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Soaking rw for 24 hr. is fine. That's what you're supposed to do. I think you've got the right idea about the rockwool. If you do soak it completely, make sure it is only once per day. You will not need to do it at all once the roots are in the solution.
Well, I'm not too thrilled with the growth. Kind of discouraging. Really am figuring out that rockwool is very finicky, and not easy for beginners. I guess I've been keeping it too wet.
IT SMELLS LIKE MOLDY SOCKS / ROTTEN MILK ON THE BOTTOM
yuck... I don't know if this is normal? Luckily it only smells when i put my nose next to it.. (don't ask me why i sniffed it in the first place...)
One of the plants seems to be a goner... It got too dry from me taking the plastic liner off the slabs and leaving it overnight... I re-moistened the slabs and the rest of the plants perked back up, but this one didn't seem to make it.
I guess I'm basically just hoping the roots will eventually pop out of the rockwool? I am now thinking of the rockwool slabs as wet little coffins of death that they need break out of in order to survive.
Does the growth seem slow for the two, and should I kill the other ones that aren't growing as fast and germinate more seeds?
:(
I would not have individual coffins of death. If they are sealed up in one container I would tear open the bottom, and maybe once every other day add roughly 1/4" of water on the bottom of the tray. If they have been completely soaked for awhile, I would get out any water you can and get a fan on them to help dry things a little. The point is you should be keeping them moist, not wet. Rockwool doesn't make that easy. That one definitely looks like a goner, so you could yank it, divide the slab into 3 or so sections and try some more seeds. And no, I wouldn't kill anything that's not dead yet. There's still a chance.
Welcome to the wonderful fucked up world of using rockwool.
Your plants look like they are stretching a lot, so you should think about moving your light closer. Otherwise, they could stretch too far and topple and never recover. I had to keep my lights within 1-2 inches or they would stretch for the light like mad, so 24" is probably too far away. I used CFLs and not HPS though, so you probably won't be able to get the HID that close to the plant without getting them too hot.
Hydroguard and Hygrozyme are pretty different. Hydroguard is basically just bacteria that helps with fungus and algae. Hygrozyme is a supplement kind of thing that will help your plants, hence the higher price. I just started using the Hygrozyme since I started flowing a week ago, so I think its too early to say if its worth it. Just make sure you don't use any H2O2 with the Hydroguard or it will kill all the Hydroguard and really gunk things up fast.
As far as your methods, I'm not quite sure I understand what you're doing with the rockwool and keeping it out of your E&F system. I am on my first grow and I'm also using E&F, but I just put the cracked seeds directly into rockwool cubes that were in the system surrounded by hydroton and I watered every 6 hours and 7/9 of my seedlings sprouted and grew very nicely. The other two I suspect that I damaged the taproot because one I dropped into the hydroton and had to dig out and one slipped in upside down and I couldn't flip it around. So my success rate with my method was essentially 100%. I dunno about the smells; mine never smelled like that, but just make sure and watch for signs of mold or fungus if you are getting funky smells. Keeping your res temp low (around 70) helps protect from that too.
I would suggest filling the net pots with hydroton enough that the rockwool will sit down in the net pot and not go over the top, and then fill in hydroton around it. Water every 6 hours for 15 minutes. Also remember to take the plastic off the rockwool before putting them into the system, or at least I do.
That is what has worked for me so far, but the thing is finding a method that works for you and sticking to it. Your plants that are doing well look just fine for being one week old other than the stretching. Unfortunately, cannabis grows slower than paint dries, and growing a plant from start to finish will take a few months. Just make sure you don't get too impatient and overfeed or do other things trying to make the plant grow faster because you expect it to grow like a weed. :) Take your time, be patient, pay attention to small details and you will hopefully have an awesome end product. Good luck! :thumbsup:
hey man im in the early stages of this same setup. keep us posted!
dejayou30 speaks with words of iron.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dejayou30
dejayou thank you !!!!
I didn't think that I needed to have my rockwool in the system until it needed nutrients. I dont get this rockwool stuff. If I'm supposed to have it moist, not too wet, not too dry...
If I water the rockwool every 6 hours, is the reason why its not too wet because I take the plastic off, and because its sorrounded by clay pebbles?
I've been watering them not that much at all, just once every couple days and they seem to stay completely *drenched*...
When you say water every six hours, did you mean run my pump to flood the buckets every six hours? and if so, should the flood rise level touch the rockwool, or only the hydroton?
And if you water by hand every six hours, it is safe to assume there is a good amount of run off, right? and would that mean the rockwool is 100% saturated every six hours?
Thanks for the reply, needed it :D
hahahahahahhahaQuote:
Originally Posted by Opie Yutts
I also had to learn the hard way about rockwool. But seeing it first hand rather than having someone tell you about it makes you a better grower. experiencing something is always better than reading about it. And think about it this way after a couple more grows you'll be on here answering questions you were asking.:)
Well this certainly doesn't look good.
It looks like big bertha has a case of PH Lockout! (My guess.. not sure however)
Again, I presoaked both the cubes and the slab in water with a PH of 5.5 for over 24 hours..
I have been watering the slabs every couple of days when they dry out with water @ PH 5.8
The rockwool slabs are on their own, not in any system..
(still confused about watering every 6 hours)
Heres some pics of Big Bertha... Whats wrong with her!!!?!?!
Just so I don't have to read back over everything you wrote, are you giving them anything to eat? They should have no nutrients at this point. The only thing you should be giving them at this point is a little B1, preferably SuperThrive, to help with shock and root development. Those pictures are blurry, but it looks like a nutrient problem, probably some kind of burn. You get burns when you feed too much. Also perhaps it is heat stress. How close are your lights? Should be at least a foot back at this point with fluoros, and gradually move closer over about 2 or 3 weeks.
Watering every 6 hours is just a guess for your setup, and it refers to when everything is set up and going, not now. A few times per day you should flood your net pots about half way up, but don't flood the rockwool. It will stay plenty wet on it's own.
Keep PH of everything about 5.5.