TJ The bagged products at grow stores are absolutely worthless and the brand doesn't really matter. Selling someone viable vermicompost would negatively affect the store's bottom line because using quality materials means you won't be buying their bottle of gunk and junk. CC
They're outside right now. I prefer to pop seeds in full sun, everything seems to get so stretched under lights. Well, not full, FULL sun, but like under the eastern edge of a picnic table so they only get direct sun to about 11 or so, then shade till late afternoon. Once they develop a bit it's full sun from dawn to dusk. I have some rooted clones in solo cups that need to be hardened off for outside. Depending on cloud cover, it's 1/2 to 1 hr the first day, 2 or so the second day and ~4 hrs the third day. After that, it's the dawn to dusk deal. This particular cut hardens off pretty quick. Wet
Glad you guys brought this stuff up. I was planning on doing some guerilla growing this year and I never thought about slowly adjusting them to being outdoors before being taken out in the woods. Solo
Second verse (almost), same as the first. Made another small batch, but slightly increased the perlite by ~1cup and used pelletized calcitic lime rather than dolomite. Won't need this quite as soon since most seeds are planted, so a few more days for the pelletized lime to dissolve is no big deal. Wet
So have we come to any conclusion on what the best ratio is to use? I keep getting mold rising up my stem no matter what I use. 80/20, 60/40 90/10, even tried using compost instead of VC, still no success in rooting cuttings. Moving on to seedlings now and wondering what to do, will the 90/10 with 1/4cup kelp and 2parts 3/8" Lava Rock work for seedlings? Or is it better to stick with the 80/20 no aeration and hydrate with kelp/aloe/silica/ & fulvic solution? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
No aeration = pretty much guaranteed failure. If you noticed, I upped the perlite in the second batch and will likely use more in the next batch. Have no experience with lava rock. I've used Perlite for over 40 years and stay with it simply because I know how it's going to perform in my mix. Wet
Yeah I noticed and have included aeration in ever method and still failed. The one time it worked was with no aeration added at all. So kind of backwards of what your saying. CC says that as long as your using the "stringier" (CSPM) peat that you won't have to worry about aeration. Guess he was correct. Again my question is what mix would be best to use as there is 4-5 outlined here already.
IDKTBH Obviously, different mixes work in different situations. Your 'no aeration' success points that out perfectly. The second mix with a bit more aeration worked a bit better for me than the first initial mix. I kept the VC and kelp at the same amounts. For clones, depleted used mix gives me the best results by far. Seedlings too for that matter. Just didn't have any available when I made the seedling mix. Wet
im getting really good results cloning in 100% coco coir. it may not be the best to use as a soil ingredient but for cloning, its simple and very effective.
100+ clones failing later......duh. i read the thread a long time ago and rereading it is so different now. so glad i clicked! i have a bunch of RW cubes just sitting there now i can use. thanks wet!
just wanted to come back here to thank wetdog. i took 8 cuts and put them in rockwool cubes under a bed of pumice and i got 100% strike after killing a kajillion cuts.
i think clones need air more then anything, probably why its so easy to clone with media like coco/rockwool/perlite.
LLB Funny thing, in a good 85-90% of the "How to clone with rockwool" threads no one mentions that very important hack. From a cloning tutorial in the 1989 +/- S.S.S.C. ( Super Sativa Seed Club), catalog. Sending cash wrapped in carbon paper to Holland. Remember carbon paper? Wet LLB Funny thing, in a good 85-90% of the "How to clone with rockwool" threads no one mentions that very important hack. From a cloning tutorial in the 1989 +/- S.S.S.C. ( Super Sativa Seed Club), catalog. Sending cash wrapped in carbon paper to Holland. Remember carbon paper? Wet
Made a world of difference and yes I do remember carbon paper. I thought that stuff was so cool for copying stuff when I was a wee lady. Smudge it on your skin for decoration or the walls. Lol fun times.
[quote name="ladyluckybean" post="22276486" timestamp="1452038679"] yes I do remember carbon paper. I thought that stuff was so cool for copying stuff when I was a wee lady. Smudge it on your skin for decoration or the walls. Lol fun times.[/quote] [quote name="wetdog" post="22276395" timestamp="1452036420"]LLB <em class='bbc'> From a cloning tutorial in the 1989 +/- S.S.S.C. ( Super Sativa Seed Club), catalog. Sending cash wrapped in carbon paper to Holland. Remember carbon paper?</em> <em class='bbc'> </em> <em class='bbc'>Wet</em> I certainly recall carefully wrapping my cash in carbon paper, sending it off and then sweating it out for what seemed like many, many weeks till seeds arrived. Funny how seed prices really haven't changed all that much in damn near 30 yrs now? I do remember quite clearly the stress and friction caused (within a very new relationship at the time) with a decision to take half a weeks pay, wrap it in carbon paper, mail it off to a foreign country and trust that you will eventually receive something back ....let alone something resembling what you actually ordered. Ended up being a total game changer for me and my entrance into a whole new reality. Now that "new" relationship on the other hand ..... well, lets just say that asset division coupled with alimony truly sucks and looking back all I can think of is those poineint words of Dickens ... "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" Quite amazingly ....... Not only do I still use carbon paper, but the organization I work for also still uses it to this very day. Its still quite efficient for producing instant hard copies when doing field reports. I often have to explain to young trainees what it is, how it works and even which side goes down! LOL More on topic ....... Yes, I also have used seed starting mixes with apparently way too much fresh VC evidenced by piss poor to no germination. I would of never blamed the VC and would of continued to think it was old/bad seed or even technique if not for seeing others here I respect experiencing the same. After all ....fresh VC changed my game like little else has .... how could it possibly be the culprit? Thanks to quality enlightenment here, that little and confusing phenomena now makes some sense. Best germ method (for me -YMMV): Fresh stock: Add some moisture, stay relatively within right temps and you cant stop them from germinating.... well ..assuming your not using a very high fresh VC to spm ratio as a seed start mix lol Old or troublesome stock: 24hr or so soak in h20 + mild kelp/fulvic solution then insert into a piece of a rapid rooter or similar type medium that also has been soaked in a similar solution via Coot style. I cut my rapid rooter type material into smaller pieces for seed germ to keep any costs down. Then simply drop them into a small container of my seeding mix as soon as I notice germination. I also use those "self watering" (burpee?) seed starting trays sold at Depot/Lowes etc that use a capillary mat to maintain moisture level within the rooter pieces while germing. Its worked quite well for me anyhow. Peaceful and prosperous Happy New Year wishes .... Its been awhile since I've been back here on GC. OC