Root Question.....

[Mr.Blue]

I have started out 4 romulan haze that i picton up from a local seedbank. i germinated them and put then in thoughs peat pellets. after root started to stick out i then moved them to 5" net pot on a 5 gal bucket, each plant there own bucket. they have been in the bucket for almost 3 week now and they are no root that i can see ( i dont wana dig up the hydroton) as this is my first time with a sative n this type of system i have no clue wat i could of done wrong...unless root take longer to grow if plant is primarly sativa?

they are about 3 1/2 intch high starting there fourth node
temp are 78 night 84 day
using gh 3 part only 1/4 strength (should i move to full now?)
light 4 cfl

thanks for the help

[hudson88]

I'm new to growing in bubblers, i've got a white widow in a bucket now and it's roots are growing crazy. Just curious to where your water level is in the bucket. From my experience and what i've read when you put your rooted cutting in the hydroton you should plant it so the roots are close to the bottom of the pot (maybe 1cm of pebbles then the bottom of your rooted stem) then have the level of water in your bucket so that it just touches the bottom of the net pot, lower the level of the water as the roots grow into the res so that you have a gap between the net pot and the water 2-4" so that a good portion of the roots has access to oxygen.

It sounds like your res temp might be a little high too, ideally it should be 65-70F, i wouldn't of thought it would slow root growth as much as yours sound like they have but they won't grow at full speed.

What's your ph like? Have you been checking it daily?

Also what about your lights, are you sure they're enough? 4 cfls don't sound like much for 4 plants in bubblers IMO

[Mr.Blue]

thanks for the quick post

i dont know my res temp though are the air temp sorry for the confustion, water is just covering the bottem of the basket, i might of put my plant a little to high in the mesh pot i problem put 1/2 intch. wat about nute should i go to full, plant look great and show no sign of stress.....cfl are fine used these before in soil grow at less 3-4 times there the big mother cfl lol flowering i have 250watt hps n for smell i have a can filter with a inline exhause fan

[hudson88]

I don't think they're ready for an increase in nutes yet, have you got any pics? You could try putting a root stimulator in the res, i've just started using canna's rhizotonic and have had no problems but there's other products to choose from.

Have you checked your ph? You know for bubblers ph is meant to be lower that soil, somewhere between 5.8-6.2

[Mr.Blue]

I was using a b1 fomula to soak my hydroton in it, it spouse to simulate roots....do you think raising my water level a bit higher will help?

[Mr.Blue]

sorry ph for all of them are 5.8

[hudson88]

Well if the water level is too far below your roots raising it will help, just be careful the stem isn't submerged in water or it could rot! 1cm below the stem should be right, when your airstone is bubbling your water it'll spray the roots constantly and allow them to get enough oxygen.

Hopefully someone more experienced with bubblers will be along soon to help. Some pics might help tho if you can get any.

[Mr.Blue]

yah ill try to post some i only have a cell right now, plant look healthy am gona raise the water up a tad bit higher n see if that helps

[killerm8r]

When you're starting new plants in a bubbler you'll want the water level just below the net pots. As the roots extend downward you can lower the water level.

In my experience it always goes slow at first... seems like it takes forever for the roots to hit the water, then BLAM. Huge roots everywhere. Trust me, once you start to feel relief that the roots are sticking out the next time you look you'll have a reservoir full of roots. It just seems to get massive overnight.

[Mr.Blue]

well just to update three of the four have root, all of the one's that have roots look amazing, but there one that shows no sign of roots still n looks ...well not to great still working on the pics but i am also job hunting so am a little busy right now.

[killerm8r]

Sometimes you'll have some lag behind.

Give the little guy some time, he could still catch up.

[LOC NAR on probation]

There is always a runt in the bunch. Just give it time. May not be the biggest but just as good. Better than an empty spot.

[herbie the love bud]

Yes these are good points. Sometimes a plant goes into shock and delays a week behind the others and becomes a runt. It never catches up to the others.

What I do is I clone 2.5 times the number I am going to flower, then veg 2 times the number I am going to flower (choosing the best clones), then I flower half of that, choosing the best veg plants. And I expect 1 flower not to make it.

So as an example I clone about 12 or so. Then I choose the best 10 and throw away the other 2 to 4. Then I choose the best 5 and put them into flower and hope to harvest 4.

This really brings out the best.