Dave's Area 51/Inda-gro combination grow

I want my little seedlings to grow faster…

Here’s Teeny yesterday:

… and Teeny today:

Here’s Twin #1 yesterday:

… and today:

Here’s Twin #2 yesterday:

… and today:

I don’t know what’s wrong with Twin #2, but some of the leaves are still wilted. Haven’t seen much improvement since transplanting her.

I wonder if it was a mistake to grow my seedlings in Rockwool. Would they grow faster if I would have put them directly into the Perlite? Anybody know? It seems like the roots have to break out of that soggy cube and it takes a while. I wonder if I need to lower my Inda-Gro light a little.

Impatient, impatient, I know...

daveroller said:

I want my little seedlings to grow faster…
I wonder if it was a mistake to grow my seedlings in Rockwool. Would they grow faster if I would have put them directly into the Perlite? Anybody know? It seems like the roots have to break out of that soggy cube and it takes a while. I wonder if I need to lower my Inda-Gro light a little.

Impatient, impatient, I know...

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I wish I could help ya, D-! I am watching to learn myself, because I've never used rock wool cubes OR an Inda-Gro.

greatbranch said:

I wish I could help ya, D-! I am watching to learn myself, because I've never used rock wool cubes OR an Inda-Gro.

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I've seen Mr Dawg plant his sprouted seeds directly into his grow medium. I think I'll try that next time.

did you see my last post on this thread about the light being closer for my new batch of seeds. Growth has slightly improved. They are 9lb hammer. Seedlings grow slower starting out in larger pots due to root tap. I forgot that. I transplanted mine to early.

personally I don't like rock wool. I think it actually changes the flavor.

hyroot said:

did you see my last post on this thread about the light being closer for my new batch of seeds. Growth has slightly improved. They are 9lb hammer. Seedlings grow slower starting out in larger pots due to root tap. I forgot that. I transplanted mine to early.

personally I don't like rock wool. I think it actually changes the flavor.

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I haven't seen what kind of hydro system you use, Hyroot. What do you grow your seedlings in, peat or something? That's what I used to use. I'm a little under the weather today, but I'll try to lower my light a little when I can get up on my standing frame.

daveroller said:

I haven't seen what kind of hydro system you use, Hyroot. What do you grow your seedlings in, peat or something? That's what I used to use. I'm a little under the weather today, but I'll try to lower my light a little when I can get up on my standing frame.

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no hydro... Soil / coco mix. for seeds- peat, worm castings, compost, coco, perlite.

Hey, D- just curious, did you soak your cubes in 5.1PH water for 24 hours? I just read that...

greatbranch said:

Hey, D- just curious, did you soak your cubes in 5.1PH water for 24 hours? I just read that...

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No, I didn't do that. When do you soak it? Before the seed pops open? I sprout my seeds in a paper towel after soaking them in a glass of plain water overnight. Then I carefully place each one in the hole in a Rockwell cube. I think I just soaked the cubes in 5.8 pH or thereabouts this time, then let any excess water drain out. There were little root tips sticking out the bottoms of the cubes before I transplanted them, but they were pretty small.

Lowered the Inda-Gro to about 24” above the Twins. Also turned Teeny’s hydro contraption sideways to move her directly under the main light.

daveroller said:

No, I didn't do that. When do you soak it? Before the seed pops open? I sprout my seeds in a paper towel after soaking them in a glass of plain water overnight. Then I carefully place each one in the hole in a Rockwell cube. I think I just soaked the cubes in 5.8 pH or thereabouts this time, then let any excess water drain out. There were little root tips sticking out the bottoms of the cubes before I transplanted them, but they were pretty small.

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Prior to putting anything in the rockwool cubes, I read that new rockwool is so alkaline that you want to soak it in the acidic water for 24 hours prior to using it - it's to counteract the amount of lime in them from production. Their initial PH is usually through the roof.

greatbranch said:

Prior to putting anything in the rockwool cubes, I read that new rockwool is so alkaline that you want to soak it in the acidic water for 24 hours prior to using it - it's to counteract the amount of lime in them from production. Their initial PH is usually through the roof.

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I see. Didn't know about that. I think by now the pH must be ok. They've been soaked in 5.8 pH for a week or so before transplanting them. But next time I'll definitely soak them in acidic water.

WTF???

Twin #2 is looking pretty bad and the other 2 plants haven’t been growing much either.


So I dug Ethel’s Rockwell cube out to see whether it was over saturated or dry or what. First of all, I noticed that her roots have barely grown:

And second, the cube was just damp. I think the problem is that my watering rings were too big, so that most of the water was just flowing around the cube but not reaching it.

So I tightened up the rings a bunch. Here’s what they look like now:

I set the cycle timer to 15 min on, 90 min off. I hope that was the problem and that I didn't fix it too late! Try something new and stuff can happen I guess.

how much moisture stays in the perlite... When I did aero I ran 15 min on 15 min off. The magic number was 1 min on 3 min off. Those timers are too costly..i know that's completely different from your system
.

hyroot said:

how much moisture stays in the perlite... When I did aero I ran 15 min on 15 min off. The magic number was 1 min on 3 min off. Those timers are too costly..i know that's completely different from your system
.

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With this kind of system with all Perlite I usually run the pumps once per hour at most. The Perlite does hold water and stays moist for a while. I copied this from Flowamasta. I think he was running his pumps every hour or two, depending on the plant's needs.

I found 2 free apps that can make recording things in a grow journal easier:

• DropBox and
• Docs To Go

With DropBox you can share a document between different devices, like a smart phone, tablet and PC. And with Docs To Go you can edit MS Office documents like Word docs on your phone, for example.

I simply created a Word doc containing a table using Office Online and put a copy of it in my DropBox. Now, whether I’m using my smart phone, my tablet or my MacBook, I can edit the file just by clicking on it in DropBox. There’s only one copy, so it changes everywhere. Here’s what it looks like on my phone:

You have to put up with the little ad banner, but it's not so bad.

Brother Roller I Do Belive Your Suffering Rockwool Burn From Not Nutrilizing Your Cube.I Myself Use Rapid Rooter Cubes Or Like You Said Plop Them Straight Into Your Medium.You Grow in Perlite So One Would Assume You Can Plant Your Seedling Also.

Heres A Link To The Plugs

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rapid+rooter+plugs&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=3488238741&ref=pd_sl_1d0zzicyt3_ee

your next run. you should try one plant with coco.. Its an idea since coco is a natural ph buffer. Doesnt retain moisture for more than a day though. My 5 gals are 50/50 soil /coco I have to water every otherday. I ve had a few days Ive lagged and they got super droopy but bounced back in minutes after watering..

rapid rooters are a good idea for hydro as dawg pointed out..I used to use them in soil too before I discovered that I can root clones directly in soil.

The Dawg said:

Brother Roller I Do Belive Your Suffering Rockwool Burn From Not Nutrilizing Your Cube.I Myself Use Rapid Rooter Cubes Or Like You Said Plop Them Straight Into Your Medium.You Grow in Perlite So One Would Assume You Can Plant Your Seedling Also.

Heres A Link To The Plugs

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rapid rooter plugs&tag=mh0b-20&index=aps&hvadid=3488238741&ref=pd_sl_1d0zzicyt3_ee

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Thanks, Mr Dawg! I'll try to flush the cubes for a while tonight. Maybe that will help. Next time I might plant my seeds in the Perlite as soon as they pop open. But those Rapid Rooter plugs sound interesting, too. Do you know what they're made of? They look like foam rubber or something.

I don't understand why people still use Rockwool with all the problems. The manufacturer should neutralize them before shipping them out. I'll never buy them again!

hyroot said:

your next run. you should try one plant with coco.. Its an idea since coco is a natural ph buffer. Doesnt retain moisture for more than a day though. My 5 gals are 50/50 soil /coco I have to water every otherday. I ve had a few days Ive lagged and they got super droopy but bounced back in minutes after watering..

rapid rooters are a good idea for hydro as dawg pointed out..I used to use them in soil too before I discovered that I can root clones directly in soil.

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Thanks, man. I don't mind watering seedlings every day if I have to. I could maybe make little coco plugs for that. But the Rapid Rooters sound like they're ready-made and easy to use. Depends on how "natural" I want to be I guess.

Your girls are in trouble Dave, I would carefully remove them from the rockwool cubes asap and straight into the perlite. It absolutely looks like a ph(nutrient lock-out) issue to me, and without the initial prep your cubes will continue too leach an alkaline solution on your underdeveloped roots and take them out completely. OR a major ph corrected flush, but at this point I would go with the former option.

be safe grower and good call on lowering the IG.........I always run them as close as I can IF canopy temps cooperate.