Yes, it was put into the veg table the day that last picture in vermiculite/perlite was taken, and the picture in clay pellets was 1 week later. This is a batch of seed plants at 3 weeks from germination (including 4 days in perlite/vermiculite before they went into the table).
Thank you very much for your comment. Personally, I find that rockwool cubes can be very problematic in E&F or DWC. I started out using rockwool cubes and had the same issues that a lot of people have with keeping them from being over saturated all the time. Yes there are ways to work around the problem and make them work, but I started getting much better results when I stopped using rockwool cubes altogether.
It's no problem whatsoever sir! I give props when they are due.. And thank you for not thinking I was doubting you bro! Still new to dwc, and yes, I'm not happy with rockwool, it's also not biodegradable.. I got rapid rooters for the next go round, any thoughts on those?
I've never used rapid rooters, but it seems like they could also hold too much water if they were put too low in the net pot. I like putting the root ball directly in the clay pellets so I can have the base of the stem (the main root ball) down toward the bottom of the net pot. I remove as much of the perlite/vermiculite as I can before I put them in the clay pellets. Only a few bits of it stay clinging to the roots. This is a clone, but I do this same process with seedlings.
Ohhh, I see. This does seem to do the trick. I think I was over worried about the roots fragility. I was scared to take it from anything that I was growing in too. Maybe when I get a little bit more at ease with what I'm doing I'll try another way.. thank you for guiding me sir!
I just had a few questions on this: When you put the germinated seeds in the perlite/vermiculite, did you put them in your grow area under light or in dark until the sprouted? Did you have them in a humidity dome?
I don't use a humidity dome for seedlings. I stick germinated seeds into the vermiculite/perlite with the root downward (just like you would put germinated seeds into soil), and then put them under the light (not too intense at first, but they acclimate quickly). I always germinate my seeds first (wet/damp paper towel method). It generally takes 48 hours for the roots to pop.
These two statements don't seem like they coincide with each other str8, it's sending mixed messages to new people all over. In one part you say it takes only 12 hours always, and in another sentence you take 48 hours to pop, I'm confused here clarify for me if you don't mind since I am a newbie.
To better clarify, on my end, I'm not completely new, I've grown soil for years, even tried coco at one time, I grew soil for 10 years at least all personal. I've Researched for longer than I've smoked. This is my first hydro grow, but, I'm not sure your completely being honest here guy. Again with respect. Any way, meno2cool, keep looking shit up, keep that green thumb, and you'll be fine brother!
In that first post you quoted I was referring to the time it took for the sprout to pop up out of the rockwool cube after a germinated seed was placed in it. He said it took 48 hours for the seed to germinate, and then sprouted out of the rockwool cube after another 2 days. When I put germinated seeds into perlite/vermiculite (just barely below the surface), they are generally popped up above the surface and popping out of the seed (the outer shell) 12 hours later. Some people germinate the seed in the rockwool cube, but he said he germinated the seed first and then put it in the rockwool. Sorry for the confusion.
I would first like to thank you for all of your input. It is greatly appreciate it. Me and my buddy are going to start an even bigger grow cabinet and I would love to start my plants this way. I just had few more questions: How often did you water them when they were in the perlite/vermiculite? When you transplanted them to the clay pellets, how much clay pellets should I have underneath the roots? Where should I start my water level at in the res? And when and how much do I start feeding?
YO meno, water when it's driving up to a knuckle, and you can wait till at least 2 or 3 sets of true leaves for to feed at 1/4. And the level if using rockwool, is just under or just touching the bottom of the net cup.. the bubbles should provide enough moisture to feed plant until roots hit the water..and always start low in nutes, then work your way up using gold growers preferred program.. I'll give you a link if you want.. always start at or less than 1/4 percent of nutes! I meant dry up to knuckle
http://forum.grasscity.com/index.php?/topic/1198022-How-To-Determine-Your-Plant's-Preferred-Nutrient-Strength
Any time Meno.. keep the faith that you'll do fine, and stay positive.. You'll be amazed at what you can do.
In the 3-4 days in v/p, I generally only have to add water once if any. It depends on the container size and ambient temperature / humidity. For my purpose, I like to let the v/p get fairly dry before I put them in net pots so it removes from the roots easier. (I'm really leaning towards getting an aero cloner). I put about 1/2" or so of pebbles in the bottoms of the net pots below the roots. I'm using flood tables now, but when I did DWC, I filled to about 1/2" below the net pots so the bubbles kept the bottom of the net pots wet. Some people fill their DWC right to the bottoms of the net pots, but I don't know how deep in the net pots their root balls are. Also having a really good air supply is a factor as well. I think I used about the minimum I could get by with when I did DWC, so there are others with better advice on DWC than I can offer. Personally I just use about 1/4 strength nutrients to start out with for seedlings and then dial in from there. Inthelooperton posted a link to a really good thread on dialing in your nutrient strength. The same person who posted that thread (GoldGrower) also has some mad DWC skills (a good source for info IMO).