Seeds in Rockwool

[SodaLicious]

Anyone use rockwool to start their seeds?

I started 6 White Rhino seeds in rockwool 2 days ago, 4 have sprouted. How long do I keep them in tray in their 1" cubes? when should i put them in the rdwc system?

 

[hiboy]

Keep em in the cubes till you see multiple roots coming out of the bottom,
if you put em in the rdwc make sure you top feed or have the water up to touch em
h

 

[SodaLicious]

Thanks for the info Hiboy, just a few questions, how much root am I looking for at the bottom of the cube, and right now I have my RDWC Buckets elevated just above the res so I think I always have to top feed? Is it better to have more than 2 inches of water in the bottom of the bucket? Once in the hydroton, should I start feeding nutes? What PH is best for seeds? Sorry for all the questions, never grown from seed in hydro, been growing for ages, and never seed in hydro, not many seeds at all really!

 

[hiboy]

shit brah im only in rw not rdwc but have an idea. 6.0 ph max for babies. top feed till the roots are able to soak it up from below. i believe you can raise your water levels.
Someone here will chime in and set that one straight
ppms should be undere 500 for babies. just a little base fert and some roots excellurator would do you well
h

 

[JonathonStrange]

I'm just jelous they came out in two days lol

 

[SodaLicious]

surprised and shocked, all 6 are up, and have a little white root shooting out the bottom of the cube, Should I Put them in the RDWC System now, with a constant stream at the top beside the cube? Will post pictures in a bit.

 

[hiboy]

give it another 2 days. get a little spaghetti coming out, then stick em in.
h

 

[Budshoteyes]

6 inch net pot is 5 inches deep....rw cube should have at least 5 inches of root growth! Hold cube half inch below level of top of netpot and drop roots into net pot...then fill gently with hydroton....once up to cube level cover with one layer of hydroton,two layers at most...don't want to bury the stem deep!
One can go with shorter roots meaning that water level will have to be raised to reach to roots....no top feed needed!

I prefer the long root method as veging--- letting the roots grow longer is cheaper and less risk of lighting burn and a hardier plant

I don't trust top feeding...especially in larger net pots
If you do top feed I recommend a drip ring with good flow of aerated water and mild nutes to start....good growing!

 

[ronvmpc]

before

after

Thats with a 15 min feeding 3x a day. I've always stared in RW and have had great success. Just keep your water ph'd. Good luck bro.

 

[SodaLicious]

Thanks for the info budshot, wondering how long does it usually take for you to get roots like youdescribe? Should I remove them from the dome now that they are sprouted? They haven't gained any height or leaf growth since sprouting, but still look healthy, the roots in the bottom of the cube are more than a single root now, there are several poking out the bottom of each cube, I am thinking of putting the cubes in 1 gal containers filled with 50/50 perlite and sunshine number 4. My hydro system needs a chiller I think in order to really be effective.