3 weeks into flowering, want to remove plants from rockwool

Is it possible to CAREFULLY break apart the rockwool around a plants root structure? I'm using 4" rockwool, in which my plants have developed a good root structure IN. I've been fighting one thing or another with the rockwool being too wet, plants not getting enough or too much nutes. I think the rockwool is just staying too wet too long and causing problems.

I could work through it, or gently tear off the rockwool and put my plants in hydrotron or coco (used them both in the past with good results).

Worth noting I'm doing a single cola SOG where my plants are only ~12" tall now.


Thoughts?

Anyone....

If you have enough vertical space, maybe set the cube on top of a pot of soil and when it roots in, just water the soil and not the cube? Since it's already flowering, I can see why that might not work, but cutting the plant out of the cube seems riskier to me. Good luck.

Yeah I imagine you'd probably damage too many roots and/or shock the plant from the process taking too long.

Yeah, maybe I should keep the rockwool. Couple things that throw me off with rockwool is it seems like you shouldn't water it too much because you (seemingly) don't want it to be saturated with water all the time. And you need to flush it with ph corrected water to rinse buildup and salts. Knowing these things I would have stuck with hydrotron.

bury it in a 5 gallon bucket net pot and cover with hydroton.
Water is kept a inch below the pot in a bucket.

Is it possible to CAREFULLY break apart the rockwool around a plants root structure? I'm using 4" rockwool, in which my plants have developed a good root structure IN. I've been fighting one thing or another with the rockwool being too wet, plants not getting enough or too much nutes. I think the rockwool is just staying too wet too long and causing problems.

I could work through it, or gently tear off the rockwool and put my plants in hydrotron or coco (used them both in the past with good results).

Worth noting I'm doing a single cola SOG where my plants are only ~12" tall now.


Thoughts?

Although this thread is now 5 days old, I've heard of people doing this before and for me it's just crazy, upsetting the propagation medium when the plants are just developing their fine root hairs is a one step 'back' process, understand that during early to mid propagation period, plants are at full strength, developing those precious roots, that will burst the plant into what we call vegetative mode, knocking off those roots or any disturbance on your part will retard growth ... bigtime!

Far better to dry the cursed rootball along with the rockwool cube on a tray in warm place, under mild light for 2-3 days. spray leaves with water 2-3 times, and or dry the rockwool by carefully squeezing the rootbal with absorbent tissue.

good luck
"V"

ps goto my blog and read up under library ;

Thanks vostok. I agree, this isn't probably a good idea. I guess I need to figure out the source of the problem.

Speaking of which...

Would you mind checking out my thread where I post a problem I'm having (here: http://forum.grassci...deficiency.html), I think its manganese deficiency.

Rockwool works fine. Here is the problem. When you let the rockwool sit in the tray, it never dries properly on the bottom, which sits in the water in the grooves, and little pieces of it even break off and end up in the tray and in the reservoir. Plus the roots gravitate to the grooves in the tray and soak in them. The answer to your prayers is to put a thick coco mat under each rockwool cube, just slightly larger than the cube. You have to cut one for each cube from a big piece. http://www.hydrofarm...php?itemid=2171. Kind of expensive but indispensable. With the mat, the rockwool dries out nicely between waterings, and the roots stay in the area of their coco mats. That will probably take care of your "deficiency" problem too, which is probably a deficiency of air from the cubes not drying out.

Edited by usedtocare, 13 June 2012 - 12:48 AM.

Good feedback usedtocare. Couple things, my netpots are sitting in 4" square pvc fence post covers (like trichome does in this thread: http://forum.grassci...g-minifarm.html), so the netpot bottom is ~1" above the "floor". However, to your point, the roots may do better in some medium like coco mat or hydroton (?)

Water was sitting on my flood tray because I didn't have good slope and its a diy tray where there's no grooves. So, because of surface tension is puddles vs. finding chanels and draining. DIY Fail.

I take it you use rockwool? If so what size cubes, and how often do you water? And which method (manual, top drip, flood, etc...).

Thanks!

You have rockwool in a net pot?? If so, that is the reason the rockwool doesn't dry out. I have 6" cubes standing on coco mats in 3 x 6 ft trays which I flood three times a day.

Well, they were in netpots which I was flood and draining 1x/day. Not sure what you mean. The netpots are open enough to let the rockwool dry out between waterings.