Growing with rockwool. What are the tips and tricks you veterans have picked up

J

Jamie cole

Member
'm growing indoors in rockwool cubes 6inch stacked on another 6 inch cube, top feeding on a drip i have been hand watering at the start and I'm day 22 with one chocolate mint go by humbolt and been water like ever 2 day or so when my cubes almost dry but the bottom one always stays wet and seems to get all the water but i thought i might switch it top feeding as i saw on youtube you supposed to feed 2x in veg at like 102ml +102ml because i have 2 cubes but my plant has been looking very droopy :( can anyone help me with any advice first time in rock wool and my plant seems a bit behind



sorry I've I've posted this the wronge place I'm kinda new here any advice will be helpful thank you
 
JohnDee

JohnDee

Well-Known Member
Jamie,
I think you're letting the rockwool dry too much. I'd feed at least twice daily with lower nute level. Allowing it to dry too much will cause nutrient salt accumulation.

Treat it more like coco and less like soil. water to runoff. Test your runoff and if it's coming out 100 ppm more then input...you need to water more ans lower nutes a bit. It's a little bit of a balancing act.
JD
 
J

Jamie cole

Member
okay thanks john so you would say its a sign of under watering? okay i feed this morning but didn't water to much for run off do you reckon i should water again soon ? and lower notes my ec what I'm watering in 1.0 ? i haven't check run off yet
 
J

Jamie cole

Member
JohnDee said:
Jamie,
I think you're letting the rockwool dry too much. I'd feed at least twice daily with lower nute level. Allowing it to dry too much will cause nutrient salt accumulation.

Treat it more like coco and less like soil. water to runoff. Test your runoff and if it's coming out 100 ppm more then input...you need to water more ans lower nutes a bit. It's a little bit of a balancing act.
JD
Click to expand...
my run of ec is 0.8 is that good?
 
JohnDee

JohnDee

Well-Known Member
Jamie cole said:
my run of ec is 0.8 is that good?
Click to expand...
Jamie...sorry for the delay. Your question reveals that you don't understand the process. You have to compare runoff to what you put in.

Say you fertigate with a solution at EC of 1 and it comes out the bottom at ec 1.5. You have to ask...where did all the extra come from? And the answer most likely would be that there were nutrient salts built up in your rockwool from overfeeding (too strong...not to much) and excessive drying of cube.
Capiche?
JD
 
BuddyColas

BuddyColas

Well-Known Member
Jamie cole said:
'm growing indoors in rockwool cubes 6inch stacked on another 6 inch cube, top feeding on a drip i have been hand watering at the start and I'm day 22 with one chocolate mint go by humbolt and been water like ever 2 day or so when my cubes almost dry but the bottom one always stays wet and seems to get all the water but i thought i might switch it top feeding as i saw on youtube you supposed to feed 2x in veg at like 102ml +102ml because i have 2 cubes but my plant has been looking very droopy :( can anyone help me with any advice first time in rock wool and my plant seems a bit behind



sorry I've I've posted this the wronge place I'm kinda new here any advice will be helpful thank you
Click to expand...
I grow in RW blocks a lot. The bottom block on a stack is supposed to heavier due to the "moisture gradient." When I started, I weighed the dry blocks, and then weighed them totally soaked. That way you can tell when they dry down to about half weight - then water them again. It makes the roots go to work, but won't dry down to wilting.:mrgreen:

Here is a great article on rockwool:
http://www.just4growers.com/stream/hydroponic-growing-techniques/growing-in-rockwool-tips-from-the-pros.aspx
 
E

elgaucho

New Member
Jamie cole said:
'm growing indoors in rockwool cubes 6inch stacked on another 6 inch cube, top feeding on a drip i have been hand watering at the start and I'm day 22 with one chocolate mint go by humbolt and been water like ever 2 day or so when my cubes almost dry but the bottom one always stays wet and seems to get all the water but i thought i might switch it top feeding as i saw on youtube you supposed to feed 2x in veg at like 102ml +102ml because i have 2 cubes but my plant has been looking very droopy :( can anyone help me with any advice first time in rock wool and my plant seems a bit behind
sorry I've I've posted this the wronge place I'm kinda new here any advice will be helpful thank you
Click to expand...
If you watch the video again he was giving a single 6" cube a total of 102ml through the entire light cycle in small shots. However, he was using a proper meter to measure dry-back precisely so he it would be at a certain moisture percentage before lights off and lights on. I think he said the dry-back was best to happen through the night.


Jamie cole said:
my run of ec is 0.8 is that good?
Click to expand...
If you're putting 1.0ec in and getting 0.8ec out, that is fine, it means your plants are eating. How about pH did you check that?
 
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