Badseed, I was. lol
Take that back, I only had 5. lol
This message was edited Jan 26, 2004 2:39 PM
I am sold!!!
LOL Sylvia!
I wanted more, but my doctor fixed that. lol
I knew there was a reason I don't go to doctors. Bless those midwives! Hmmm, been delivering in Catholic hospitals too. ;)
Well the seeds I started on 1/25 have little roots breaking through. Nothing is actually "up", but the seeds sprouting is SOMETHING! LOL Not bad for four days. :)
Congrats!! New brug babies in the making!!
Isn't it amazing Chele!! And I love being able to see what is going on so easily!
I am going to root some brug cuttings in this stuff today. I can't wait to see if this also will be a miracle way!!
LOL Now I have to wait for little leaves! Agony...
I planted over 100 brug seeds in rock wool yesterday -- it finally arrived. Will advise when I see activity...
Not fair.. I want some rockwool.. where can I buy them at??? cheaper price???
Kell great minds must work alike, I just did a few cuttings this afternoon, some in rockwool and some in sponges, can hardly wait to see if it works.
I enclosed in a ziplock afterwards is this the proper way?
http://www.living-learning.com/store/media/rwool.htm
Here is the page I ordered from Mini. I believe the best price is to buy the slabs and make your own cubes. Here is another thread (scroll to near the bottom) that tells how I made my cubes from the slabs. http://davesgarden.com/t/411784/#new
"Everybody should soak the rockwool in no lower than pH 5 water the day before use. This is done to dissolve the lime. The lime will make the pH value raise a full point. Immediately before use; you flush the rockwool with your nutrient solution. When you flush, you also flush out the dissolved lime". http://www.living-learning.com/faq/rwphfaq.htm
"Coconut fiber is not a biohazard or disposal problem like rockwool - it is completely natural and not environmentally aggressive as rockwool is. Coconut fiber contains organic compounds which other hydroponic media lack." http://www.living-learning.com/store/media/cnut.htm
Still searching for more information on rockwool and growing alternatives.
I'll be the first to admit that I have never soaked my Rockwool. So far everything I'm growing is doing very well. I've just been wetting it, squeezing out the excess, and planting.
Soaking? We were supposed to soak? I didn't either and everything looks fine.
me either....
Oh,now that I know everything will die.....
crested check out the looks of brugies seedlings in the bottom of this thread and you will not worry anymore
http://davesgarden.com/t/411784/
Shirley, I really do not think you have to worry about all of that unless you are growing your brugs hydroponically. I just use the rockwool to germinate my seeds and I know it does that incredibly well. And now that mine have been transplantd to dirt, they get flushed every time I water!
I was at my local hydroponic store yesterday! Boy, did I get an eyeful. It would be incredibly expensive and time consuming to grow them hydroponically. Look at this feeding chart! LOL Rockwool has no inherent nutrients so you must fed them a changing mix all the way thru.
Anyway, you should see who hangs out in this type of store! LOL. Let me tell you I suspect they are not all growing vegetables!! It took me a minute to figure out what they ARE growing! And they pay top price for everything! I was looking at a cal-mag additive until I saw the price for a small bottle!
And wouldn't you know it, I always pay for things with cash and I had run out and had to use my credit card. I thought geez, I bet the DEA gets copy of everyone who buys from here!
But I had fun! I bought several kinds and also a huge block (cost $12.00, the white covered piece in background), that was 36" by 12" by 3" that I will cut up while holding my breath and use for rooting some difficult cuttings. Another RK hit the dust this last week so I am anxious to see if this will help in survival rates.
Great price on the slab Kell. You should have enough just from it to do almost 400 cubes.
I also bought a bag of 50 plugs of their organic plant starter of naturally composted tree bark that has beneficial microbes. The hippie sales guy went on and on about how great they are! I can't wait to try them! I loved the name!
Yes, it is huge Brugie. The directions say wet it and then cut it and make your holes. I will cut some rather big though to handle big cuttings. Maybe 5 inches deep or so. Your RK may spring forth from here since I have killed 2 that had your name on it AFTER I had them rooted!
Kell goes on a innocent shopping spree at a store and the undercover cops were getting an earful.....you'll be known as that lady that grows those hallucinogenics.....
better watch when those HID lights go on in the house....
And I just happened to have bought a few weeks ago a little slab of coconut pith that is supposed to be great at seed starting! The overpriced nursery I got this at also has huge slabs of it for $12.00. I bought a small but heavy one for $2.99 to try! It is a very PC nursery being in Berkeley, California so I am sur eno harmful ingredients in there!
So today I will peel some new BF X L'A seeds I have from one pod and do them in all 3 mediums just to compare!
Susie is rubbing off on me with all her experiments that she had some of us perform all last year! I know she will be proud of me!
Never know Kell,maybe other DG members shop there,LOL!
http://davesgarden.com/photo.php?member=aculed
I think I'll try some of the slabs and see if I have better luck rooting the really special cuttings, that is if anyone is crazy enough to send me any, after all the ones I've managed to kill in my learning process. lol
And what is worse CC, is I look like I have had terminal munchies for years!!!
And I have 1500 watt halogen lights in my hoophouse that lights up the neighborhood at night when I work in there.
Also, I was thinking my electric bill will be much higher with all the florescent lights I now have for my PVC seedling shelving!
All signs of growing a high cash crop! If someone tells me brugs seeds look like pot seeds, I am doomed! LOL
Are you allowed a computer in jail?
Oh right....what was I thinking. I live in near Berkeley, where reefer madness is the norm!
okay...sick dog in lap and i'm typing one handed...my brug seeds are showing no signs of germination yet, and i did use the super whatever soak, but yesterday i planted 20 datura seeds (did not soak-lazy me)and 15 have germinated! this has to be a record of some kind!!!!!!!!
"To soak" OR "Not to soak"....that is the question!!! Some people soak and some do not. Heck! As long as you get good seed germination, that is the main objective!!!
No Kell....I'm sure that your neighbors and friends to NOT want to see you and your plants being carted away in the middle of the night by the DEA agents! Sorry, I don't have any experience as to whether one is allowed a computer in the "clinck"!
One more question though....do you "re-use" your rockwool when germinating other seeds and how do you dispose of it "properly"? Is there a "proper waste disposal system" for rockwool??? Sorry, inquirying minds want to know! :~)
Rockwool is probably the most widely used growing medium on the planet. It holds plenty of water and consists of about 15% air (as long as it is not sitting directly in water) , which means its virtually impossible to overwater. Ideal for transplanting, the 1 and 2" cubes fit the 3 and 4-inch blocks which fit onto the slabs. The V-shaped cubes in the sheets of multicubes encourages rooting within, rather than between, individual blocks. All multicube sheets fit a standard 10x20 flat.
Totally biodegradeable and reuseable, rockwool should be conditioned for first use by soaking for eight hours in water at pH 5.0and then rinsing with your nutrient solution. To soak cubes, put them in a bucket filled with water. To soak slabs, cut a hole in the plastic bag they come in and fill it with water until totally saturated. After 24 hours, cut drainage slits in the bottom.
Although rockwool is nontoxic, when dry it can cause skin irritation. For this reason it is best handled wet. If irritation occurs, wash hands for instant relief.
http://www.gchydro.com/detail.asp?product_id=xrockwool
RW is not a synthetic material !...It does not pollute .
....................... I see no problem using a product made from rock/stone. Vermiculite and perlite are made the same way by extreme heat application to rock/stone.
..............You cannot re-use RW cubes. They should be full of the roots of your seedlings.
RW is like cotton and anything can grow between the fibers after you plant your seedling cube and all, in soil.
............Worrying over this products disposal should be way down on the list, especially in the light of all the chemicals we use in gardening. Excepting for Organic growers,for which I strive to follow their principles.
Live Long And Prosper =)
Shirley, I think we were posting at about the same time. I took what I wrote from the site I added at the bottom of my post.
OK now here is another question, I ordered and got in my rockwool getting ready to start peeling tonight. Has anyone thought about trying the Oasis cubes? They are a little higher, not much though. We recieved many rooted cuttings at the greenhouse this year in these, they seem to work great for that, and I see on the link Brugie posted they sell these and are good for seeds to, I thought about checking to see if I can get these cheap enough through a supplier to warrant a group effort.
Tracey, I didn't have good luck with them for brug seeds. The fungus gnats were attracted to them and the worst problem was that they didn't hold moisture well enough for me. Once the seed germinated and required more moisture, I was watering them every day and then sometimes twice a day. I don't water the RW cubes more than maybe every three days after germination and the cover off.
Shirley, just wanted to say thanks for all the info here and on the FAQ forum.. I sowed my first seeds in rockwool yesterday and got all the info I needed from your posts here and the FAQ forum.. Thanks.. so now, I ordered a little bit more (hhehehehhe..) I was thinking maybe I could just save some money and quit buying so much of the soiless mixes.. for the other seeds.. (Gourd seeds), the gourd seeds do not like transplanting at all, so this is a perfect solution for me and gives me a headstart on them. Thanks for all the ideas and for everything you do.
I'm going to try poppy seeds in them since they don't like to be transplanted either. I'm finding more things every day that should work well in the cubes. Glad that all the information is helping you.
LOL Brugie, I was just rereading this thread and saw you said "Great price on the slab Kell. You should have enough just from it to do almost 400 cubes"
.... BE STILL Brugie or Tom will shove it down my lungs to be done with me and my brugs! Then we will see how carcinogenic it really is! Of course all the years I smoked even though I quit years ago, makes it a joke if I were worried about rockwool considering its rating compared to cigarettes! Cigarrettes is proven to cause all sorts of lung diseases and cancer. Rockwool isn't!
NOTICE....Anyone planning on trashing their RW for health reasons please send it to me and I will double your postage in return =)
Thanks Brugie I will save my money for Rockwool then.....
Everyone's input has been very helpful, educational and valuable in my opinion. I'm NOT trying to be difficult or contrary!!! PLEASE BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THAT!!! I am trying to learn and become more educated about soiless growing mediums.
There isn't just one correct way! Everything has its "advantages" and "disadvantages", just like rockwool. What is confusing, are the different websites...one says that rockwool utilizes natural fibers and therefore is safe to use and another website warns to take these precautions when using rockwool. http://www.simplyhydro.com/growing3.htm Which are we to believe???
We are all trying to be educated consumers that are very consciencous of the planet that we live on and want to take care of it, so that it will be around for future generations to enjoy and live on too! :~)