I'm having some trouble getting my seeds to germinate in rockwool. They sprout fine in papertowel but they just tend to rot or do nothing in the rockwool. I'm using ph corrected water to soak them first. i then tightly cover them in a tupperware container and set it in a wark, dark place. 2 weeks later, nothing. I've even tried to germ first in paper towel then move to the rockwool, but the little sprouts don't live long. What am I doing wrong?
Trouble starting seeds in rockwool
- Thread starter renzo40
- Start date
homebrewer
Well-Known Member
Start them in paper towels, move them to small dirt cups until the plants are established, then move to rockwool.
Phillip J Fry
Active Member
use another medium imo. Rockwool is bad for you.
homebrewer
Well-Known Member
Can you please elaborate?
What I do, and I see nearly 100% success, is I put the seed directly into the rockwool, then place the rock wool into a net cup in my aero cloner, 5.5Ph 75-80F. Sometimes I used just a touch of nutes....no more than 200ppm.
I think where you are going wrong is sealing them in the tupperware. They need light just as much as anything else, I usually start mine under a 400mh in my veg tent. Usually around 24-36" away tho, they dont need full blast but they need a good bit to determine which direction is UP.
I think where you are going wrong is sealing them in the tupperware. They need light just as much as anything else, I usually start mine under a 400mh in my veg tent. Usually around 24-36" away tho, they dont need full blast but they need a good bit to determine which direction is UP.
place the tip down in the rock wool, make sure you soak the wool for a few hours before you place the tap root in there.
pinch the rock wool shut and add some water to the bottom of the container holding your rockwool.
cover it with plastic wrap and place it somewhere warm and take the cover off every 6 ours for more air.
3-4 days you should be good 2 go
pinch the rock wool shut and add some water to the bottom of the container holding your rockwool.
cover it with plastic wrap and place it somewhere warm and take the cover off every 6 ours for more air.
3-4 days you should be good 2 go
Phillip J Fry
Active Member
Well i guess I might be wrong, my bad.
It has potential to be dangerous, but some study says its safe I guess.
Never know if that info is correct either though.
Mineral wool
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Safety of material
Precautions need to be taken when handling a fibre product as it can irritate the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. Prolonged exposure could lead to long term effects and some types of mineral wool are considered a possible carcinogen to humans, similar to asbestos. This effect may depend upon the fibre diameter and length, chemical composition and persistence within the body.
IARC (the International Agency for Research on Cancer) has reviewed the carcinogenicity of man made mineral fibres in October 2002.[3] The IARC Monograph's working group concluded that only the more biopersistent materials remain classified by IARC as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" (Group 2B). These include refractory ceramic fibres, which are used industrially as insulation in high-temperature environments such as blast furnaces, and certain special-purpose glass wools not used as insulating materials. In contrast, the more commonly used vitreous fibre wools including insulation glass wool, stone wool and slag wool are considered "not classifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans" (Group 3).
High bio soluble fibres (HT-fibres) are produced that do not cause damage to the human cell. These newer biosoluble materials have been tested for carcinogenicity and most are found to be non-carcinogenic, or to cause tumours in experimental animals only under very restricted conditions of exposure. The IARC Monograph's working group "elected not to make an overall evaluation of the newly developed fibres designed to be less biopersistent such as the alkaline earth silicate or highalumina, low-silica wools. This decision was made in part because no human data were available, although such fibres that have been tested appear to have low carcinogenic potential in experimental animals, and because the Working Group had difficulty in categorizing these fibres into meaningful groups based on chemical composition."[4]
This irritation to the skin is not a chemical irritation but only a temporary mechanical irritation, comparable with exposure of the skin to bio soluble materials such as straw, grass, or hay.
[edit] See also
It has potential to be dangerous, but some study says its safe I guess.
Never know if that info is correct either though.
Mineral wool
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Safety of material
Precautions need to be taken when handling a fibre product as it can irritate the eyes, skin and respiratory tract. Prolonged exposure could lead to long term effects and some types of mineral wool are considered a possible carcinogen to humans, similar to asbestos. This effect may depend upon the fibre diameter and length, chemical composition and persistence within the body.
IARC (the International Agency for Research on Cancer) has reviewed the carcinogenicity of man made mineral fibres in October 2002.[3] The IARC Monograph's working group concluded that only the more biopersistent materials remain classified by IARC as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" (Group 2B). These include refractory ceramic fibres, which are used industrially as insulation in high-temperature environments such as blast furnaces, and certain special-purpose glass wools not used as insulating materials. In contrast, the more commonly used vitreous fibre wools including insulation glass wool, stone wool and slag wool are considered "not classifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans" (Group 3).
High bio soluble fibres (HT-fibres) are produced that do not cause damage to the human cell. These newer biosoluble materials have been tested for carcinogenicity and most are found to be non-carcinogenic, or to cause tumours in experimental animals only under very restricted conditions of exposure. The IARC Monograph's working group "elected not to make an overall evaluation of the newly developed fibres designed to be less biopersistent such as the alkaline earth silicate or highalumina, low-silica wools. This decision was made in part because no human data were available, although such fibres that have been tested appear to have low carcinogenic potential in experimental animals, and because the Working Group had difficulty in categorizing these fibres into meaningful groups based on chemical composition."[4]
This irritation to the skin is not a chemical irritation but only a temporary mechanical irritation, comparable with exposure of the skin to bio soluble materials such as straw, grass, or hay.
[edit] See also
homebrewer
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I wouldn't recommend handling it too much, breathing in rockwool dust, smoking or eating it, but I've found it makes a great medium for plants.
I soak mine in 5.5 ph water overnite with a little h2o2 in the water then I shake the excess water out put the tap root down and pinch it shut,I have also cut the rockwool in half and placed the seed in that way,a little water in the bottom of the tray put the lid on and in a few days you should have seedlings,I found that I lost some seedlings because I planted them to deep in the rockwool,thats when I started cutting the rockwool this way you can place the seed where you want it and you can check on whats going on inside there once the roots take off they will hold the rockwool together
BigFatFatty
Active Member
Yea it only needs to be twice as deep as the seed is wide... Also make sure you wash your rockwool out because it contains lime and you have to prewash it just like the hydroton... I had the same issue I was putting them a little too deep but I switched to the coco starter plugs and it seems like they work better than the rockwool IMO... Good luck
After your seeds show a tap root and you put them in rockwool, you need to introduce them to light. You keep them dark for germination but they will need light to sprout up. A mild light (cfl is fine) for a week or so until you see roots penatrating the cube. When I place them in rockwool, 12 hours later they sprout up a good inch, every time. Make sure your cube is not too wet either.
John Jacob
Active Member
One of the most important parts IMO. Those things can hold too much water
boodadood
Active Member
i start all my seeds in rockwool...i dont soak them...i dip them in a pH 5.5 water then shake off the access...i soak a bunch of papertowels with the same water and put them on the bottom of a humidity dome...i put the cubes in the dome and put the dome lid on with one of the vents cracked...then i set up a heating pad i borrow from the gf and put a folded up towel over it...the humidity dome goes on top of the towel...everyday i hand water the cubes with pH 5.5 adjusted tap water until they crack...so far i am in 10 for 12 with this method
once they pop i bury the cube in hydroton so on only the top of the leaves stick out and put it right under my 400 w mh
BD
once they pop i bury the cube in hydroton so on only the top of the leaves stick out and put it right under my 400 w mh
BD
BigFatFatty
Active Member
Yea the cubes are way too easy to overwater I set One cfl on it and water it when the top of the cube dries...