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DWC newby.. any advice?

LordHill

LordHill

This is my second year growing peppers. I have about 20 varietys this year and am going to give DWC a try. I have a setup, nutes, ppm meter, ph meter, ph balancing chemicals, pretty much everything I need.

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Starting at the beginning would be super. Should I germ in rockwool and then put that into the baskets after I see roots, or perhaps I should start the rockwool right in the baskets?

Any tips like that would be a big help
 
A drain plug would help tremendously ...I struggled to keep up with mine just for the constant upkeep.

And I would germ in rockwool then put into baskets. Easier to keep it warm then keep your whole container warm

Also keep on top of your notes, things can go south very fast. Good luck to you!:-D
 
Good advice fellas. I figure if i try it now and it goes bad it wont dissrupt my Janurary/february start to next season
 
If it works as planned I intend to grow out my cross at a faster than 8 year rate. To do that I have to be able to start from seed. The next few months are just going to be a trial run to work out the kinks and learn with some white bhuts or something.

I have read the water level needs to be "about an inch from the basket" and "the water should touch the basket" and also read "the water should go down as the roots get longer" (which made the least sense to me)
 
For what its worth I started with the water touching the bottom of the basket and they flourished...next time I filled it I left it a little lower for the roots to reach but still slightly submerged and they were laying flat wilted when I got home from work.
 
the more air bubbles you have from a good air stone / pump will create bubbles bursting on surface which will increase splashes / humidity in bucket so that basket will stay wet and roots should grow down.
It will take some trial and error to get used to your setup. maybe you do need the water touching the basket for a week while the roots grow down through the media, maybe not.
 
Yes I second that. Definitely need a good oxygen hook up. You can find cheap air pump and tube to set up at walmart.
 
I usually start with clones that have a few inches of roots. I put that in my basket with expanded clay pebbles. Then I fill my bucket through the clay pebbles all the way to the bottom of the basket with full strength nutes. This makes sure the roots get wet and gives them a good feeding. Every morning I will check for roots and using a cup or whatever I will water from the top again using the solution in the bucket. Once I see roots and theyre pretty long i let the plant make a 1" to 2" air gap between the net cup and the solution. It gives the plant more access to oxygen. You should be able to see the difference between the air and water roots.

Using nothing but expanded clay means I can recycle everything. You cant re-use rockwool and if you grow a lot you end up having to throw a ton away.

What I do by letting the plants drink until there is a 1-2" gap explains "the water goes down as the roots get longer".
 
Excellent stuff, the info is greatly appreciated. I will consider rockwool alternatives, i have never cared much for it anyway. Hopefully i can get things working well without too many problems. Ive always been interested, figured now would be the perfect time to give it a go
 
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