Leaves are drooping

[Whitekong]

hmmmm that is a great idea, so rock wool can develop algae and stuff like that easily?

[tinytoon]

yes if exposed to direct light. they make covers to go on the tops of the blocks but I just made mine own out of the black/white poly plastic when I was using RW. Once the canopy fills you dont have to worry so much as algae wont grow in the shade.

[Whitekong]

here are some pictures of something that might be mold and the leaves drooping.

[Whitekong]

just tell me if you need any more pics and of what. i removed that black stuff from the rock wool, tomorrow i am going to the store and getting the stuff to cover the tops of the blocks.

[tinytoon]

yup that black crap was mold/algae building up. When watering dont water the entire block, only about 2/3 to 3/4 of it (from bottom to top of course).

[Whitekong]

well i guess first crops arent perfect, i started filling the bin with hydroton. thinking about moving the blocks into buckets filled with hydroton.

[tinytoon]

check this out and all can be purchased at Walmart except the fill and drain tubes that came from a hydro shop but I'm sure something can be found in the plumbing dept of home dePOT!! :thumbsup:
2 Sterlite tubs, couple 6" air stones and a dual outlet air pump from pet dept, and the pump you can get from either walmart, home dePOT or Lowes in the garden section. setup runs on 6 gals of water and can do 2 good sized, 3 med sized or 4 small plants your choice.

[Whitekong]

we have the same setup, we got all our stuff at a hydroponics store. but i am wondering if i should take the plastic off the sides of the rock wool. Also we put hydro ton in today, but its not as high as I'd like so this week sometime we're going to buy another bag. the plants that are drooping came from seeds bought from , but the plants that are doing great were from a friend.

[mainegrown]

and e&f is what?? :jointsmile:
ebb and ....
lol
-J

[tinytoon]

flow :thumbsup:

the side plastic on the blocks I guess could influence the roots to go down but my main reason for taking off was air flow. with plastic on there is less air flow and blocks will hold water even longer as there is less surface area for evaporation, but that is just my theory :jointsmile: