i just wanted some basic beginner advice on how to use these. i have some seeds that are germinating and will be ready soon. seems like a better option for me since ive had troubles with soil. so now i wanna try these. as always im looking for tips and advice to make this run smooth and if most of you have read my earlier posts and seen pics of my plant i tried in soil you know i need a lot of help so thank-you in advance
Using Rockwool
- Thread starter tittyboi
- Start date
laserbrn
Well-Known Member
Rockwool is really easy although I've never used it from seed. Make sure you soak your rockwool cubes for 24 hours with PH'ed water and some rockwool soak.
Place the little buggers in there and add water. After a few weeks add 1/4 dose of nutes. I'd say in the neighborheed of 200ppm. Slowly increase that over the next 3-4 weeks until you hit ~1100ppm. Go to 12/12, increase nutes to 1400ppm for 3-4 weeks. Then start bringing them down over the next two weeks to 800ppm and for the last and final 2 weeks get them down to 200ppm and eventually one last week with just water.
So the obvious thing is: Get a PPM meter and PH meter. They are invaluable and they make it really easy to do this.
Place the little buggers in there and add water. After a few weeks add 1/4 dose of nutes. I'd say in the neighborheed of 200ppm. Slowly increase that over the next 3-4 weeks until you hit ~1100ppm. Go to 12/12, increase nutes to 1400ppm for 3-4 weeks. Then start bringing them down over the next two weeks to 800ppm and for the last and final 2 weeks get them down to 200ppm and eventually one last week with just water.
So the obvious thing is: Get a PPM meter and PH meter. They are invaluable and they make it really easy to do this.
beenthere donethat
Well-Known Member
I would advise against using rockwool cubes if you are a noob. Too many problems..pH will rise for sure...
if you do use em...FLUSH the cubes with tap water BEFORE you soak em and balance the pH.
If all of that sounds like foriegn language..you needd to READ, READ, READ...then read more BEFORE you ever use those cubes.
try rapid rooters (do a search if you don't know what those are)
just being realistic..
good luck
bt dt
if you do use em...FLUSH the cubes with tap water BEFORE you soak em and balance the pH.
If all of that sounds like foriegn language..you needd to READ, READ, READ...then read more BEFORE you ever use those cubes.
try rapid rooters (do a search if you don't know what those are)
just being realistic..
good luck
bt dt
i know all about the terminology. ph and what not. never have tested my ph before but if i keep hearing the same thing from other people i will definately get a ph tester. so i just rinsed them with water. is it ok to squeeze the water out of them? they were pretty hard and then softened up when i squeezed the water out. for now i have them sitting in a bowl of tap water until tomorrow when i can get a ph tester. is all this ok?
beenthere donethat
Well-Known Member
^^^^^ you can't do a rockwool grow without one..plain and simple..bar none. Soil is a buffer to nutes/pH sensitivity that you do not have w/rockwool.
I would get th pH meter first. If you use GH nutrients (Flora Series or FloraNova) you can "get close" on the ppm's and have decent success by simply following the instructions on the bottle to a t.
good luck
bt dt
I would get th pH meter first. If you use GH nutrients (Flora Series or FloraNova) you can "get close" on the ppm's and have decent success by simply following the instructions on the bottle to a t.
good luck
bt dt
wow that went right over my head! so your saying i need a ph tester or a ppm meter? im sure i need both. how do you test the ph of rockwool? please explain a little more detailed please if you can. the only nutes i will be using is fox farm big bloom. i have some blood meal also.
laserbrn
Well-Known Member
These guys may be right. If you don't get how to use Rockwool and do a semi-hydro you might get overwhelmed.
You definitely need a PH meter. It will be easier, although feasible without, a PPM meter.
Once you have the meter's you just need a plan and some general knowledge that can be found in the GrowFAQ.
Just gettin' the little suckers into the rockwool requires some prep. If you don't have access to larger rockwool cubes your also going to find yourself without anywhere for your roots to go. Make sure you can get 6" rockwool cubes to transfer into.
I don't necessarily advise against rockwool/semihydro for noobs, but you should have a clear plan for your nutrients and have a good set of meters.
You definitely need a PH meter. It will be easier, although feasible without, a PPM meter.
Once you have the meter's you just need a plan and some general knowledge that can be found in the GrowFAQ.
Just gettin' the little suckers into the rockwool requires some prep. If you don't have access to larger rockwool cubes your also going to find yourself without anywhere for your roots to go. Make sure you can get 6" rockwool cubes to transfer into.
I don't necessarily advise against rockwool/semihydro for noobs, but you should have a clear plan for your nutrients and have a good set of meters.
laserbrn
Well-Known Member
You can definitely do that. I thought you just wanted to grow in rockwool. That's easy enough, go buy some distilled water and drop them in there. Just make sure that you soak the cubes for 24 hours before you do it. They'll be just fine in there. Water the cubes by hand and transplant to soil.
beenthere donethat
Well-Known Member
To clarify my post:
I would buy a pH meter before I bought a ppm meter for growing in rockwool.
re ppms...I was saying that if you use something like General Hydroponics Flora Series Micro/Gro/Bloom and follow the mixing directions on the bottle...you can get very close to the ppms they state you need to use for the stage of growth you are in without measuring the ppm's precisely.
I would not use organics in rockwool. After you go into soil...yes. To root clones..no. It'll end up as a nasty/stinky mess more than likely.
just my opinion.
bt dt
I would buy a pH meter before I bought a ppm meter for growing in rockwool.
re ppms...I was saying that if you use something like General Hydroponics Flora Series Micro/Gro/Bloom and follow the mixing directions on the bottle...you can get very close to the ppms they state you need to use for the stage of growth you are in without measuring the ppm's precisely.
I would not use organics in rockwool. After you go into soil...yes. To root clones..no. It'll end up as a nasty/stinky mess more than likely.
just my opinion.
bt dt
Throw it away and get another cube.