I guess the #4 perlit is horticulture grade but I was thinking the same thing that it took up too much space, I'll find the regular size perlote n throw it in the mix then, thanks again guys. It's so great this thread is alive and well and you can ask questions to really well educated organic terrorists
Ahhh...the old aeration debate. My issues w perlite are the low CEC it provides and it takes a lot of energy to produce. Forget the actual temp it's heated to. I don't think pumice has much more CEC than perlite, but it's just mined and crushed...not heated. I think the individual grower needs to determine on a local basis which material makes more sense. Lava rock blows them both away in terms of CEC. It's likely the least effective in terms of actual "aeration". I build my initial mix w nothing but lava rock for aeration. For the first few runs I'll veg in Roots Organic soil. Eventually topdressing some biochar too. Takes a minute to get there and start rocking. But when it does look out.
She's standing on a 55g drum! This run was water only! Peace. RD Sent from my XT1609 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Oh im not trying to store it, but i see people do 24 hours soakes for clones or soak clones in rapid rooter and it works wouldnt it turn bad. I think i saw some do an aloe kelp clone bubbler even
Good to know tho because the channel plus was the only 2 out 8 clones that didn't take roots. I got 4 skunk 1 clones and 2 euphoria clones that all took but not the channel plus.
I used the 200x powder in a bubble cloner and it took forever it seemed but I thought it was the low temps causing it, I'll keep it in mind
Someone told me lower temps with bubbler is better idk. I just stick them in dirt. I do a 24 aloe soak though
The plant I wanted clones off the most wouldn't root go figure, I still have 2 beans left of her though so maybe better luck next time.
I soak my plugs in alfalfa/kelp tea made with distilled water. Cuts go directly into aloe fillets for about 5-10 min before going into the inverted root riot. Then into dome using normal protocols. In all my years of growing my clones never looked better.
I use perlite and pumice, i feel pumice being a bit chunkier is a nice addition, don't see how any of my plants are better off with pumice instead of perlite though. All things being equal, aeration is aeration.
I used to soak my plugs in Kelp/HA, but I haven’t noticed a difference either way. I shove the cuttings into an Aloe fillet for about 30 seconds, then into cinnamon powder and plugged. Been working great, using this tech for about a year now, certainly brought my success rate up and the cinnamon powder stopped fungus gnats going after my cuttings.
I don’t really have fungus gnat issues, but good knowing cinnamon is safe to use if I run into issues. Nice tip @Prepper420 I have had Asian cockroach’s attack my plants usually causing damage to allow other pathogens to take hold.
“Cinnamon as a rooting agent is as useful as willow water or hormone rooting powder. A single application to the stem when you plant the cutting will stimulate root growth in almost every plant variety. Give your cuttings a quick start with the help of cinnamon powder. Pour a spoonful onto a paper towel and roll damp stem ends in the cinnamon. Plant the stems in fresh potting soil. The cinnamon will encourage the stem to produce more stems, while helping to prevent the fungus that causes damping-off disease. Cinnamon fungicide control Damping off disease is a fungus-based problem that hits small seedlings just as they begin to grow. Cinnamon will help prevent this problem by killing the fungus. It also works with other fungal problems exhibited on older plants, such as slime mold and with deterring mushrooms in planters. Take advantage of cinnamon fungicide control by making a cinnamon spray for plants. Stir some cinnamon into warm water and allow it to steep overnight. Strain the liquid through a coffee filter and put the results into a spray bottle. Spray the stems and leave of affected plants, and mist the potting soil in plants that have a mushroom problem. Read more at Gardening Know How: Benefits Of Cinnamon On Plants: Using Cinnamon For Pests, Cuttings, & Fungicide Uses Of Cinnamon In Gardens – How To Use Cinnamon Powder For Plant Health
Those large pcs can be used in the btm of a large container (hard not softie). I use something similar in my containers and put the large stuff in a layer at the btm of the pot when I first start the pot. No-till here. So I have about 1-2" layer of the stone in the btm of the pot and water from the btm not from the top. My pots sit in a tray of about 1-2" of water that is connected to a 80gal res. I don't even have to water just keep fill the res 1x a week. 8 plants, so at least a gal per day per plant. They drink what they need. So there's 1 use for the larger stuff. Not many folks grow this method tho.. I use the horticultural per-lite in my soil mix @ 1/3 by volume with peat and humus. The standard Coots mix. I get some pretty big plants and big yields. Doesn't really matter the strain.
Dab party!! Finally finished mixing soil for flower! Got the last 14 cubic foot mixed and loaded this morning. Flower room! 5x 200gal pots with a 600w Super HPS above each. Once the soil cools down, I’ll transplant and setup blumats. Going to be pretty sweet!