opinions on rooting cubes or root development media...

[ZigZag]

I decided to try some rooting cubes, sorta like rapid rooters, which I couldn't find locally so I used some "mini cubes".
They seem to be slowing down root development, contrary to my expectations.
Seeds were germinated in acid free paper in a black out container. They sprouted in less than 36 hrs and were put directly into the cubes. They broke the surface within 36 hrs and then development slowed big time.
They are now 8 days old (from sprouted seed) but look like they are a 2-4 days behind what I've experienced before when the sprouts were just planted in pain coco, without any root promoting media. The rooting cubes were "translated" into cups of coco after the first leaves appeared.
A few days ago I started getting impatient and a bit worried for the autos especially, so I germinated three more seeds and planted them directly in coco
yesterday and today both are above "ground". I'll post some photos in a few days so I can show the difference between the two mediums. I'm guessing that the seeds I just planted may catch up to and develop faster than the ones planted in the "cubes" first.
Any thoughts on using different types of root enhancing media or just skipping that and going right into the medium you're going to grow in?...

Strains_ S.A.D. auto, Blue Cheese auto, Gold Mine, Ayahuasca Purple, Strawberry Cake.
Coco/perlite mix moistened with PH 5.75 water and 1/16 strength nutrients.
Watered with PH 5.75 water only.
VYPRx lights (320 watt, using just one for early veg)

[steve]

"Great White" is one of the best product's for root development - and should be used in every grow

[ZigZag]

Thanks, I've got some from my last grow and am using it now. There are other similar products out there but I decided on White Shark because its a power and is good for a long time. My grows are pretty small so even though its spend it lasts a long time. However if you have any suggestions about how much powder to use for seedlings 1-2 weeks old that would be great....Thanks for your reply!

[alltatup]

Zigzag, I've germinated in rockwool and in Root Riot cubes, and I have had good results with both. I think I prefer starting the seed out in the root riots. I let the roots come out the bottom of the root riots, then I put them into 4" rockwool cubes and into their net pots.

Can you tell us exactly which product you used to germinate? Not all starter cubes are right for cannabis. I choose root riot over rapid rooters because I don't want to use any GH products.

[ZigZag]

The cubes I got are rock wool and about 1" square. I'm growing in coco so when I saw the tap root starting to come out the bottom I transplanted them into the coco.
They are growing a bit better now_maybe because more of the roots have emerged for the cube_ but of course I don't know that for sure. With the past two grows I germinated them then planted directly in the coco with just PH 5.5-6.0 water. Worked well. This time I mixed a nutrient solution at 1/8 strength and mixed it into the coco when I moisten it the day before the transplant. Then used plain water (PH 5.5) . next day I used solution at 1/16. I'm only giving them enough water to moisten the surface. I decided to take give up on the smallest plant, opened up the cube so I could get a look at the roots. They were nice and white but seemed to be lacking more diverse development, especially branching. The inside of the cube was damp but not wet. Seemed about right. What I found out after finally looking at the humidity meter ( I really should have looked at that sooner but its never been an issue before. The humidity was only 33%!.
But its been real cold and dry so the heats been on a lot and I think it is responsible for that. Got a humidifier yesterday and now have it up to 45-55%. Hoping that is going to help.
I also think there might be a bit of an overdose of nutrients but not sure how that happened. My plan is to water them outside the cubes with plain PH water just a little bit 2x a day and keep very close watch for signs of over watering, None yet. Maybe that will help flush_ the medium is draining really well.
What do you think_ humidity plus a gentle flush with PH water only for 3 days or so? Cut the water if signs of overwatering occur. Any suggestions appreciated and thanks for the reply!

[fozzy]

I use GH Rapid Root Plugs. They work great. And they are pretty cheap. I get the 50 count bag but I only use a couple at a time. So I put the rest in a zip lock bag with a little water and the keep for a long time. (Pull the air out of the bag) Just make sure to keep them wet. When I use them the next time I soak them in pH water at 6.5ish. Then pop the seed or cutting in and that's pretty much it. You will need a tray to hold them upright. Also when you put a seed or cutting in you can tear a little off the bottom of the plug and fill the hole over the seed or next to the cutting. And remember just as with all the other products out there keep them moist! (Not to dry or sopping wet)

I hope this helps. Good luck!

[ZigZag]

Thanks. The local guys now have some rapid rooters so I might try them. The bags they have do have quite a few plugs in them so its good to know they last a while_ long enough for a few grows anyway. Also tried filling the hole a bit at the top with a little rock wool that I took from the corner. I didn't like the airspace that was around the germinated seed when I placed it into the hole in the cube. Good to hear you did the same thing. They seem to be getting better so I'm hoping the trend continues.
Due to paranoia I started germinating two more seeds a few days ago and placed them directly into the coco last night_ no cubes this time. Also stared germinating two more seeds as "insurance". Maybe I'll try them in the rapid root plugs, it'd be nice to compare to the rest, see what might work best for my environment.

[Canyon Grower]

I know lots of filks have had good luck with the various cubes. My own luck with jiffy pots has been disastrous. I not place sprouting seeds in dixie cups of my regular super soil and have seen marked improvement. My feeling is that cubes dont have enough nutrients to get my seeds underway well after they have used up their onboard stores.

[ZigZag]

I'm wondering that myself.....But I did give them very week nutrients once they got above the surface. I'm hoping that quite low humidity is the culprit because I have that fixed now. Also pulled my lights up to four feet as there might be a small amount of light burn and that may have increased the effects from the low humidity...guess we'll see. Thanks for the suggestions!

[alltatup]

I was wrong about Jiffy pellets not being good for cannabis germination; Nebula says they are better for soil or coco choir than for hydroponics, but now I am wondering why they wouldn't work being inserted in hydro setup? I inserted my root riots into larger rockwool cubes, and the roots had no problems emerging. Any thoughts?

If I didn't have to buy the relatively expensive root riots and could use dried Jiffies (which you soak in warm water when you are ready), I'd get the Jiffies. Right now, I buy 10 root riots at a time, and freeze the ones I'm not using.

[ZigZag]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm gonna head down to the local grow shop and see what they have. Am going to plant a few more seeds when they sprout which should be within 24hrs, Fingers crossed cuz this has to be the last week I have to get this all going before I need to harvest in about 12 weeks. Only 14 weeks to go before then and I need to have 2 weeks to feel good about the dry and beginning of the cure, before I leave it up to a friend to check them every few days while I'm gone.

[Nartak]

Im just using eazu plugs in a humidity dome and then placing in to final pot which is full of hydroton...Have had pops in 3 days max,4th day 100% straight up seedlings!!Anything could be a factor to such things though people,i wouldn't bet my arse on any method if not done in a perfectly sealed room with exact same air levels and environmental stability while recording over and over again...We all know that rockwool can be harmful yet most people use it,makes no difference to fluoridated toothpaste lol!! Peace

[alltatup]

I looked up eazy plugs: not sold yet in usa. I want to find good alternatives to rockwool, but a shit ton of it came with my grow box, and I don't want to just throw it away.

[Nartak]

Ofc not!!Use what you have first,then you can go flashy!!I keep saying that to myself or i will give my rent away for growing equipment and have nowhere to house it lol!!! Hey i have tried it all and failed,this time i took the plugs and the humidity dome for what..20 euros the 12 plugs and dome together,so what,i have had 100% of germing even in bagseeds whereas with the paper towel and straight to medium methods i lost 2 Green-o-Matic last year and postponed my grow till this year for certainty in equipment!!

If you cant get eazy-plugs get root !t plugs and since i brought up the "!t" trademark check out "plant !t" company for system,drippers and solo hydro airpump systems!!

[William and Sue Ashley]

I don't know what you found....but rapid rooters or root riots work outstandingly well....

[alltatup]

Yes, I use root riots and put them in 4 inch rockwool, but they are freakin expensive to buy in small batches. I guess I'll get a bigger batch, divvy it up and freeze them. That's what I did with my leftovers on this last germination.

[Nartak]

Anyone thought of plugs,rooter or the kind for a topsoil in the pot? just couple inches deep to filter/buffer incoming water and keep top of soil/medium moist-er than usual...? Lets say from bottom to top a cut in half pot would be like this :
Hydroton about 3" for drainage
Soil Mixture or w/e you use for base medium
plugs/pellets/rooters(smashed and torn)on top

[ZigZag]

THANKS TO ALL! I just started watering around the cubes with plain PH water. Hopefully that won't drown the roots but will provide moisture and encourage them to grow out of the cubes into the soil.
The cubes are moist but not wet. They are in 3" cups now, so theres about an inch of soil around the cubes on each side and about 4" beneath (the bottom of the cups have about a 1/2" of grow stones (crushed so they are pea sized, and washed well so no fine particles). All excess water is draining within 5 minutes. They seem to be recovering a bit at a time.
As long as things get going well I think this is going to set me back 7-10 days on the harvest. Guess we'll see. Will let you know how the setup up works, it somewhat similar to what you recommended above.

[ZigZag]

The girls are picking up now and everything seems to be heading in the right direction. Just going to be behind a bit. The S.A.D. auto, Gold Mine and Ayahuasca Purple seem to be taking off ahead of the others.
Looking forward to harvest time, even though its going to be months till then. Still have some left overs from the last two grows so that should hold me over. LOL.
Oh yeah_ thanks to Nebula for sharing her long term storage info earlier this month_ I've been using the jars for 2 years now and they work great. I was wondering if it might work to freeze them in the same jars and then thaw at room temp before opening. I have some bud I've had in jars for almost a year now and will try that first_ be nice to just have something to go back to once in while. :~)
Thanks for the confirmation Nebula! Word of warning_ make sure you let the jars warm up to room temp or you might get a lot of moisture inside the jars, getting your buds wet_ leave them in the jars until the jars stop "sweating", then it will be safe to open them. Cheers to all!

[gbauto]

I was wrong about Jiffy pellets not being good for cannabis germination; Nebula says they are better for soil or coco choir than for hydroponics, but now I am wondering why they wouldn't work being inserted in hydro setup? I inserted my root riots into larger rockwool cubes, and the roots had no problems emerging. Any thoughts?

My experience with the Jiffy pucks compared to the Rapid Rooter plugs is that the Jiffy will break apart and decompose while the rooter seems to stay together. I don't want to add any debris to my solution that could cause some clogging or other problems.

[alltatup]

Thanks, gbauto!! I won't mess with them. I'll keep freezing my extra root riots.

[ZigZag]

Our grow shop got some of the rapid rooters in so I got some and am trying them too just for comparison to the rock wool. They're 2 weeks behind the others but hopefully will catch up a bit. It won't hurt the first photoperiod plants any to let them go a week longer than planed. The seeds just planted in the rapid rooters should provide a decent comparison between the two starting plugs. If I don't have better success with the rooters then I might try the Jiffy Packs next time_ thanks for the suggestion/information. It looks like Nebula was right in saying that even experienced growers eventually end up having some type of issue to deal with sooner than later...which makes me feel a bit better. I consider myself a "starter cube"_ just getting into this after 3 grows ...maybe someday I'll have this down so my grows are more consistent. Having fun anyway!

[alltatup]

With three grows under your belt, I wouldn't call you a starter cube, ZigZag: more like a four-inch rockwool cube or a five-gallon hydro pot!!!!! ;-}

[ZigZag]

alltatup_Ha! Thanks for the appraisal..cool!...But heck, I'm feeling pretty newbee this time around. Don't know if its the new lights, straight coco grow (getting used to the nutrient demands) or the strains I'm growing this time. Weird stuff happening_ leaves with two regular "blades" and one very short one_ all on the same leaf, one with a 2 bladed leaf, One with fat, blunt leaf tips, Two growing really slow (maybe the strain to some extent), one that looks like its healthy during the first 12-16 hours of light- perky and reaching up towards the lights, but then droopy the last 4-8 hrs or so. This one always perks up by morning if I give it 4-6oz of water before the lights go out (20/4 photoperiod) but then the whole thing starts over again. Otherwise all look healthy, green and happy_ except with weird stuff going on that I haven't run across before.
Guess Nebula was right when she suggested that most of us experience some type of growing issues sooner or later! I thought I was a lucky one_ guess we'll see how it works out in the end. I was going to send in some pics last week but I fell while ice climbing and busted my shoulder so holding a camera and moving plants isn't gonna happen until I'm more mobile..
Better stop before I start with the ugly words!..

[alltatup]

Hey Ziggie, get that shoulder better!! But yeah, it's good for us to have different issues come up that challenge us to learn more. I'm in week 5 of flower, second grow: I can see clearly now how my LST worked, and what could have been better; I didn't quite create that lovely flat canopy, but I love the learning process!! My next grow is gonna be dr. grinspoon, and I can't wait to discover what challenges that presents me with.

[ZigZag]

Yeah, good luck with the Doc- I tried to get some of those seeds but they were out. From the pics I've seen that strain does look like a challenge. Long branches. lots of small dense buds.
Small dense buds are easier to dry and cure and much less chance for bud rot and such too. Added benefit of not using up your stash so fast cuz it appears you have less in the jars than is really there_ at least for me.
Might be a good strain to manifold or at least top twice...long as its not going to put them back too much. Have you looked around to see how others have worked with that strain? Be interesting to see how different training techniques work with that one.
I could buy at a dispensary but really like the learning process too_ plus added benefit of knowing exactly what went into your plants, being able to control the cure, and of course the rewards as well. Can't say I've saved any $ yet _ biggest setback was deciding I wanted to try new lights...but by the end of this grow I should be ahead a bit and by the next one in the black for sure!

[alltatup]

We had an exciting discussion going in December because the grinspoon seeds were out everywhere, except for a little place I found online called JustFeminized. I was a little worried about buying from an unknown shop, but I looked up reviews and they were decent. I'd like to find out why it's taking so long to get them back in stock...
I think this strain will be ideal for LST in my grow box. I haven't tried manifold yet because just plain old LST worked pretty well on my current (second) grow. I'm planning to put two plants in the box and train the heck out of them.
It's been said over and over on this forum: once you smoke your own, you'll never go back to street or dispensary weed. It's just too good when you grow, tend to, talk to, nurture, harvest, dry and cure your own!!!!!

[alltatup]

ZigZag here is a great, detailed grow journal I found on Grinspoon:

http://forums.strainhunters.com/topic/6836-dr-grinspoon-by-gonzo/