I have been reading a thread from January 2004 when several of you started seeds in Rockwool. Please give us an update. How did they turn out?
Starting Seeds In Rockwool
I'd also like to know where to get rockwool. I'd never heard of it until I joined Dave's Garden.
Karrie, I bought some Wednesday at the Discount Garden Supply on Trent. About 11 blocks east of Argonne. I think there is a place in the 15 hundred block of Francis. Hydroponics. I got the 1.5 inch. 98 of them for $9.95.
Jeanette
Those may have been 1 inch. And that other one is on East Francis
This message was edited Dec 17, 2004 1:54 PM
Oh, just wonderful! Jeanette, I have 300+ babies started again this winter in rockwool. I really love it...Here's a picture of some seedlings as of the end of October. You will notice on the one I circled that you can see a little of the rockwool cube. You just bury the whole thing in your pot of dirt, and the roots grow right through it.
I use slab rockwool now and here is a picture of one container of them that I started a while back. They are just beginning to germinate. I grow more than one per square inch.
The tall green seedlings are papaya.
This message was edited Dec 17, 2004 4:07 PM
Gretchen, those dates look like you started them in August or September? They really look good. Did you do any in January? What do you soak the rockwool in?
WHAT do you do with 300? Where do you put them when you plant them in bigger pots?
Jeanette
Shirley, that is cool. slab Rockwool. Then you just cut them apart with the scissors (sic) ? Is the slab cheaper than the cubes?
Jeanette
Yes, the slab is a lot cheaper, I think. I buy it in pieces about six inches wide by three inches thick and about three foot long. I cut it myself with a serrated knife. It slices like cutting through butter. They are about $8 each and you can cut what you want and the rest can stay in the plastic sleeve and be put away until you need it. Most times after I cut the material in half to make a 1-1/2 inch think slab, I score it into strips and then across the strips as if to be cutting cubes, but I don't go all the way through. That gives me something to go by when planting so I don't get the seeds mixed together.
Shirley, are you careful with that? I know it is insulation and not very safe to handle. sounds like you do a lot of that. Several years ago I bought some to start seeds in but I bought it by the bale. Big bale. I don't know if they even processed it in the sheets of cubes at that time. It really itches if you get it on you.
Jeanette
Jeanette - I think the Argonne place you mentioned is easier for me - just get on the freeway. Getting up to Francis is too much traffic. Thanks!
Yes, I'm careful. I don't even remove the whole slab from the plastic, just the amount I want to cut off. If you spray it with water before cutting, you don't get a lot of it flying around. I'm not sure, but I think there is a difference between the rockwool insulation and this stuff. I'm sure someone here knows about it and I believe it was even written about on a thread in the last year or so.
When I was in the Garden Supply the other day he had a bag of wet "plugs". All ready to use. He sid they were made out of a bark . And there were 50 to a bag for $13 +. Since needed to get going I didn't pursue it. Wish I had asked about it because I just bought a plant off of ebay and there were chunks of bark through the roots.
Karrie, don't go out there until somebody tells me what they soaked the Rockwool with!! I have asked a couple of times but nobody says. I know the guy out there would tell you. I am going back down next week and will get some of whatever it is.
Also Karrie, that place is like a candy store. He carries everything we use. Also, according to his catalog he has 10 gallon pots for $6.95 I think they were. All the sizes in between. I bought some 3 gallon pots for some of my bigger Brugs. Don't have room for very many. Also got saucers.
He also has the Superthrive, Maxicrop, all that stuff. Jeanette
Jeanette, I only use water on my rockwool. Never had a problem.
The little moist plugs are okay if you don't have any fungus gnats around or if you can water them with the BT stuff. I used them last year and probably half of them ended up full of fungus gnat larva. I lost a lot of morning glory seeds in those things as well as some other vines. Also, they don't hold the moisture long enough for me. I had to water them frequently in the greenhouse. Might be different inside a home. Just my thoughts on them.
Jeanette -- sorry I've been out and about, and fixing to leave again. I think many people just use water to soak the rockwool. Since my water is very alkaline, I use the pH balancing soak made specifically for RW. And yes, those were a few seeds that I started towards the end of the summer. The vast majority of the 300 will be planted in the ground. I have about 50 from my own seeds that I'll give away in the Spring, then watch and wait for the keepers to bloom. If they turn out to be nice plants, I'll take cuttings and hold those over in the GH. Also, I like the little cubes just for the ease of use, and I cut what I need while its in a garbage bag, and then cut them out individually as they sprout. I transplant them as soon as they have their seed leaves (cotyledons) into a 4" pot with plain old MG potting soil, because as Shirley mentioned, the RW dries out too fast once you remove it from its hunidified space. Hope this is helpful :)
Thanks Gretchen and Shirley. You guys gotta help us out here and we appreciate it.
Jeanette
Always my pleasure to help in any way I can -- we've all been in your shoes before, Jeanette!
Here are a couple of threads on Rockwool that have lots of good information in them:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/411784/
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/414428/
I now have used several popular methods but none can beat rockwool for me. I would recommend it to everyone. Brugie, I have a huge slab I bought for cuttings but didn't like it for them. I will have to use it for seeds too!
I have such a high germination rate with rockwool. Here are some I just took out of the bag 5 minutes ago, and not one moment too soon. They are getting waterlogged! These are RK X red and I can't wait to see what I get.
Kell -- you lucky girl! That's going to be an awesome cross!
Is there an easy way to label seeds in rockwool?? What is a good number of seeds to plant, per cross??? I used rockwool last year and I love it, so easy, no mess. I fear running outta space for the seedlings, until after the last frost, which is around Easter, whew. Guess I can farm them out to family and pals. How long did it take your seeds to sprout and, at what age did you plant them???
Sherry, if you cut a regular white plastic label in half and cut one end to a point, it will stick right into the rockwool, easily. I've had seedlings that have grown for months without transplanting because I was out of room. They are forgiving. Plant away!! By the way, I have no idea how many I plant in a certain amount of space in rockwool.....probably more than I should, but it works.
It depends on how old the seeds are. If picked within the last month, they sprout very fast. If older, can take a while. I peel all my seeds.
I bought different size plastic food containers. I use the smallest which is about 2 inch round one for 8 or less seeds. I just stuff the rockwood in there. I probably put up to 30 seeds (actually I just counted the one above and there are about 50 bruglings in that one) in the bigger ones which are about 5 inches long and wide.
I use pencil on both sides of a piece of blind. I stick it along the side of the rockwool along the bottom, or you can put it straight up to help keep the plastic off the bruglings as they grow up. I use only one container per cross. Or I would mix them all up.
My advice is to grow all your seeds. Do not worry about room or supplies, throw reason to the wind and go for it! LOL
No, even though I do the above, my advice would be to definitely plant at least 25% more than you have room for. Some do not germinate, and a few die along the way to adulthood.
As far as how many per cross, I try to grow some seeds from all my pods even if named the same cross just in case I screwed up on labeling a flower as to the pollen used. That way I increase my chances. I grow more of the crosses that sound best to me but I like variety just in case there is a winner in one of the more obscure crosses. I have noticed some crosses put out brugs that look so similar while others their offspring is so very different from one to the other.
The truth is, 99 seeds from one pod can all be dogs but that 100th one a real winner. Thus the drive to grow as many as you can!
Thanks, Shirl & Kell, good info. I have received any number of generous proportions of seeds, all crosses, I think, and one envelope was not refrigerated for several days and it was hot (but I keep my aircon on frigid). Do you think the seeds will grow?? I bet they will but I hate to waste time/space, if it's a given that they will not. Also, during the time this fall that my mind was in neutral, I apparently ordered a life time supply of H2O2 (I've tried to locate it for years for my animals and never could, so I will find a place for it); however, it has no mixing instructions or a listing for uses or even a statement or return addy, only 'Guardian of Eden' and when I went to that site, all it said was that GuardianOfEden.com was for sale. I cannot remember who or where H2O2 was mentioned on this forum and doG only knows how much I paid for it, whew. If the person who mentioned it reads this thread, would you post me, or if any of you know of a site where I can 'read up', please advise!!
Sherry, I never keep my brug seeds in the refrigerator. I have no idea how they will do after being cold. H2O2 was in the recipes forum and I'm sure some other places as well. I buy Hydrogen Peroxide at the grocery store.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/423312/
This message was edited Dec 18, 2004 5:35 PM
Took me a long time to find this thread again. Shirley, my daddy, my hubby's mother and my aunt keep their seeds refrigerated, some for MANY years and they germinate, all kinds of seeds. My folks always kept the bulbs, tulips, others, in the frig for at least two months before planting. I 'think' that was because our weather often wasn't cold enough to get a good stand. I wish I could have gotten my seeds into the rockwool when they arrived, but it was impossible, so into the frig they went and I will be planting them this week...it will absolutely break my heart if they don't germinate, keep your fingers crossed!!
Sherry, I think you want to be careful of that H202. It sounds to me like it is food grade. Do you know? Go to a good hydroponic store and talk to them about it. They use it because they use so much water to grow in.
How would you use it for your animals? What kind of animals? Please do not use it until you find out about it.
As far as the seeds in the frig bit, the bulbs and a lot of seeds need stratification to bloom good the first year. Otherwise they have to go through a winter to "set" their hormones. (my dumb explanation)
I can see the horticulturists rolling in the aisles now. But if they can come up with a better description then have at it.
Please keep us posted about your H202. jeanette
The H2O2 that I use, is plain old Hydrogen Peroxide that I buy at the grocery store. I believe its 3% and I use it with some of my homemade fertilizer mixes and bug sprays.
I've been out all day, nursing 'Fish the Dish' our fountain goldfish that we've had for several years. I cannot imagine what's wrong with him, he has a heater, food, and it's not nearly as cold as he has previously experienced. He is beautiful, teal, silver, gold, rusty, and a flirt. I took one of the bubblers outta the brugs in the greenhouse, where Fish is and put it in his water and he seems to be doing better. Cross your fingers.
My aunt/hubby's mom say they always keep all their seeds in the frig and have grown plants years later, including at least one tropical, with no problem. However, I have removed all of mine, tho it might be colder where they are now, than when in the frig, lol, but true. I kept the seeds I started last year in the frig, twice as long as I have these, so I really hope these will be okay. Thanks to all of you who posted me, you all are really super people!!!
H2O2 - I've been breeding competition Golden Retrievers for almost 25 years, and cats, and many other animals. My dogs/cats do not eat kibble, they are fed raw human grade fresh food, veggies, eggs, raw bones, turkey necks, chicken backs, yada, yada. I've recently started washing the food with an H2O2 solution to preserve the shelf life of the raw stuff and I'm sold on it!! I make my own ear wash, for the animals, and the recipe calls for H2O2, and it works great, much better than the one I made with the 3%. I treated my neighbors mixed breed, Katy, for what appeared to be allergy and it cleared her right up. I REALLY like it in the washing machine for woobies, dog beds, rugs, towels, etc. I also use it in the dishwasher for the dog bowls, buckets, and the cats' stuff. We lived all these years without the stuff in the dishwasher, but I've got so much H2O2, that I'm trying it every place it's recommended. I'm planning to use it with the brugs, but I'm not that far along yet. I'm off again, to check Fish....it's getting colder here but the minute!!
PS - H202 site: http://www.dfwx.com/h2o2.htm
Sherry -- that's very interesting! It must ost a small fortune to feed those dogs... I hope Fish is okay :)
Gretchen, what is that flower? Is it for real?
Sherry, Guess you know what you are doing. It is just the way you put it in your original message that had me worried. I know the food strength is very powerful so now I won't worry about you.
Love those Retrievers. Jeanette
Jeanette -- its a Thanksgiving Cactus -- Schlumbergera Truncata 'Barbara'. Isn't it gorgeous? I just adore them, as they brighten up the greenhouse in the winter. I have a humongous Christmas Cactus -- Schlumbergera Bridgesii that's loaded with buds for the first time in years. I moved it outside last Spring and it evidently is finally happy again!
Here's one of my red ones:
Thanks, Gretchen, I'm so fearful for Fish, geeze, I get so involved, I guess I'll always be this way, oh well. I started feeding raw, also called BARF, bones and raw food, when I had a dog that my vet(s), specialist(s) said was 'dying on the vine', we had done everything, he was four. As a last resort, I started feeding raw, the results were past amazing, and we got 9 more wonderful years, he was my heart dog, and remains there today. It really isn't expensive, assuming you have plenty of freezer space and catch the sales. And, the big payoff is that I have almost zero vet bills, my animals, with exception of Fish, are never sick, which is what most that feed raw learn, and most/many raw fed animals live longer. My grands said I should feed Fish raw, ha, and if he makes it through this, I'm going to give it a try. I do occasionally feed a dry, oatmeal feed, that has ground herbs, nuts, etc, called SoJourners Farms, which is excellent, no additives, a high quality natural food that I add meat stock to soak, then feed with their other stuff, raw meaty bones, ground beef, quality scraps, etc. Our animals, like yours, play a big part in our lives. It's 7:45 and Fish is still with us...
ditto on the raw food diet !
Gorgeous plant. My mom had a huge one. I would say 30 inches across or more. It didn't do much of anything until she moved it back into a bedroom she used as a sewing room so she didn't heat it much. It loved that cool climate and bloomed every year. Jeanette
Thanks so much for going to the trouble of explaining that to me, Sherry! And, glad that Fish is doing better! Sure hope he's okay!
Jeanette -- I have a huge one that belonged to my Mother that didn't bloom the first two years I had it (in my kitchen). Last Spring I moved it outside and then put it in the greenhouse last month. Its absolutely loaded with buds and I can't wait to see it in bloom! Its a Schlumbergera Bridgesii, and the ones above are Schlumbergera Truncata.