Manual Handwatering In Rw

[PpmOver9000]

Does anyone else manually feed veg plants in 6in rock wool cubes with a wand? A lot of the advice I have read are growers who are on some type of drip system or other system so the watering advice is not applicable.

For other who are handwatering with a wand, how often do you feed and how much?

How do you determine what is considered light or heavy etc.

Currently I will feel that the majority of the cubes are light and go ahead and feed all plants. I will usually determine the watering amount by counting in seconds. My 5 second count equates to about 1000mL. I read somewhere that the grodan 6in cube retains about 1000mL of water, so I consider this a heavy feeding. Typically, I will water for about 3 seconds and leave it moderately heavy.

I been having issues with the roots on the bottom of the cube turning brown, but the roots inside the cube are healthy white. Is this an overwatering issue? Salt buildup? The roots never see light.

 

[dnewsome2]

Does anyone else manually feed veg plants in 6in rock wool cubes with a wand? A lot of the advice I have read are growers who are on some type of drip system or other system so the watering advice is not applicable.

For other who are handwatering with a wand, how often do you feed and how much?

How do you determine what is considered light or heavy etc.

Currently I will feel that the majority of the cubes are light and go ahead and feed all plants. I will usually determine the watering amount by counting in seconds. My 5 second count equates to about 1000mL. I read somewhere that the grodan 6in cube retains about 1000mL of water, so I consider this a heavy feeding. Typically, I will water for about 3 seconds and leave it moderately heavy.

I been having issues with the roots on the bottom of the cube turning brown, but the roots inside the cube are healthy white. Is this an overwatering issue? Salt buildup? The roots never see light.

A lot of people will hand water rockwool. If your roots are turning brown it could be that you need to keep your water cleaner or you have high temperatures. As far as how wet to keep it. You want to let it dry out some wet which can be rather tricky it can dry out a lot more than you think but if it runs out of water it can happen quick and cause damage. You could be getting algae growth if light is getting where your roots are. I switch from Hydroponics and went to coconut courrier and had watering I like it a lot better.

 

[PpmOver9000]

A lot of people will hand water rockwool. If your roots are turning brown it could be that you need to keep your water cleaner or you have high temperatures. As far as how wet to keep it. You want to let it dry out some wet which can be rather tricky it can dry out a lot more than you think but if it runs out of water it can happen quick and cause damage. You could be getting algae growth if light is getting where your roots are. I switch from Hydroponics and went to coconut courrier and had watering I like it a lot better.

Both dirty water and temps are an issue so thank you for confirming that as some potential causes. I currently use filtered tap water which is at a 300 ppm already and the temp in the rez reaches way past 80 in the hot summer.

I noticed on some plants I will leave the cubes fairly light throughout its veg cycle and water more frequently with less volume and the roots will explode and stay white so I thought it might be a watering technique issue. essentially 100% of the ones that I water heavy will show brown roots. Would high temps and/or dirty water cause browning only on the bottom roots?

Also I played with the idea of flushing with half strength nutes every 2 weeks and it resulted in the roots staying white but these were also the same plants I was watering lighter and more frequently. Is a regular half strength flush in rockwool helpful?

 

[dnewsome2]

Both dirty water and temps are an issue so thank you for confirming that as some potential causes. I currently use filtered tap water which is at a 300 ppm already and the temp in the rez reaches way past 80 in the hot summer.

I noticed on some plants I will leave the cubes fairly light throughout its veg cycle and water more frequently with less volume and the roots will explode and stay white so I thought it might be a watering technique issue. essentially 100% of the ones that I water heavy will show brown roots. Would high temps and/or dirty water cause browning only on the bottom roots?

Also I played with the idea of flushing with half strength nutes every 2 weeks and it resulted in the roots staying white but these were also the same plants I was watering lighter and more frequently. Is a regular half strength flush in rockwool helpful?

I have hear that more airiation helps and there is a chemical you can add but really I think the only way it to keep those temps down and change your water frequently.

 

[snippetysnip]

Get some Regen-a-root and Wilt-Guard.. your roots will explode ..

 

[dnewsome2]

I have hear that more airiation helps and there is a chemical you can add but really I think the only way it to keep those temps down and change your water frequently.

Over 80 is pretty damn hot I would say that is the majority of the problem.

 

[dnewsome2]

Over 80 is pretty damn hot I would say that is the majority of the problem.

You may have to add some of these chemicals these guys are recommending and increase your airiation.

 

[dnewsome2]

I have hear that more airiation helps and there is a chemical you can add but really I think the only way it to keep those temps down and change your water frequently.

Sometimes you can put soda bottles with frozen water in your Reservoir but it's a never-ending battle.

 

[snippetysnip]

@PpmOver9000 hi mate, what are your cubes sitting on? If they're just atop a plastic tray or similar the roots have no where to go once they reach the bottom of the cube and if there's light getting down the sides of the cube they won't spread laterally
Also, how many ladies do you have?
If your res is getting so hot maybe you'd be better off mixing a batch every time if your plant numbers are low??
Also the products I mentioned above are excellent. They are synthetic which I'm assuming you don't mind as you're in rw??

 

[PpmOver9000]

@PpmOver9000 hi mate, what are your cubes sitting on? If they're just atop a plastic tray or similar the roots have no where to go once they reach the bottom of the cube and if there's light getting down the sides of the cube they won't spread laterally
Also, how many ladies do you have?
If your res is getting so hot maybe you'd be better off mixing a batch every time if your plant numbers are low??
Also the products I mentioned above are excellent. They are synthetic which I'm assuming you don't mind as you're in rw??

I've heard of wilt guard for clones I believe. This wraps the leaves in a coating so rather than transporting they focus on rooting? What does regan a root do?

Sorry for the late replies. The plants are on a 4x8 plastic tray. The tray does have groovings so yea light would leak on the sides. If the roots have nowhere to go since they're on a tray, what do growers do to have the roots grow somewhere? I've tried to put a grid underneath and the roots grew but since there's no moisture underneath they got air pruned in a way.

 

[PpmOver9000]

Over 80 is pretty damn hot I would say that is the majority of the problem.

I may invest in a chiller. Yes 80 is the danger zone I consistently hear. I tried the frozen milk jugs and noticed it would end up diluting my mix too much because of the condensation on the outside of the milk jug so I scratched that haha

 

[dnewsome2]

I may invest in a chiller. Yes 80 is the danger zone I consistently hear. I tried the frozen milk jugs and noticed it would end up diluting my mix too much because of the condensation on the outside of the milk jug so I scratched that haha

Maybe you should consider coconut Courier.

 

[PpmOver9000]

Maybe you should consider coconut Courier.

I've seen the new coco cubes that came out. Intriguing...

 

[dnewsome2]

You just buy the big fluffy bags and put it in pots. Feed it nutrients and do your pH. It grows super fast just like Hydro without all the hassle.

 

[PpmOver9000]

Get some Regen-a-root and Wilt-Guard.. your roots will explode ..

I currently use hygrozyme in my mix. Does regen a root have a step up, have u used both with different results before?

 

[snippetysnip]

I currently use hygrozyme in my mix. Does regen a root have a step up, have u used both with different results before?

I've never used hygrozyme although I think they're similar..

 

[snippetysnip]

Here ya go..