have the space. Oh well it does not hurt to try! I think I will miss not having a pumpkin all winter too much not to at least try.

8/10/2004 1:35:50 PM

[email protected]

Then use smaller pots. I wouldn't hesitate to try 24 inchers if I had them. And just because I couldn't say "NO" to secondary vines, doesn't mean you can't wack the off. I made the job more difficult than I had to.

8/10/2004 2:01:55 PM

Okla

Quick question, does anyone use or tried a growth regulator on the clones during the winter? It seems it would keep the plants more controlable and you would be able to take better care of the plant.
Thomas

8/10/2004 3:35:40 PM

Massillon, Ohio

I used some rooting hormones. They just sort of limp along for me.

8/11/2004 9:00:51 AM

[email protected]

I don't think I'd want to supress growth. I understand why, but it's fun to create several more starts & share them with other growing friends. It's how I got mine.

8/11/2004 9:08:18 AM

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Very interesting info guys. I will try to save my Dill 636.
At my job we do tissue cultures so it crossed my mind: Did anybody hear of AG in vitro? Jernej

8/11/2004 9:29:41 AM

Massillon, Ohio

hey nick dont post as me :)....i was like 'what the heck i didnt say that'

8/11/2004 11:45:02 AM

Colorado Hail, CO. Elev. 5,900 FT

Keeping a clone {cutting} alive is easy, sort of...

Root a vine tip in a long narrow pot outdoors {3 weeks before expected frost}, by mixing systematic insecticide in the rooting medium and spraying the plant for disease first. Then cut two "U" shaped grooves into both sides of the long & narrow pot for the incomming vine to root into some deep soil initially without having to bend it down over the pot edge. The other side is cut out for the outgoing vine.

Bury your plant vine into this pot with the tip barely left sticking out of the cut out pot groove. Let it then grow until you have 2-3 side shoots emerging from the leaf nodes. Then cut the main vine off at the 3rd leaf past the pot. This will allow you to keep the inital plant smaller, and allow it plenty of time to root in the pot.

Once the side shoots start to reach out and attempt to run, it is then time to cut the clone away from the original plant at the groove where it goes into the pot. Move the plant to an area where it doesn't get any direct sunlight for a couple days so it doesn't get stressed and die off. It is normal to loose a leaf or two, sometimes all the sun leaves will wilt and die. Don't freak out, as the plant is simply diverting its energy into the new shoots, and they shouldn't be affected.

8/11/2004 1:15:01 PM

Colorado Hail, CO. Elev. 5,900 FT

DO NOT OVERWATER!!!! Moist soil is key! Too much and the cutting will never root, or if it did root initally, it will die of root rot! At this point, your new "clone" is ready to bring indoors.

Keep it growing from pot to pot under a shop light with 2 40 watt cool white bulbs, or in a bay window where it will get the full winter sunlight. You will need a bigger window or more lights if you keep more than one clone going. One 4 foot shop light keeps one clone going perfectly with 2 pots side by side at all times. You can add another shop light also if you wish to allow the cutting to grow longer a little bit to make sure it is rooted long enough each time your ready to cut it away from the host pot. I suggest this to those newer at this, as it sucks to cut away a clone too soon and see it die after keeping it alive for a while.

I Hope this info helps make things simple and easy to do. I've had plenty of winters to get down a nice and simple process, and I don't have any failures anymore {unless I simply forget about them}. I started messing around with this method back in 1997, first trying to root vine tips with rooting hormones before finding this to be the easiest method. I can answer any question you might have on this subject, if you can catch me.... sorry...gotta run back to the laboratory...

Madman Marc

8/11/2004 1:15:42 PM

Colorado Hail, CO. Elev. 5,900 FT

Tremor... this is my specialty department....

LMAOROFLOL!

8/11/2004 1:18:18 PM

[email protected]

Yeah & where the heck were you???? I'm just holdin' down the fort for you is all.

Marc is the Cutting King. And I want to thank him here for the help he gave us over the winter. No emails though. Cell only. LOL

Steve

8/11/2004 3:13:56 PM

Vermont Green MTN State

Thanks guys I'm gona do it! I have a shop light and got some space. Like I said don't think I could live without a plant for a whole winter! What do you do if it flowers? I am guessing it won't?
Doeski

8/11/2004 9:23:54 PM

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They flower. We even got some females but none set. I never really gave any though to removing the flowers since they made the experience even more pleasant.

There is nothing like trudging through fresh snow & opening the greenhouse door. The warm humid air & the pungent aroma of winter AG's is an inspiration.

8/11/2004 10:04:02 PM