topfeed in dwc?

[cehak]

is it necessary to topfeed in my dwc while it's a seedling? i just put it into the bubble bucket the second set of true leaves are starting to form.

i have the water right under the netpot right now, no roots are out of the netpot yet so i'm just curious. should i topfeed until they establish? or am i making it to easy on the plant

 

[motherlode]

hell yes you should - you need to topfeed until your roots are coming out the bottom - why make it hard on the plant? love her

I do this even when I run rockwool hugos in ebb/flow

 

[cehak]

yeah i know i just read in a couple books that pretty much got me started that if the water is too easily accessible then the plant doesn't need to strive to grow it just stays comfortable.

how should i go about topfeeding? i know it's a pretty vague question. should i water around the rockwool cube just on the hydroton, should i mist the whole top of the plant including the plant it's a pretty big netpot.. the rockwool cube is covered by a layer of hydroton.

 

[smokestack23]

Here's what I do.

In my veg room I take cuttings. Root them in the small cubes. Once they have roots showing outside the cube I put them in the hydroton filled netpots. the hydroton is rinsed and still wet.
The netpots go into a 5 or 7 gallon tote. 4 of the 6" netpots fit into the 4 holes I cut in the lid. The tote has 2 6" airstones.
They stay in there for like 3 weeks then into 2.5gal pails for a week or so so that I can put 4 fresh ones into the tub.
The tub/tote and the pails don't have any topfeed..or any feed. I handwater the netpots a bit for the first week or so to make sure the cube stays wet but never found a dry one anyway. I guess the splashing from the airstone wets the hydroton and cube enough?

When they hit the flower room though they go into an RDWC system in 10gal totes. They DO get top fed in there. I usually run the feedlines into and through the netpots so that they don't really feed the hydroton but rather the root mass...and might even miss the roots altogether and just pour right into the tubs..which are filled with roots and each has an airstone.
I run the topfeeds 24/7 in flowering..right till chop.

This system has been working so well for so long it's fuckin BORING. Seriously.

PEACE.

 

[cehak]

i guess my nubish ways have me asking the wrong questions. i meant handwater... or feeding from the top in my eyes... so i should do that for a bit? how often should i handwater ?

 

[smokestack23]

Well that kinda has to go by feel. Rockwool holds a lot of moisture and is relatively easy to overwater with it. But..if it's touching dry hydroton or rockwool it can dry up pretty fast.

Just keep an eye on it and let it get a little not too wet before you water it again.

Peace

 

[Budds Bunny]

I use hydroton and I have not top fed at all. The roots feel the moisture from the bubbles from the airstone and grow to the water.

I was told that the plant will not grow as fast if u make it to easy on the plant. I'm having that problem this time to. Made water level too high in buckets and my 2 week old babies are still pretty small compared to my other trials. Same strain too

 

[cehak]

my plant is about 5 days old and she is growing slow as shit, i overwatered at first, then i underwatered and it began to droop... its hard getting a hang of what the plant needs lol.