Growing in Rockwool--advice?

REALSTYLES

REALSTYLES

Well-Known Member
dankog said:
Realstyles--what kind of watering system are you using? What is your nute schedule, and what kind of nutes and how much?

They look beautiful--I can't believe they're growing that nicely out of rockwool!
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I use a simple drip system and my nutes are a one part base by Foothill Hydroponics 20-10-20 for veg and 9-59-8 for bloom. I also use Epsom salt and molasses in every feeding in place of Cal-Mag. 1 tsp per gallon. I feed them every 3 hours for 10 min while the lights are on
 
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sashimigrade

Member
dankog said:
Do you have to feed them twice a day, even if the cube us moist to the touch?

That would definitely explain why they look so wilted...
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I have a similar question on rockwool. I'm using a top drip. I have a 8 gallon res with a ~200 gph pump and maybe a 2 ft. head. It doesn't drip, the water streams out which I'm not crazy about. Seeds were started in a peat product and transferred to the hole in the center of 4x4 rw cubes. I was planning on watering 2-3 times per day for 15 min but the rw is holding so much water that I'm worried that feeding 1 time per day would be too much. It's been about 24 hours and my cubes are still heavy. I have normal to below normal humidity so I'm not sure why they're holding so much water for so long. It could be the airflow but i don't think so. I plan on moving to hydroton but I wanted to veg for awhile in rw alone. Is this normal? Should I cut back on feeding to let the rw dry a little bit? I don't want the root rot! Thanks in advance.
 
REALSTYLES

REALSTYLES

Well-Known Member
sashimigrade said:
I have a similar question on rockwool. I'm using a top drip. I have a 8 gallon res with a ~200 gph pump and maybe a 2 ft. head. It doesn't drip, the water streams out which I'm not crazy about. Seeds were started in a peat product and transferred to the hole in the center of 4x4 rw cubes. I was planning on watering 2-3 times per day for 15 min but the rw is holding so much water that I'm worried that feeding 1 time per day would be too much. It's been about 24 hours and my cubes are still heavy. I have normal to below normal humidity so I'm not sure why they're holding so much water for so long. It could be the airflow but i don't think so. I plan on moving to hydroton but I wanted to veg for awhile in rw alone. Is this normal? Should I cut back on feeding to let the rw dry a little bit? I don't want the root rot! Thanks in advance.
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You should hand feed them every 3-4 days until you see roots at the bottom of the cubes then go to drip feeding and only run it for 5 mins 3 times a day until the plant gets over 12"
 
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sashimigrade

Member
REALSTYLES said:
You should hand feed them every 3-4 days until you see roots at the bottom of the cubes then go to drip feeding and only run it for 5 mins 3 times a day until the plant gets over 12"
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Great advice, thanks. One more question... I like to keep the plastic (just around the outside edge like they're usually packaged) on the rockwool so when I handle it I don't transfer as many germs to the medium. This is probably one of the reasons they take so long to dry. If you were to use rw, would you remove the plastic right away or wait until transplant? Thanks again.
 
Devildog93

Devildog93

Well-Known Member
Rockwool is EXTREMELY easy to use. Super easy to flush, and much easier (my opinion) and cleaner than soil. Much less work too.

I ran my pH at 6.1, watered once a day, maybe twice near the middle/end of flowering.

Never had an issue with it, it's a great medium. I will always prefer the simple flood/drain technique for it's simplicity. Works great, very easy to set up.
 
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