Question regarding Media

[KiloActual]

Hey All!

I've been working with different media for sometime, developing formulations that might work for a hydro grow in Pakistan. I recently found Rockwool, locally manufactured but for export purposes. They said they had loose rockwool available and it is available for purchase.

Now, the manufacturers have done horticultural rockwool before and they've confirmed that the loose rockwool would be free of chemicals like asbestos etc..

Now I've only see rockwool in rigid slabs and I've only heard mention of loose horticultural rockwool online.

If forum members have any experience with growing in loose rockwool, please help a fellow grower out.

 

[mudballs]

You live in pakistan...and care about growing pot right now....ummm

 

[KiloActual]

favor fortunes the bold

But to be fair, besides hydro, its going to help a lot on the commercial side of things for me (I grow tomatoes for a living). Coco Coir has become very expensive due to the current FOREX issues we're facing

 

[BarnBuster]

Is your Internet access restricted in any way? When I use Google Scholar and search for "cannabis growing loose horticultural rockwool" A number of articles come up. Good Luck!

 

[KiloActual]

Why hydro if u live in Pakistan it seem organics would be the way to go as the inputs would be cheaper and normally easier to source also better quality as well imo ?

Good Point Conor.

So I'll just answer this question from my farming experience.

1. Soil ph is >10 and massively compacted
I got the family farm after nearly 60 years of mismanagement and damage. So our soils are just compacted beyond belief. Weeds barely grow, let alone staples like Corn and Wheat. Because the topsoil has been scraped off, those soils are badly depleted and can barely retain any water.
2. Well PPM >1500
So here in Pakistan, we have a municipal water supply system that barely works. Anyone with a little bit of money will bore a tubewell in their home and pump water up from there. People that rely on municipal water might have water 2-3 days a week.

I'm based in an agricultural area. So everyone has a tubewell and the water level is really deep due to the number of pumps operating.
To get half decent water (<300ppm), we need to drop a submersible pump close to 500 feet. The CAPEX+OPEX of operating one of those pumps is massive. And because there's no stable electricity in our region, we run everything on Solar (Refrigerator, Microwaves, TVs, ACs etc..) which further adds to the CAPEX of starting a well.

3. Summers are really hot
Temperatures are really bad. This summer, we experienced close to 48°C . Traditional agriculture has really suffered and those with the means are shifting towards Closed Environment Agriculture (CEA). Anyone or anything that has to be outdoors really suffers.

In relation to why I want to use hydro instead of organics

I've a few acres of Hydro Tomatoes and Peppers and the product we've produced is beautiful. It sells better, is more efficient and less cumbersome than traditional agriculture. Instead of using pre-mixed nutes, I mix my own nutes and they work out much better than what a bag of fertilizer costs. It costs us close to USD 1500/tonne for DAP (example). In my tomato and pepper crops, its barely cost 600-700 dollars per acre in terms of nutrients and we end up yielding so much more than the soil.


I already have most of the components in place so deploying a hydro cannabis site is no big deal tbh. Rockwool is a first for me, and that too loose, so I'm still figuring out the various parameters etc..

Is your Internet access restricted in any way? When I use Google Scholar and search for "cannabis growing loose horticultural rockwool" A number of artcles come up. Good Luck!

THANK YOU FOR THAT! I forgot about Google Scholar

Edited: Figure out how to multi-quote

 

[conor c]

Good Point Conor.

So I'll just answer this question from my farming experience.

1. Soil ph is >10 and massively compacted
I got the family farm after nearly 60 years of mismanagement and damage. So our soils are just compacted beyond belief. Weeds barely grow, let alone staples like Corn and Wheat. Because the topsoil has been scraped off, those soils are badly depleted and can barely retain any water.
2. Well PPM >1500
So here in Pakistan, we have a municipal water supply system that barely works. Anyone with a little bit of money will bore a tubewell in their home and pump water up from there. People that rely on municipal water might have water 2-3 days a week.

I'm based in an agricultural area. So everyone has a tubewell and the water level is really deep due to the number of pumps operating.
To get half decent water (<300ppm), we need to drop a submersible pump close to 500 feet. The CAPEX+OPEX of operating one of those pumps is massive. And because there's no stable electricity in our region, we run everything on Solar (Refrigerator, Microwaves, TVs, ACs etc..) which further adds to the CAPEX of starting a well.

3. Summers are really hot
Temperatures are really bad. This summer, we experienced close to 48°C . Traditional agriculture has really suffered and those with the means are shifting towards Closed Environment Agriculture (CEA). Anyone or anything that has to be outdoors really suffers.

In relation to why I want to use hydro instead of organics

I've a few acres of Hydro Tomatoes and Peppers and the product we've produced is beautiful. It sells better, is more efficient and less cumbersome than traditional agriculture. Instead of using pre-mixed nutes, I mix my own nutes and they work out much better than what a bag of fertilizer costs. It costs us close to USD 1500/tonne for DAP (example). In my tomato and pepper crops, its barely cost 600-700 dollars per acre in terms of nutrients and we end up yielding so much more than the soil.


I already have most of the components in place so deploying a hydro cannabis site is no big deal tbh. Rockwool is a first for me, and that too loose, so I'm still figuring out the various parameters etc..



THANK YOU FOR THAT! I forgot about Google Scholar

Edited: Figure out how to multi-quote

Fair point thats sad to hear i get u gotta go with what works for you ig

 

[Rurumo]

I would be wary of that rockwool and would at least have a third party certify it free of asbestos/contaminants. You want to know you are starting with clean media.

 

[Greengrouch]

I’d look into mapito(mix of coco coir and Rockwell) I know it’s commonly used for indoor grows in Brazil

 

[Sauron]

I have grown in pittmoss (not peat) which is close to loose rock wool. It was a horrible experience.

 

[bk78]

I have grown in pittmoss (not peat) which is close to loose rock wool. It was a horrible experience.

Of coarse you have. Was this your 2 tier commercial set up, or your personal home grow SOG set up?

 

[Sauron]

Of coarse you have. Was this your 2 tier commercial set up, or your personal home grow SOG set up?

Personal.