Noobie questions

[quickmaffs]

hey there, so im sorta new to growing and i just cant figure out what im supposed to do.

im doing DWC hydro setup out of a 5 gallon bucket, and my seed seller said DONT use rockwool for my seeds. i have absolutely no idea how the hell i am supposed to grow my sproutling in soil and then transplant to the bucket. do i dig it up? do i put DIRT into my water?? wtf am i supposed to do? do i hose the dirt off and then cover it with freaking rocks???????

everything i see online are veggies grown in rockwool or such, but again, the seed seller that was a MAJOR DONT.... so wtf do i do? im really frustrated, its almost midnight and im tired of searching for an answer on google.

if anyone can help me, please do. ill suck your toes for assistance.

 

[dj1714]

Welcome to 420 mag quickmaffs. Rockwool has kinda become an old standard. I think you will find that rapid rooter plugs are a better choice. I have used both and prefer the rapid rooters. Just germinate your seed and put in the rr plug and keep it moist but not soaking wet, when roots start growing just put into the net pot of your bucket filled with hydroton and hand water for a few days and you should be fine. I have not done DWC hydro in a while now because I use 2 ebb and flow systems for hydro, but the rapid rooter plugs have never failed me yet.
Happy growing.

 

[quickmaffs]

@dj1714

do you have any rapid rooter plugs that you would recommend? ive read online that the ebb and flow systems are the best, but every time i go to look at stuff it only pulls up DWC shennanigans. was it easy to build your system?

 

[quickmaffs]

@dj1714

sorry, forgot to ask, when should i place my seed into a rapid rooter plug? before i get a taproot? before i germinate in a paper towel? before i germinate? gosh my knowledge of this is like swiss cheese. more holes, more cheese.

 

[dj1714]

@dj1714

do you have any rapid rooter plugs that you would recommend? ive read online that the ebb and flow systems are the best, but every time i go to look at stuff it only pulls up DWC shennanigans. was it easy to build your system?

I use the General Hydroponics Rapid Rooter, they come 50 in a bag. got mine off amaz*n. What I do is soak the seeds in a glass of water for about 10 hours the put them in a paper towel that is not soaking wet and put the towel in a zip lock bag. Then I take the bag put in in a small cardboard box and close the flaps down and place it on a heating matt on low heat. When I check them I a couple of days most of them have a tap root, this is when they go into the rapid rooter. You want the tap root to be about 3/8 to 1/2 long when they go in. The rapid rooters are round on the bottom instead of flat and square like rock wool cubes, so you need some kind of tray to hold them up while the root are growing. I just used a plastic tray from my tackle box

As for my ebb and flows I bought one of them. It's a Botanicare 3x3 flood tray with a 20 gallon reservoir that I use in my flowering room. The other I made myself with a 18 gallon tote for a reservoir that I fill with 10 gallons and for the table I got a cement mixng tray from the hardware store and drilled the 2 holes for fill and drain fittings. I used 3/4 inch pvc pipe to make a stand. Really went together pretty easy. that one is used in my 2x4 tent for vegging.

 

[dj1714]

Oh I forgot to say when the seeds go into the rapid rooter keep it moist but not soaking wet. I usually take an eyedropper full of water and put around the side half way up and just barley dip the bottom of it in water so the roots will search for the water at the bottom.

 

[quickmaffs]

this rooting part is the toughest part for me.

i went to a hardware store today and bought some plant starter cylanders that come in a tray... you gotta pour water on them, they expand, then you tear a hole in the top and put a seed directly into it. the thing sharts black stuff like a tea bag, so im not sure this is good for hydro setups.

should i continue to try and use these cylanders? they are made of "peat"... no list of ingredients. are they usable for my dwc?

if it is usable, how do ideal with the wter it has already absorbed? they went from 1cmx1.5inch disks to 1.77inchx1.5inch cylanders after absorbing water. i know there needs to be a good amount of air getting to the roots... but idk... when should i put seeds into these?

i ordered "rapid root starter plugs" off eb*y so i have what i SHOULD be using on its way. i have several attempts before im SOLbust so worst case scenario i have some trial and error.

Also, dont know what denomination youre from, but say a prayer for the good folks in texas who just lost their lives at the hands of a mad man. these are evil times, friend.

 

[dj1714]

This is the one I made

And the one I bought.

 

[dj1714]

i know there needs to should i continue to try and use these cylanders? they are made of "peat"... no list of ingredients. are they usable for my dwc?.

Really can't say about these as I have never used them but the rapid rooters are made out of peat too.

Yes I just saw the headline but haven't read about the church in Texas. Makes me sick to know innocent people are killed for nothing.
What the hell has gotten into these people.
I bet if they would partake of our medicine they wouldn't even think about doing these kind of things. So sad.

 

[quickmaffs]

i have to agree with you. without sounding too much like medievil/renfair nerd... WHAT IS THIS MADNESS?!


oh thats your ebb and flow? i was like WOAH that looks radically different from what im doing lol. so you fill the tub and then... drain it? is that wire grate lifted off the bottom?

 

[dj1714]

There is a timer running to the pump in reservoir and when it comes on it floods the top tray to feed and water the girls. When the pump cuts off the water drains back into the reservoir until the next timing cycle.

There's a sub forum under hydroponics for ebb and flow. Some of us have posted some things in there you might want to read if you are looking for an alternative to DWC. Not that there's nothing wrong with it, but I like the way my setup is working.

 

[quickmaffs]

so... that sounds really cool. kinda complicated, but really cool.

so it waters the girls, lets them unwet themselves, then wets them again, all automatically? and there is never any standing water?

how much did your second setup cost? both are waaaaay too big for what i want to do, but it never hurts to have a price tag in mind

 

[dj1714]

No Not really complicated once you get it dialed in. I put a couple of 1x4 blocks on the back legs of the Botanicare 3x3 table that helps it drain most of the water out but you will always have a little in the tray. One the black one I made the legs for the stand a little higher in the back to push the water to the front and it works great.

With the tote,concrete mixing tub, timer pump, pvc pipe and fittings probably have around 135.00 in it.

 

[dj1714]

Oh the white grate at the bottom comes out. Its all plastic with no wire. I can't recall the true name for it but it's the light diffuser for ceiling florescent lights.

 

[quickmaffs]

hey so i have a question for ya, dj...

im having temperature control issues. my temp varies from 79-90 and its almost constantly changing. is this dangerous? will this make herms?

 

[dj1714]

Are you talking about you room temp. and not your reservoir temp. If room temp. need to know more about your setup. are you using a tent and what size. Are you using an extraction fan.

 

[187budz]

That peat pellet (dehydrated disk) would have worked fine, that's what I used. Got them from the dollar store.
Keep your res temps below 20C
90F for room temp is pushing it but it would servive. Try to lower it. What size extraction fan you have vs room Size?

 

[polllcat2]

Anyone ever harvested early? for that clear to milky trike type action.

 

[187budz]

Yes... more of a head high/less potent if done to early/less bud girth