DIY Clone Mailer
The first step is to drink a bottle of water because the empty bottle will be the first item on the materials list that does not have a link to it on amazon. I tried to copy the commercially available ones as closely as possible.
Materials list
1- water bottle (empty)
1- 12 volt single led white light
1- Sheet of foil ( any aluminum foil is fine)
First thing is to cut a hole in the bottom of the water bottle about ¼ inch smaller than the top of the party cup. (1 and 13/16 inch to be exact)
I used a hot knife. It worked much better than an exacto knife.
I also put a hole in the cap to fit the led light
Next take the party cup and the clone ring.
Put a small amount of water in the party cup, only about 1/3 inch. you want the roots wet but not drowning. Insert the clone into the collar and than the collar into the cup.
Spray just a few drops of water inside the bottle, shake out any water that don't stick to the side. Then insert the plant and party cup into the hole in the bottle. (kinda like getting a tire in a rim).
Next use the hot glue gun on low heat to make a seal around the cup and bottle. Tip: If you start with a few glue tacks around it before welding helps
Then take the led light and insert it into the cap and the cap on the bottle and hot glue it.
Next glue the 9 volt battery to the side of the party cup.
Attach the wires red to red and black to black then tape them on to each side of the bottle.
Your led light should be on at this point. At the writing of this I've had it lit for 3 days and still counting.
Last but not least with the single sheet of foil.
and that's a rap! (pun intended)
Use the foil to rap the bottle. Less that $2 a mailer, and less then that if you make all 100!
I just wanted to add a note about clones from friends.
She's a really nice producer, the buds are fat and covered in snow, you really want that strain. You don't have a bug problem and you don't want one!
Isolate her from your others plants, mix up some clone dip and treat it for a week, watch them closely and hope. Also spray the garden, the walls the carpet, take a shower and burn your clothes.
Thanks to GrowingUpNorth, Smot poker, Deek, berkshire, MichelangeloGrow and the Doc for inspiration. I hope someone can fine this of use.
This is so freakin cool prof! Im impressed with the simple but effective tools and parts. Great detailed pics and explanation. Thanks for spreading the info
Went out to check the mail today, because my Apera replacement pH/EC probe had supposedly arrived (it had). But also in my oversized, rural delivery mailbox was a Priority Mail package from "The Prof". Must be the clone test mailing. I figured I better do an unboxing, and since I haven't setup a stand for my camera/phone yet to do video, you get stills and words. Here's the side of the box, since both Prof's and my addresses are on the top.
Okay, first thing. Did you really use hot glue to seal the box up? It certainly kept it closed! Nearly broke my old fingers trying to get it open!
Very well packaged with the air-paks, and I suppose the bar mop (towel) will absorb any water if there is spill. So far, absolutely no sign of leaks. But I notice that the LED is not on. Also, I guess Prof decided there was no need for the foil wrap.
Take the towel out, put it aside, and... WHOA! There's another layer of 3 more clones! And these ones have their lights on.
Ah, there's the problem. Ms. Dasani wasn't plugged in. She seems no worse for the wear. I really doubt that she decided to flip in however long she was underway. Besides, she was getting light from the other 3 LEDs.
Okay, let's get this show on the road. I was expecting one clone, and instead ended up with a whole family! Everyone looks good and humid, although the collar has slipped out of the cup on one of them.
How the heck do I get these girls of their hot-glue prisons? Start to use my trusty Buck knife, but then realize how close I am to the stem and decide snips are better. Also, I'd like to save as much as I can, so I can use them for my own clone mailings.
With the bottle cut around the rim of the cup, and gently lifted off, she unfurls her leaves.
It's a simple matter to peel off the hot glue that holds the neoprene collar.
And then lift it out of the party shot cup. Look at those lovely roots!
Fortunately, I have a batch of reused coco all prepped (rinsed, buffered, rinsed) so I just have to heat up the soldering iron and poke some drainage holes in the bottom of a few party cups. While I am at it, I make two of them into Party Aircups, just for fun.
I dip the roots into some Mykos, and into the coco she goes. One down, three to go! Now I won't feel guilty about running my second tent just for the lone Photo-Period Pure Power Plant Party Cup Girl. This ain't no Pity Party no more!
Lather, rinse, repeat. By the last one, I have it down to a science:
- Unplug the battery.
- Unscrew the bottle cap.
- Using your thumbnail, peel off the hot glue holding the wires to the bottle.
- Put the electrical stuff aside for re-use
- Snip the bottle just above the cup.
- Lift the bottle off the plant.
- Admire her beauty.
- Peel the hot glue from around the collar.
- Lift the plant out of the cup, and remove the collar. Put it aside for reuse.
- Dip the wet roots into some Mykos.
- Plant!
- Fertigate with some very weak nutes and into the humidity dome.
- Pull the battery off any way you can. Test voltage and either reuse or recycle.
Or, in pictures:
Thanks so much, Prof. I would say that this mailer idea is a complete success! Might want to use a bit less hot glue on the batteries (getting them off was a royal pain).
I will try to keep these girls healthy and happy. I may have to build myself a cloner now after seeing those roots so I can keep this line going.
Hey, wait! There's something in that folded-up towel. Some Mardi Gras beads, a fleur-de-lis, and a black ziploc bag, that when opened releases a heavenly aroma! Very nicely trimmed.
Biker Gnome likes the Mardi Gras beads. Just his size.
Thanks to you and Biker Gnome for testing the mailer for me, I couldn't have picked a better tester. I really enjoyed making it, I hope that it can be of some value to the community.
I have a few confessions to make.
First one is i had problems with the neoprene collar popping out of the cup when I gave them a test ride on the paint shaker (Harley Davidson). The hot glue around the collar and cup was a last ditch attempt to save the project. I'll come up with sometime better.
Secondly, I let 4 nicely cut sheets of foil 0n the table that my wife tried call me about when I was on my way to USPS, only to find that I had forgot my phone at home. I,m hopping the name "Dumbo" don't stick.
And Lastly that's not my real address: The Porf @ 24 Mary Ln. Cut-off, La. 70345 << see if anyone else gets it.
Enjoy the UK Cheese, I think it's one of the best tasting I've grown to date, but that's another post!
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