Basic Rockwool on rockwool question

I am wondering if you can just put 1 week old seedlings in one inch cubes on top of the larger slabs of rockwool? The roots should then just head straight into the larger base?
Or do you cut a little hole in the larger rockwool slab?

cut a hole.

you can just set them on top, but if they get bumped, the roots can break....GL

thanks friendly people - great website

Thanks Funk, gl with your grow...

If I can hijack......

I know to pre-soak the cubes with properly pHd water. But can I do this ahead of time, and let them dry out and then use them right away, when needed?

BigBudBalls said:

If I can hijack......

I know to pre-soak the cubes with properly pHd water. But can I do this ahead of time, and let them dry out and then use them right away, when needed?

Click to expand...

i would like to know as well, since what i have done in the past is put my rockwools in a 50 gallon container and just fill it up with water. i would think you would cant let them dry out and you need to resoak once they do dry out????

stucklikechuck said:

i would like to know as well, since what i have done in the past is put my rockwools in a 50 gallon container and just fill it up with water. i would think you would cant let them dry out and you need to resoak once they do dry out????

Click to expand...

Cool! So I'm not the only moron that has thought this.

I have not needed to wash or soak cubes and worked fine - maybe not that important?

BigBudBalls said:

If I can hijack......

I know to pre-soak the cubes with properly pHd water. But can I do this ahead of time, and let them dry out and then use them right away, when needed?

Click to expand...

It is best to use them once soaked. I soak mine in Grozyme. As long as it is fully saturated but not dripping you are good to go. Sometimes I soak mine overnight. If you let it dry out, the enymes or whatever you added may deplete and you will just have to soak them when you want to use them again anyways. So only soak them once before using, lol.

Chiceh said:

It is best to use them once soaked. I soak mine in Grozyme. As long as it is fully saturated but not dripping you are good to go. Sometimes I soak mine overnight. If you let it dry out, the enymes or whatever you added may deplete and you will just have to soak them when you want to use them again anyways. So only soak them once before using, lol.

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I only asked, because I've read to soak/flush them to adjust the pH of them.
But I guess, the soaking is just that, getting it wet with desired 'stuff'

BigBudBalls said:

I only asked, because I've read to soak/flush them to adjust the pH of them.
But I guess, the soaking is just that, getting it wet with desired 'stuff'

Click to expand...

I use a 20 litre pail about 3/4 full of water, add the grozyme according to amount of water then ph it. Put the rockwool in and let it soak. Then dont squeeze it, just let the water run out till it stops dripping, moving it around evenly in the cube. Keep it moist but not too wet. And cover the rockwool from the light to prevent algae.

I use a 20 litre pail about 3/4 full of water, add the grozyme according to amount of water then ph it. Put the rockwool in and let it soak. Then dont squeeze it, just let the water run out till it stops dripping, moving it around evenly in the cube. Keep it moist but not too wet. And cover the rockwool from the light to prevent algae.

Have you used any other enzyme based nutrient? The only thing I would add to this is don't forget to ph the water...I hear that you can ph @5.5, but I always do 6, works for me...Also the perfect dampness for rock wool is obtained with a salad spinner, ya know the one, you are suppose to spin the water out of the leaves with centrifugal force. It work especially well because it does not compress the Rock wool, leaving plenty of pockets of air in the medium. Try not to "squeeze" the rock wool, this damages it greatly...But you do not want it to be saturated with water either...Enters the Salad spinner! LOL, its funny but it works great!