seeds Growing mediums / seedlings

ebh

ebh

Hello
 
Is there any difference in growing mediums for starting seedlings? I've only tried starting seedlings in peat pellets and soil; didn't notice much difference in the end product... The peat pellets were taking less space, but needed watering more often and the soil was in cups so it took more space but needed less watering.
 
I want to start some seedlings in rockwool this year because I plan on trying a bunch of growing mediums like coco, soil, rockwool cubes in container (not slabs) and also hydro. Rockwool cubes looked like the best choice for that, but I heard people having trouble with the ph on them(?). Is there any difference between manufacturers? Should I go for something like Root Riot or Root!t instead? Also, can I use bio nutes in rockwool, or just synth/hydro... maybe coco?
 
My tap water has a pretty high ph (about 8 I would guess) if that makes a difference, but I also have a filter for drinking water which lowers it's ph to about 6.
 
These are my options:
http://www.hydroponicsmarket.co.uk/cultilene-round-plug-36-x-36-x-40-propagator-cubes-84-plugs-per-tray-1445-p.asp
http://grodan101.com/products/grodan-stonewool/plant-starters
http://www.rootit.co.uk/
http://www.hydroponics.eu/easy-plug-tray-150-cubes~9563.html
http://hydrodynamicsintl.com/rootriotplantstartercubes.htm
http://www.hempatia.si/speedgrow-green-seedbed-126-units
 
Thanks!
 
you'll want your ph lower instead of higher, for peppers. i prefer to use coco coir pellets, and i've heard lots about using "moisture control" type potting soils. rockwool is nothing i'm familiar with. good luck. 
 
Rockwool really is not my favorite at all, it kind of melts and will clog everything up, there are many other options that are cheaper and better

And settle in to the fact you will and must deal with ph on a daily basis
 
pepperdan said:
And settle in to the fact you will and must deal with ph on a daily basis
Click to expand...
 
What do you mean? I never checked my ph for my soil/coco plants I have going right now... and they seem to be doing fine.
 
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/33916-pepperdans-glog-2012/#entry689722


ebh said:
What do you mean? I never checked my ph for my soil/coco plants I have going right now... and they seem to be doing fine.
Click to expand...

Doing fine and living defeats the purpose of hydroponics, you aim to thrive not just survive, ph will eventually cause nutrient lock out among other issues, look at my glog above, notice the dates and compare

My growth slows to crawl if my ph hits 6.0 or higher, flowers stop, and drop
 
ebh said:
 
What do you mean? I never checked my ph for my soil/coco plants I have going right now... and they seem to be doing fine.
Click to expand...
 
pH is very important, outside of an ideal range & nutrients start to become unavailable to the plant even if they are present in the soil/fertilizer. Sometime you get lucky and your pH is good to go without any adjusting. Here in Austin, the pH of the tap water is 9.6 so if I do not use pH down to adjust it to an acceptable level I have all kinds of problems.
 
At my parents house in Temple their tap water is 7.2 & with my nutrient solution alone it drops to 6.2 which is close enough & I never have to adjust pH there.
 
Helpful chart from How-To Hydroponics:
 
cmU3Lnh.png
 
Back to seedling starting mediums, is there any real difference beteween all the rockwool products and sizes (I've seen grodan has 2.5 and 3.7cm cubes, cutilene is round, etc) and the rooting starters like root!t and root riot?
 
Or should I just use something like coco pelets even though I will be growing some (not the most) in hydro? That means they will grow in hydroton.
 
Thanks!
 
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