Rockwoll Drip Systems?

[blueberry1]

. I personally water my plants by hand and only water them every few days..

Regarding your question about the water going straight through the cube and dripping out the bottom. If the rockwool dries out completely you might need to dunk it in some water to get it to wick correctly. If it is moist then it should take any water that you put into it and spread it evenly through the entire cube. If it has dried though then the water will not spread around it will simply wet a small area then drip out.

Thanks for that new input. I'm experimenting with the 6 inch cubes. What size have you had experience with? They seem just SO dense, and even when left for 24 hrs dont dry alot. Is there an ideal temp/hum for allowing them to dry? I know low hum/high temp is probably good for drying...but hmmmmm. It seems like the bottom part of the cube just stays sooooooo drenched.

 

[KTOWNGUY]

In my hydro system the roots are already com,ing out the bottom of the cubes and into the pipes, If i only water once a day these roots will dry and die. So i am watering 8 times a day a 2 mintues each time (every 2 hours) This way my roots stay moist, the rockwoll may be wet most of the time but there are only some of the root system in there,.

 

[Mcgician]

That's a pretty sweet and efficient setup man. I'm assuming you're doing it as a sea of green method? With what you're working with right now, that setup will work really good that way. I use a little different method. I use 4 inch rockwool cubes and an ebb and flow table for vegging, then transferred them into the flowering room and placed the cubes on top of cut rockwool slabs. From there, they get fed via drip emitters (like yours), and the tables are kept slightly tilted so the water can drain back into the resevoir. What you have is a slightly modified aeroponic setup. The reason I opted for the system I have is for fewer, but bushier plants. In my experience, that's been the best method I've ever used. Aeroponic setups are very fast and efficient, but because they have such a small margin for error if something goes wrong, I opted for the slab method. Also, the rockwool slabs allow for a wider, bushier plant because the roots have somewhere to grow off to the sides and provide the plant with ballast. Mine get watered twice a day for 8 minutes. Once when the lights come on, and once at hour 11.

 

[mj320002]

Thanks for that new input. I'm experimenting with the 6 inch cubes. What size have you had experience with? They seem just SO dense, and even when left for 24 hrs dont dry alot. Is there an ideal temp/hum for allowing them to dry? I know low hum/high temp is probably good for drying...but hmmmmm. It seems like the bottom part of the cube just stays sooooooo drenched.

I use 1 and 4 inch cubes. Then I also use granulated rockwool in 5 gallon buckets. The ideal temps/humidity is whatever the plant you're growing likes. I keep my room at 80 with a RH of 50-60 normally depending on how the weather is. I would like to have it more around 40 but I don't have money for a dehumidifier right now.

When I first start off in the 1 inch cubes I usually only have to water them about once a week. Then as the plant grows I get to the point where there are roots popping out from every part of the cube and I have to water it every day. Then I put it in a 4 inch cube and go back to only having to water every 5 days or so. Then most of the plants won't see anything bigger than that and will go through flowering reaching a height of no more than three feet. If it's a mother then I will let it go till there are roots popping out everywhere and I have to water it daily. Then I throw it in the 5 gallon bucket and I'm back to watering weekly. When I do water the cube is generally a little more moist than it should be. You can get away with this as long as the plant will suck up a decent amount of the water fairly quickly. The roots don't need oxygen 24/7 they just need it most of the time.

In my hydro system the roots are already com,ing out the bottom of the cubes and into the pipes, If i only water once a day these roots will dry and die. So i am watering 8 times a day a 2 mintues each time (every 2 hours) This way my roots stay moist, the rockwoll may be wet most of the time but there are only some of the root system in there,.

Yeah I keep my plants in the rockwool so any roots that come out I just let die. It's no biggie they always grow more and it has no effect on the plant.