What am I missing (or doing wrong)

here is the history
i started a DWC back in January and just couldn't get the plants to grow. assumed it was water temp. so pulled them all up and put them in soil. finished grow that i was really happy with for a first grow. now i want to do another grow trying DWC again. I thought i would try just one plant over the summer to work the bugs out of the system not trying to get any smoke out of it just work the system.
this setup
started bag seed in a rooter plug then transplanted to a cup (removed rooter plug) let it grow til about 6 inches and cup was a little root bound. washed off all soil and put it in 2 inch net cup with neoprene ring for support and put that in the 5 gal DWC bucket with 6 inch lid full of hydroton. root was long enuf to hang out bottom of hydroton by a couple of inches. Filled bucket to 1 inch below hydroton and bubbling lots. used microbial bacteria (hydroguard, orca and great white) for controlling root rot during high water temp. water temp is between 66 and 75. room is 70-80 degrees. 20 percent nutes and let it go. light this time for this test is a Vero29 3500k driven at 45w hanging 14 inches above plant.
i am not seeing any new root growth after 7 days, might be filling in the hydroton but nothing out the bottom has exploded as expected.
the plant is nice and green, drooping a little but nothing serious

anyone see anything I am missing or doing wrong?

smokey

I don't see the explosive root growth until near the end of week 3 after transplant. I start seeds in rapid rooter plugs then transplant plug directly into the 5 gal dwc bucket around week 2 after germination.

maybe I should be more specific.
June 11 germinated
June 13 in rooter plug
June 18 pulled from rooter plug and into soil . didn't want roots to get to locked in the rooter plug
July 12 washed all soil off and put into DWC roots 8 inches long
its been 8 days and still only the "tap" root is out the bottom

smokey

keep using the rooter plug.

by hand, top-feed your dwc until roots come out the bottom of netpot

sit back and watch em go.

rkymtnman said:

keep using the rooter plug.

by hand, top-feed your dwc until roots come out the bottom of netpot

sit back and watch em go.

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That's the thing. The roots have been out the bottom from day 1 in the DWC. No change in 8 days

Smokey

what is that pic on a countertop? this grow or previous?

transplant shock most likely, give it a few more days

dirtWeevil said:

transplant shock most likely, give it a few more days

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i agree. plants doesn't know if it's in soil or hydro.

also, pick one,, not all. hydroguard, great white, or orca.

rkymtnman said:

what is that pic on a countertop? this grow or previous?

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The picture is of the plant just taken out of soil and put in the DWC

Smokey57 said:

The picture is of the plant just taken out of soil and put in the DWC

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that's way more than just a taproot. nothing to worry about.

Plants have different types of roots for soil and hydro. In soil they grow a bunch of little hairs, in water they don't. Since you started in soil, all those soil roots will probably die off and new "water roots" will grow. Should have started in the net pots with the water in the bucket high enough that it touches the bottom of the pot. Then when roots grow into the water you reduce the level. Or if you wanted to start a bunch of them in a small space then have the net pots sitting in a tray with a half inch or so of nutrient solution. Could also start in perlite or other hydro medium, just not soil or coco type mediums.

I grow my clones out as roots only until the roots are a nice bristle of about 6" roots. I made a super cheap bubble bucket for clones and I put them in a neoprene ring and leave them in there for about 2 weeks. Then I transplant into the netpot, draping the roots through the holes in the bottom so that they have a good head start. Then I gently backfill the hydroton. No more waiting and wondering what the roots are doing.

My first go round with DWC I did the same with rinsing off soil and I think it was part of the problems that also destroyed that first crop. I have it down now and do a bunch of everything, DWC, RDWC, coco, drip, flood/drain... But, I stay away from mixing mediums now. Often the plants get a bit banged up in the process and it seems to take a week for them to come back and get used to a new medium and new nutes.

I also leave my water level at 2" ABOVE the base of the netpot. A lot of people leave an air gap but I haven't heard a sensible reason for it yet. When the water is higher on the netpot, more lateral roots will grow out of the sides instead of developing tree trunks under the netpot. Those thick cord roots aren't exchanging nutes, just transporting them. So when you make it grow more fine roots instead of ropes, you get a whole lot more root surface area in that same space - 20% more - which equates to more upper growth.

Think of it like this... The water is your medium - we wouldn't do this with any other medium. Like, imagine if you were growing in soil, and when the roots were about 6" long, we dug out the first 5" of soil under the root crown and made the roots dig deeper. They would, but you'd get thick ropes in that space instead of useable roots.

Sounds like a good methodology to me, having the net pots partially in the water. Just would need to top water them now and then so that nute salts wouldn't build up from surface evaporation. Or you could cover the tops of the pots with plastic, so that water vapor would continuously condense and drip back down through the hydroton, rinsing it off.

BobCajun said:

Sounds like a good methodology to me, having the net pots partially in the water. Just would need to top water them now and then so that nute salts wouldn't build up from surface evaporation. Or you could cover the tops of the pots with plastic, so that water vapor would continuously condense and drip back down through the hydroton, rinsing it off.

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I do neither. It doesn't get salt buildups. I don't do any sort of top watering of flushes. For flowering I use a pretty large Under Current system and this is how they recommend doing it. I tried it and it works just fine. I don't put plastic on top of the hydroton, I think it's important to let that air escape. The air pump is pushing air into that space, it's going to escape through the hydroton. Like distillation, water vapor is water and the nutes stay in the liquid. When the water level is 2" above the base, and you get a good amount of roots, you no longer have bubbles popping at the surface and spraying your hydroton - it's full of roots that prevent the surface from being a roiling mass of bubbles. I veg in 5 gallon buckets and do the same - no problems at all with salt buildups.

Thanks for all the ideas and advice. Looks like i mostly needed PATIENCE..... lol
The original root that was hanging out the bottom seems to have disappeared and now there are several new snow white roots growing out the bottom and side of the basket. It is doing really great (topped it once). PH is holding steady at 5.8 for the last 4 days after adjusting it daily for a week. PPM is steady at 880 (tap water about 200). Expect it to start changing now that the roots are finally out into the water. Almost time to rip it up and start the whole process for real with 5 buckets. This was just a test with bag seed (northern lights) to work some bugs out. Which it has.
I am going to grow 9 plants. 4 of citrus skunk in DWC and 4 of citrus skunk in soil and one blueberry in DWC
all under 2 - 600 watt hoods in the 5x5 tent. Should be a nice comparison. Wont start until middle of September as I will be in the mountains hunting and playing til then.
thanks again

Smokey

NrthrnMichigan said:

View attachment 3981673 I don't see the explosive root growth until near the end of week 3 after transplant. I start seeds in rapid rooter plugs then transplant plug directly into the 5 gal dwc bucket around week 2 after germination.

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Same here; I never see real root growth in DWC until AT LEAST one week after placed in hydroton, sometimes longer.

As long as your plant is looking healthy and no funky smells or substances in your water, just give them some time. They're just breaking through the barrier, as I call the first two weeks....
P.S. - Do what works best for you; but starting them in soil seems to just add work on your part and stress on the plant's part. Try starting your seeds in something like a rapid rooter directly into the hydroton, and water by hand as well as having water underneath bubbling like you have now. I believe you will see more direct, and faster root development.

rkymtnman said:

i agree. plants doesn't know if it's in soil or hydro.

also, pick one,, not all. hydroguard, great white, or orca.

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Great White has the same strain of bacteria as Hydroguard and Orca...if you choose one, I'd choose the great white. I doubt all three are hurting, just costing you extra cash.