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soil Rockwool to soil

Jackson13

Jackson13

Does anyone start there seeds in rockwool for better germanition rates and when they get their second set of true leaves transplant to soil. If so do you cut away the cube or put the cube directly into the soil?
 
Thanks the reason I ask is I am trying to improve germination %. My last batch with the petemoss plugs was only 10 of 30.
 
actually, rockwool is not the best to germ in IMO, and in my experiance. 
 
i only germ in the mini rockwools when im planting out into slabs or some other hydro system.
 
i like the peat SPONGES.
 when you say peat plugs i think you mean those little dried pucks? the ones that expand when you hydrate them? 
from what i understand those plugs are not PH adjusted. ive read of folks soaking them in basic water, with baking soda added to mitigate the ph issue with the cheap peat pucks.
 
the sponges are more expensive, yea. but if you are doing less than like 100 seeds? they are perfect. like 8 bucks for a tray of 72 of them if i recall correctly.
 
the park seed company makes these gigantic peat sponges... almost the size of small solo cups...  i LOVE... those things, but they are like 50 cents a whack and they are not made very well... i stored some wet for a year and they fell apart. the tiny ones you get from the hydro stores does not do this. they are very light and airy though which i appreciate.
 
do you have a ph meter? you could dry hydrating one with distilled water and squeezing out a few ounces of water to see whats up. 
 
I like rockwool fior hydro only.
I find if I put them in soil they don't work very well.
They keep moisture different than soil does.
I either end up with to wet soil or too wet rockwool.
I guess they dry out and stay wet at different rates.
 
Rockwool seems ok only if I let the cube get REALLY root bound so the plant instantly grows massive roots in the soil really fast.
Otherwise I get either dry cubes with too wet soil or visa versa,depends on soil mix.
 
Makes sense if you think about it.
They work best in hydro because water-too wet isn't a problem with properly draining,oxygenated water.
Soil when too dry or wet messes plants up,no inbetween with soil.
Though bigger plants in rockwool are less sensitive-they adapt better I think.
 
I've also found pete plugs vary greatly from batch to batch.
Some seem to stay wet or dry out faster,others seem to be fungus magnets.
 
queequeg152 said:
YES rapid rooters. thats the name.
Click to expand...
i like rapid rooter cubes over rockwool.  Iv'e got a sheet of 45 rockwool cubes i'm getting ready to soak to greminate some seeds in.  I get pretty good germination rates with them in a humidity dome and a heat pad.  When you transfer to soil make sure you take the plastic ring off the outside of the cube.
 
Yes,taking the wrapper off the cubes and placing them close together/touching each other in a container with a little water in the bottom does seem to keep the cubes more evenly moist and ,FOR ME greatly improves germination rates.
You have to put a little extra water in the bottom depending on the heat mat temp. it keeps all the cubes evenly moist.
I use a thermostat on my heat mat.
 
I use the $.99 store plastic shoe boxes to hold the cubes.
Use the lid until most cubes have sprouted.
 
As stated above,it is pretty much a must do thing.
 
At the same time,different varieties like more or less moisture.
I put Annuums with Annuums,Chinense with Chinense etc.
That way all get treated as to what moisture level works best for me/my grow.
Same goes with temps.
Annuums and Baccatums seem to like 75 degrees or so,Chinense seem to like 90/95+/- F.
 
I'm doing a Frutescens grow now,water seems to be more of an issue than temps.
So far they seem to generally like 75-80 with a mildly damp soil/cube...
 
I use the pH nute ,conditioner stuff to soak the cubes in prior to using them.
 
I get about the same germination from rockwool, rapid rooters, and soil. After seeing the rapid rooter and rockwool cubes both still intact in November when I cut down the garden, I only use potting soil for plants I intend to grow in the soil. Hydro is the only place I will use rockwool and rapid rooters these days.
 
remember to use the humidity dome and a small heating mat. If you do both of those, your germination rates will be about the same regardless of the medium.
 
my issue with the rockwool was moisture consistency. i use the little wrapped cubes...
 
also i have a sour taste in my mouth... the last batch bought had literally 0 wetting agent applied. they floated like Styrofoam(over night)...
i had to add a few ml of APE surfactant to 2 liters of water to get them to sink. 
 
Have you tried throwing some seeds in an old fashion seed tray with some potting soil? I get 90%+ germination on everything. Keep moist and warm, they will sprout in a week
 
Give it a shot with some extra seeds you have layin around. Whats it going to hurt. When i started growing peppers everyone said moist paper towel method was necessary.. sucked. 30 days later i had seeds with tiny tails that then had to be planted. I will never bother with different methods again. I currently have over a dozen varietys growing. From mini orange bell and jalapeno to reapers and 7 pots.. the ONLY variety that had a hard time with this was Brown Maruga.. i ended up re-trying and only got 50% germ and it took 3-4 weeks to sprout... everything else I easily get 90%+ in a week, maybe week and a half
 
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