yo dudes, how do you get the roots long enough to go from rockwool through clay pebbles to the water? will they grow through clay pebbles or do you put the water level up to soak the clay pebbles to start with obviously you dont want to soak the rockwool, right? how do the roots grow through clay pebbles ? i my be being impatient but do they just grow down in between wet (ish) clay pebbles or do u put the water level up to start off?
is it always a slow start?
- Thread starter jammin26
- Start date
caddy
Well-Known Member
You wait- based on conditions & genetics it will vary.
Since you make mention of "filling water up" I'll assume you're talking about deep water culture. You should have about a half inch of clay pebbles/hydroton on the bottom of your net cup, you would then place your rock wool cube down and start surrounding it with more clay pebbles. This will secure it in the middle of the pot with roughly 12mm / half inch of hydroton around it.
You will then fill your reservoir up to about 12mm or a half inch just below the plastic of the net pot. When you turn on your bubble curtains or air stone this will do two things. The first will be oxygenate the water, the second (answering your question) will allow the breaking bubbles to mist the bottom of the net pot.
This constant 24/7 misting will keep your clay pebbles moist as well as the rock wool nested inside of it. Usually this plenty enough to keep it damp and encourage positive growth. If you notice any wilting just add a little water to the rock wool from the top.. don't drench it, just dampen it to help it along. The roots will grow between the pebbles and find their way down to the reservoir, they do not need to be helped in any way.
Give or take, without quoting me, you should have some type of root in your reservoir by the third week if this is from seed. Hope this helps you.