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Ya know, when I was cleaning them up after my harvest, it occurred to me someone might want to see the root mass. I should have taken pictures. I'm only a few weeks from harvest. I'll get some pictures for you this time.
I really do like the rock. When you pull them out, you can see a huge (2+") layer starting around where the top of the flood is that looks like webs it's so full of mychos.They do get root bound, but that's because i'm using little 2g pot and vegging for a month!
That's interesting you don't have trouble with overwatering and rock wool. I used to use it in varying amounts when I was growing in trays. I never went to 100% rock wool, but I did use larger and larger cubes for awhile, but I didn't like how much water they held. It was probably just in comparison to the rock. If I keep the rock the right moisture level, the RW is too wet. If I get the RW right, the rock is too dry. It was that little run of experiments that turned me off from it. I continued to use it to clone, but I would veg 10"+ plants in these tiny little RW cubes before putting them in the trays of rocks. I thought it was cool to have more plant than RW.
Now I've built an aero cloner and put the bare roots right into the rock buckets. You just flood the buckets when they are only 2/3 filled with rock. The rock floats a little so you can just wiggle the roots right in, then finish putting the rock in. This current crop is the first time I used the method, and I was very pleased with how well it worked!
I'm watching Jon's experiment too. He's got me reading a LOT about soil now. I'm waaaay behind on that learning curve, but I'm a quick learner. In fact, today I added some Azomite to an Amazon order I'm working on. When I left soil to switch to hydro, I didn't know nearly as much about our beloved plant as I do now. Maybe I can do better in soil this time around. I'm for sure doing some test plants next round. I realized it's also a way for me to expand my flowering with minimal cost.
>>but I did use larger and larger cubes for awhile, but I didn't like how much water they held.
I grow with the rockwool grow cubes, aka croutons, not the blocks. The grow-cubes have little spaces everywhere between them so they drain much faster and are harder to over water than solid blocks. In the past I've tried the hugos and big mama blocks, and have grown many 2 ouncers in them. If you only want to grow 2 ouncers, I think they work well in flood and drain trays, but it is not my style. Plus, they are kind of expensive. And yeah, when plants are young, those blocks will hold water for DAYS.
I made some "super soil" in the spring and I have... shhhhh.... a few outdoor plants of my own
I used about 1/2 to 2/3rds the suggested amount of all the ingredients, (except the dirt) and still spent 200 on everything. I flowered out a couple plants in 7 gallon containers indoors, but used the majority of the soil for the outdoor grow. The two plants were 4 ouncers, and really great quality. I didn't use ANY nutrients, just pain RO water about every 4 days. I have to admit, it is as simple as it gets. So far, I haven't added any nutrients to the outdoor plants and they are green as can be. They are about 6-7ft tall now. Aside from a little initial topping in the first month, I am just letting them go, I'm not training them or anything. This is my first outdoor grow so I am learning. It is amazing how they look like a completely different plant when grown under the sun.Well, I'm getting off track again. Anyway, nice sharing knowledge with you hiker. I've been peeking at your journal and looking fwd to some big buds.
lol
