100% perlite help please

Im about to transplant 5 girls into 100% perlite is there anything i should do to get the perlite ready. My seedlings are in 1 inch rockwool cubes. Also my temps are hard to stay above 65 f.

Any help would be nice thanks guys

oh yeah its also going to be a drip system with 2 gph dripper. When I water im wondering where I should put the dripper? over the rockwool or on the side over perlite?

I'd wash the perlite before using it...get rid of some of the fine smashed powder perlite.

Just cut some holes in the bottom of the bag and run some water through it.

alright does the water have to be at 5.8?

Perlite doesn't retain much water so I'd just put it in the bathtub. I wouldn't worry about pH'ing the water you're going to wash it with, just let it dry out. If you're worried about it though just pH a gallon of water and run that through it last.

put the dripper on the side, never put a drip line above rockwool. it will foster mold/mildew/slime of sorts from the constant saturation. put it NEAR the cube at first, and once a day move it outward to help the roots reach. also perhaps consider a myco or tea treatment to help the roots explode. cheers and good luck
mr.bond

underthetablepower said:

alright does the water have to be at 5.8?

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no, not if youre just rinsing the perlite.

great info. if i put the dripper on the side does perlite wick the water all around or is it just going to drip straight down?

mr.bond said:

also perhaps consider a myco or tea treatment to help the roots explode
mr.bond

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Ive never heard of this please explain

I,ve used 100% perlite for years, it is absolutely inert no ph or e.c efects. Like the chap has said poke some holes in it to rinse the white powder away. A good tip is to make lids for your pots they help keep down the r.h% they stop the perlite drying at the top of the pot which in turn helps prevent/stop salt build up. Also it does wick very well i used it in smart trays, so it was depending on capilary action. It,s quite surprising the amount of water it holds over time, it apears to be a common misconception that it does not hold water, not the case you would get away with a few days not watering a (10/15ltr) pot without any problems. hope this helps TCD

So heres what im working with

I watered the cubes before I transplanted and now im just wondering when I should water again and if I should add nutes? Im using canna aqua grow a + B

it depends on the size of the seedlings, just keep using ph adjusted 5.8 water to feed them until the leafs begin to show a lighter much less vibrant green color that is when they are telling you they are hungry. you will be suprised how long a seedling can go without nutes in hydro and they are very easy to burn, this is why i like clones i can feed them as soon as they root.

Feed untill your getting a little out the bottom of the pot. After repot start at e.c 0.7/8 for 4/5 dys then up to 0.9/1.0, then as dr green says if there yellowing up the e.c by 0.1 increments every 3 rd day untill healthy, watch the leaf tips for burning. atb TCD.

I,m refering to an established seedling cuts. Something thats filled it,s starter cube with roots ???

I started the seeds in rockwool cubes about 1". The roots were coming out the bottom by the 7th day. I waited until about the 12th day and replanted them in 100% perlite. They are under (4) 48" fluorescents. Im using a drip setup with just drip tubes and no restrictions (i.e 1gph/2gph) just tubes, and each pot has three drippers. I dont get ec at all if someone could explain that would be great all I know is ppm. Ill post some pictures of the setup that I just updated.

do you think this is good and is the droppy leafs a sign of anything?

any help would be great

thanks 2 u 2 atb TCD