Germinating and Clones questions

Getting ready for my first grow which will be RDWC using a Timber Redwood VS if it ever gets here. I will be sprouting from seed this time. My plan is to use rockwool cubes, I know some love em and some hate em but that is what I am going to try first.

My game plan is to prepare the rockwool cubes as directed with the ph water and shaking them out. Currently planning on soaking the beans in water for a day and then placing directly into the rockwool cube. Once the roots have popped to the bottom of the cube, my plan was to move it over to my rdwc system and put in the netpot with hydroton.

The building I am growing in will be around 60 degrees so I want to buy a heated pad to place them on. I see this done so many ways so I almost assume that it will work several different ways. Should I pick up one of the trays with the dome top to put the mat on? Several places I have seen people say you have to have the dome till they crack open and then remove it, several other places say to not use the dome at all for seed sprouting that it is only used for cloning...I will wind up taking clones off of these probably so if I need it for cloning and it would help with the seeds...might as well get it now.

Is there a good set up to pick up? Or any to totally avoid? I think it is too cool, at least for this grow, to just start them directly in the rdwc netpots. I see most use a T5 light for this part of the process. The redwood VS is adjustable, can I just turn it down and use it or will the light be the wrong spectrum.

Lead me in the correct direction please.

You guys are great and thanks from yet another total rookie.

So much depends on you’re specific environment. I’d try putting the rockwool into a tray on the seedling heater mat. If that’s not warm enough or the cubes dry out too quickly put the lid on. Dimming your light will work fine. Be careful not to smash the rockwool cubes, the internal structure is important.

Thanks 930G.

Anybody have a Timber Redwood VS that uses it for seed starting? How far from the cubes should it be? Turn it down halfway? 3/4?

rapid rooters > rockwool IMO

rkymtnman said:

rapid rooters > rockwool IMO

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Lol, I know. It is what I already have and several still use it and all goes well so I'm gonna try it this first time. I'll confess if it all goes to hell and order RR for the next batch! With that said, I have read so much on here in the past couple of years that you have written/advised....thank you for helping everyone out as much as you do and my system is mostly like one that you designed for somebody else.

That being said, any other tips on using my Timber? Since I will be doing some cloning soon, I'm thinking of getting one of those heated mats/humid domes and a T5 to use for clones...would that work as well as the Timber for doing this? Obviously if these things pop and I cut some clones from them, I'll have to have a separate light for the clones so I don't mind doing it now and just having a germ/clone "station" set up.

hilltopbud said:

Lol, I know. It is what I already have and several still use it and all goes well so I'm gonna try it this first time. I'll confess if it all goes to hell and order RR for the next batch! With that said, I have read so much on here in the past couple of years that you have written/advised....thank you for helping everyone out as much as you do and my system is mostly like one that you designed for somebody else.

That being said, any other tips on using my Timber? Since I will be doing some cloning soon, I'm thinking of getting one of those heated mats/humid domes and a T5 to use for clones...would that work as well as the Timber for doing this? Obviously if these things pop and I cut some clones from them, I'll have to have a separate light for the clones so I don't mind doing it now and just having a germ/clone "station" set up.

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what K value is your timber? 3000, 3500 or 4000K?? i think the 4K is a better overall spectrum for veg.

i just bought a $55 Vipar v300 for my 2x2 veg tent. i wanted to test it against a HLG 4000K QB for vegging potential.

if electricity is expensive, the T5 would be hard to beat vs the Timber turned down.

and for your rockwool, i just don't like it b/c it's problematic if too wet or too dry. if you veg long enough so you get decent roots, just hang them thru your hydroton below the netpot so they are already in the water. then you won't need to worry about the rockwool inside the netpot

rkymtnman said:

what K value is your timber? 3000, 3500 or 4000K?? i think the 4K is a better overall spectrum for veg.

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It is the 3500. Kind of split the difference so I could use the same light all the way through.

hilltopbud said:

It is the 3500. Kind of split the difference so I could use the same light all the way through.

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then it boils down to electrical costs.

rkymtnman said:

and for your rockwool, i just don't like it b/c it's problematic if too wet or too dry. if you veg long enough so you get decent roots, just hang them thru your hydroton below the netpot so they are already in the water. then you won't need to worry about the rockwool inside the netpot

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I'm not sure that I understand what you mean here. Are you talking about having the roots well outside of the cubes prior to introducing them into the rdwc system?

And what am I worried about the rockwool inside the netpot? I thought once they were sprouted up and moved into the rdwc netpots with the hydroton that you just kept the water level 2" below the netpot....still problems with rockwool at this point??

I appreciate the conversation.

hilltopbud said:

I'm not sure that I understand what you mean here. Are you talking about having the roots well outside of the cubes prior to introducing them into the rdwc system?

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yeah, so basically if your roots are long enough to reach the water, then you don't need to top water. which is where the issues with the RW will come into play.

so take your RW, feed the roots thru the bottom of the netpot, then fill around it with hydroton. then keep the water level like you said and you wont have problems