Cutting Propagator

thingiverse

This converts those cheap 19 cm x 15 cm (7.5" x 5.5") "green houses" into seed propagation stations. The major advantage of this system is the active oxygenation of the water - this reduces bacterial growth and speeds up root formation. Features: ==================== - Active oxygenation of water - 30 spots per "green house" Required Material: ==================== - ~40 g filament - 19 cm x 15 cm (7.5" x 5.5") "green house" - oxygen pump (for fish tanks), air stone, tubing - duct tape - EVA foam or similar - water-proof glue (preferably epoxy) Required Equipment: ==================== - ~23 mm diameter hole punch - ~8 mm diameter hole punch Instructions: ==================== 1. Purchase material/equipment. 2. Print - hole_insert_inner - hole_insert_outer - upper_holder - lower_holder 3. Glue together upper_holder and lower_holder. Magnets or clamps are useful for holding the pieces together while the glue is drying. 4. Affix duct tape to the inside and outside of the green house (see pictures); this reinforces the plastic which might otherwise crack. Punch a ~8 mm hole where the oxygen tubing is supposed to go. Insert hole_insert_outer from the inside of the green house. Slather glue onto the hole_insert_inner and glue it to the already inserted piece. (See pictures; if this is confusing: Just glue the two pieces together, it doesn't really matter anyways... there is a slight taper to accommodate tube connectors, but at the resolution of normal FDM printers it's probably lost anyways) 5. Prepare EVA foam inserts by using the hole punches and a cutter knife - see pictures. 6. Connect tubing to oxygen pump and air stone, fill with water, make cuttings and propagate! 7. Optional: Print "plant_card.svg" and laminate it - this helps in tracking what plant is where (see pictures). It is formatted in a way to fit into credit card format lamination sleeves (~86 mm x 54 mm). Tips: ==================== - I run the oxygen pump on a timer to save electricity: 15 min off, 15 min on. - I use rooting hormone to aid the process. Indole-3-butyric acid or 1-Naphthaleneacetic acid do the trick. Using willow shoot extract has been too messy and ripe with contamination for me. Using nothing works well too though. - If you use the included hood of the green house, watch the humidity and especially the formation of mold - this should be avoided. - Check the water level the first few days to get a feel for how quickly you need to refill. - For cuttings with different stem-thickness, I use differently sized inner holes with my EVA-foam inserts. - Contamination of the water is your biggest enemy: Toss suspected cuttings early and replace the water immediately, if you're suspicious. - Some plants will root quickly (e.g. mint, basil), some need weeks (peppers), others won't root at all. The right "age" of the cutting is important. The temperature is also important. Just know your plant to maximize rooting success.