Seedling Problem

kushnotbush

Well-Known Member
Personally the only reason I think people soak the cubes is to let the PH kind of level out, which to me does nothing. I like to saturate them with PH'd distilled water then sort of fling them out until they are just damp then I just plug my seed in. Once the seed has sprouted I put the cube in a cup with 2 paper towels folded up on the bottom which is just to the point of saturation with tap water PH'd to 5.8. Over the course of the next few days I keep the paper towel saturated and will once dip the bottom portion of the cube in a saucer with a small amount of PH'd water just slightly wetting the very bottom. Usually by this time the tap root is reaching out of the rock wool ever so slightly, it's at this time that I move it into my DWC setup, I keep the water one fingers width from my net pots bottom, fill my net pots with one to two layers of hydroton then place cube in the pot. Once I have roots well established I slowly move my water level down to a full hands width from the bottom of the net pot.
It is very easy to over water in rock wool but for me the trick is to either weigh the cube dry then weigh it after you water which will generally tell you how much water the cube is holding (thanks al b fuct), or provide some media that it can wick moisture from temporarily while rooting. Just remember not to leave it too long on the paper towel as it will eventually start to breed bad bacteria which is a no no in DWC. If you go longer with the paper towel just change it out. I hope my experience gives you a little more insight on getting started with DWC, good luck and happy growing.
KnB
 

goten

Well-Known Member
I opened the cube up and the was no root system , it was still just like the tail form popping seed

But the top has green so i put it in some soil and im gonna try to bring it back

if it survives , after it gets some good root structure i will rinse the soil off and put it in my hydroton and see what happens

Edit

Do your roots have to be in a aerated res 24/7 or can you just manually just take a cup of ph water with nutes and pour it over your hydroton and let it drain through to get your roots wet , like once a day or something ?
 

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nitro harley

Well-Known Member
:hump:
You never heard to pre soak your rockwool in 5.5 PH water???? Seriously?
Thats one of the first thing you should do with your rock wool is soak it in PH 5.5 water ( some say 1 hour some say 24 hours) then you take it and shake it like some dice to remove the water. I hate rockwool you can easily over water your seedling. I ditched rockwool and now only use rapid rooter plugs.
I have really good luck with the plugs...I tryed rockwool with seeds but then I put them in dirt and then took cuttings,,then put them in the plugs and let them root...

I really didn't like the rockwool going into my hydroton...I just haven't done it....I see people here that do... I just didn't like it...

My experience with the plugs has only been good...when I transfer from my clone bucket to my five gallon...They never stop growing there has been no shock from stransfering them...the roots are nice and long and I just rap them around the bottom of the baskets and they take off....

heres some pics

The pic with the long roots took 22 days in the clone bucket

the pic with the basket was after 3days in the big system

The other pic is my clone bucket set up...and I have gotten away with growing clones for eight weeks in these's buckets...they get pretty big and crowded after eight weeks...the trick was to not mess with them let the roots just ball up in the bucket...then when I pulled them out of the bucket I had to cut the roots with a pair of sizzors...but they were still pretty long...and they still took right off
 

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VoidObject

DWC/Bubbleponics Mod
Edit

Do your roots have to be in a aerated res 24/7 or can you just manually just take a cup of ph water with nutes and pour it over your hydroton and let it drain through to get your roots wet , like once a day or something ?
It's called water-to-waste and yeah, that's what I do the first couple days til I see a root come out of the bottom (most of the time before they get under lights), then it goes into a DWC setup.
 

goten

Well-Known Member
It's called water-to-waste and yeah, that's what I do the first couple days til I see a root come out of the bottom (most of the time before they get under lights), then it goes into a DWC setup.
Can you do water to waste through the whole grow or will it eventually have to be in a res ?
 

goten

Well-Known Member
Ok just checking ,

I have shit to make dwc systems with but was just curious if i could do it that way also

I will be using the lucas formula if this seedling survives
 

BeaverHuntr

Well-Known Member
Ok just checking ,

I have shit to make dwc systems with but was just curious if i could do it that way also

I will be using the lucas formula if this seedling survives
If you want to do something like "passive hydroponics" all you need to do is get a pot ( any one you want) fill it up with medium of your choice ( I would go with Coco or Perlite aka Hempy) plant your seedling cutting. There now you have a "passive hydroponics" set up very similar to Soil but without the soil. Then just top feed as scheduled and let the excess water fill into a drip pan underneath the pot.
 

goten

Well-Known Member
If you want to do something like "passive hydroponics" all you need to do is get a pot ( any one you want) fill it up with medium of your choice ( I would go with Coco or Perlite aka Hempy) plant your seedling cutting. There now you have a "passive hydroponics" set up very similar to Soil but without the soil. Then just top feed as scheduled and let the excess water fill into a drip pan underneath the pot.
i have a bag of perlite

So i can fill my flower pots up with it in replace of soil ?

perlite is very light , seems like my plant would be leaning over in it , would i still use a net pot with hydroton for stability ?
 

goten

Well-Known Member
Yeah " Hempy Buckets " are 100% perlite or 50% perlite and vermiculite . DWC is all about supplying your plant with a shit load of dissolved oxygen.
Use the search for hempy
https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/386008-idiots-guide-hempy.html
Thanks my man im definitely going to give that a go , rep

i will use badseed till i know i have it down before i use my good beans lol

Thanks you the replies fellas

Edit

the perlite i have is from m.g which has about 5% n ,

think that would still be ok with this method ?
 

goten

Well-Known Member
You think this method could be applied outdoors also ?

Like holes that i dig and replace with good soil , just fill up with perlite or sand or something to that effect ?
 

VoidObject

DWC/Bubbleponics Mod
You think this method could be applied outdoors also ?

Like holes that i dig and replace with good soil , just fill up with perlite or sand or something to that effect ?
I've always wanted to DWC outdoors.. but I've never had that opportunity.

You'd have to dig a killer hole (or use some giant above ground rez) and have some nice equipment.. but you could grow a plant the size of a small house XD
 

goten

Well-Known Member
I've always wanted to DWC outdoors.. but I've never had that opportunity.

You'd have to dig a killer hole (or use some giant above ground rez) and have some nice equipment.. but you could grow a plant the size of a small house XD
I normally grow outdoors

Iv already started working on my outdoor area for 2012

I dig holes about 15 to 20 gals and re fill with good soil ,

I might fill 1 hole up with sand or something and try it out to see how it does , what you think my man
 

BeaverHuntr

Well-Known Member
You think this method could be applied outdoors also ?

Like holes that i dig and replace with good soil , just fill up with perlite or sand or something to that effect ?
You would probably get over watering problems. Try it with a cheap seed or clone.
 

BeaverHuntr

Well-Known Member
I've always wanted to DWC outdoors.. but I've never had that opportunity.

You'd have to dig a killer hole (or use some giant above ground rez) and have some nice equipment.. but you could grow a plant the size of a small house XD
Yeah DWC outside would work fine you just would want to have a water chiller to keep those water temps cool. You will just be battling bug problems if any.
 

goten

Well-Known Member
Yea i will use a bagseed first

If trying outdoors should i use sand ? just simpler for me since i can get sand from the creak lol
 
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