Rapid Root or Riot Root Plugs ?

crimsonecho

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
Little 5 cm pots filled with straight peat or one of those little cloning trays filled with peat but i suspect it would dry out too quickly. I think plugs are money down the drain but a personal choice of course.
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
i don't care for plugs myself, too high an incidence of mold and PM, but a lot of people use them successfully, i suspect its an environmental issue for me, i live in a cleft in the mountains that only gets direct sun for about 3 hours a day. moss and algae grow on my metal roof, have to clean it every spring
 
Roger A. Shrubber

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
crimsonecho said:
Little 5 cm pots filled with straight peat or one of those little cloning trays filled with peat but i suspect it would dry out too quickly. I think plugs are money down the drain but a personal choice of course.
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they do dry out quickly, i've tried it. if you have a drip system or don't mind watering 3 times a day, they work well
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
I like small nursery pots of 100% coco. I've used the plugs years ago successfully but just found them to be another expense. Since I grow in coco I always have that on hand and it works just as good. Dip in honey and plant in coco. Works great.

As for those different brands of plugs, there isn't really any difference between the two other than one is mostly peat based and the other is made of composted tree bark and probably peat. They'll both perform the same.
 
mustbetribbin

mustbetribbin

Well-Known Member
I wouldn't start clones in too small a container, they grow a lot faster than seedlings do, I found they over take a 18oz party cup pretty quickly, so I've recently opted to transplant my clones into half gallon containers with faster results and less anxiety to transplant asap once the clones over take their containers and I've found its better to not start them too small, 6 inch diameter container provides quicker growth than a 3.5 inch and so forth, I fill up a half gallon container about 60% full for clones, and have seen less urgency to transplant into the next container this way, which equals less stress and well-being to myself and the plants I'm growing..

I make my own soil blend from basic sungro promix and real dirt that I dug out from a foot below the surface of the ground late winter, I allow this blend to cook and marinate for about 2 months before use, like having a whole tub of rapid rooters mix that I can add or blend as freely as I like, for probably 1/3 of the price of buying some special root pucks or plugs, works good for me.
 
jarvild

jarvild

Well-Known Member
mustbetribbin said:
I wouldn't start clones in too small a container, they grow a lot faster than seedlings do, I found they over take a 18oz party cup pretty quickly, so I've recently opted to transplant my clones into half gallon containers with faster results and less anxiety to transplant asap once the clones over take their containers and I've found its better to not start them too small, 6 inch diameter container provides quicker growth than a 3.5 inch and so forth, I fill up a half gallon container about 60% full for clones, and have seen less urgency to transplant into the next container this way, which equals less stress and well-being to myself and the plants I'm growing..

I make my own soil blend from basic sungro promix and real dirt that I dug out from a foot below the surface of the ground late winter, I allow this blend to cook and marinate for about 2 months before use, like having a whole tub of rapid rooters mix that I can add or blend as freely as I like, for probably 1/3 of the price of buying some special root pucks or plugs, works good for me.
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That's why coir is a good medium, I've grown 6' plants in 5" square pots with coir, have a couple of 3' males in 20 oz party cups now.
DSCN0734.JPG
2 weeks in the 3 oz cups for rooting, 10 days in a 5" square pot, 11 days in the 3 gal pot then to flower
 
mustbetribbin

mustbetribbin

Well-Known Member
jarvild said:
That's why coir is a good medium, I've grown 6' plants in 5" square pots with coir, have a couple of 3' males in 20 oz party cups now.
View attachment 4410932
2 weeks in the 3 oz cups for rooting, 10 days in a 5" square pot, 11 days in the 3 gal pot then to flower
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Hey @jarvild what's up man?

That's a really neat setup you have going on, and I have nothing against it (I like it) the thing is when you're using liquid nutrients and growing in a moderately soil-less medium, you are able to get by growing in a smaller container, but if someone decides to grow in organic soil with real dirt added, it boils down to having a larger/deeper/wider container to get the most production, so (imo) anyone growing in this type medium like I am would be better off letting the cutting/clone have a sizable container from the very start, makes it easier because of less transplanting and you get a faster/wider growing plant, and I also feel clones are better off being transplanted twice instead of thrice, as we aren't dealing with a seedling, we are dealing with a clone with 3-5 times the growth that a seedling would be at in a one-two month time frame, the more mature a plant is the less reasonable it is to go disrupting it's roots, that's kind of my rule of thumb rule that I go by, hard to go wrong with it.

I'm fascinated in the way that you have chosen to grow with and the reasoning behind it, I'm guessing you have to tend to the clones daily when they are grown in the 3oz containers? When I cut clones I usually don't have to water or mess with them again for 5-6days after the initial watering, I don't even have to look at them for almost a week, but with the cloning method I use, I usually see noticeable green growth on the top leaves within 5 days, which means I get roots to begin sooner than one week in soil, not bad imo.

I harvest leaves + Buds + roots of my plants, and for my own health and safety I would rather not blend mixtures into my soil that I have no guarantee of what's in them, I harvest the leaves of the plant to make Tea with, I like those leaves taste like they just came from a forest, abounding with health benefits, benefits that one can only attain by growing in natural organic/composted soils, if I blend a mixture substrate by hand I can guarantee later on that what my plant is absorbing up into its roots is 100% natural+chemical free and bioactive.

I'm not here to put down anyone's type of grow method that they chosen to grow with, I'm just saying for people with health issues especially, that if your harvesting the plant to give you medicine to help keep you alive then you have to be concerned about what you are putting into your soil and natural living soil is the best route to take to keep yourself natural and living.

As an outdoor grower, I was not willing to give up using real dirt inside with my indoor grows and it has payed off, winter time dirt harvesting like I mentioned above is the way to go, and I have no pests so far with this latest batch going on 8 months now, results may vary but with extra caution and patience you can come out ahead quite often, I haven't had to ph anything and the crushed lump charcoal I've added seems to be buffered by the real dirt nicely, I'm growing in 27gal containers so 6ft plants aren't really much to speak of, I'd be dumbfounded if they didn't reach considerable height in those larger sized containers myself, I've had no issues, my plants look vibrantly green as well, large healthy sharp leaves and no tip burn anywhere. (I used 2 hands full of crushed lump charcoal per 5 gal approximately for anyone interested, it works.)

Anyhow @jarvild I appreciate you posting that picture to demonstrate that the small container that you mentioned above actually works for you in your own setup, I do hope for you to have continued success in your growing endeavors friend, and thank you for sharing.;):cool::clap:
 
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Renfro

Renfro

Well-Known Member
I should add I have been using the rapid rooters since 2003. Only time I tried the root riot was when the store was out of rapid rooters and I took a shot with the root riots. As I recall I had about 75% rate and they seemed to take longer. The root riot plugs seemed harder.
 
morugawelder

morugawelder

Well-Known Member
Renfro said:
I should add I have been using the rapid rooters since 2003. Only time I tried the root riot was when the store was out of rapid rooters and I took a shot with the root riots. As I recall I had about 75% rate and they seemed to take longer. The root riot plugs seemed harder.
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agree , I like the rapid rooters also ,
 
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