I would like to use rockwool cubes to germinate seedlings prior to planting in soil and for rooting cuttings. What do the wrapped RW cubes go into? Is there a frame over a tray that they sit in? I'm not planning on doing a full hydroponics setup but thought this forum would be able to point me in the right direction. I've browsed propagation but with search being down, I might have moved right over it.
Thanks in advance,
Maggie
seed germination/rockwool
just to let you know rockwool is spun lava rock (fiberglass) so it will stay in the soil and not break down.
What do the wrapped RW cubes go into? now really sure what your asking here ..
But if its the small 1 inch cubes , after you get germination and a good root growth
you remove the plactic wrap and place the cube in to a larger one that has a hole
cut in it for it. or you can get soild ones and just leave the wraper on and set it on
top of the solid one. the wraper just holds it in shape so it dont fall apart and swell up.
using rockwool is tricky and take some getting used to.
To wet and you get mush.
To dry and seeds & plants die.
what i do is soak my cubes in ph 7.0 water for a few hours. to balance the ph of the
cube itself. then i just squeeze some of the water out but not all of it. squeeze till its
like 3/4 of its size ( 1 inch cube , squeeze till its 3/4 inch ) there is a grain to the wool
so you will notice that it squeezes easer one way and harder the other
push the seed in the rockwool. and just place them in a black tray with a clear dome.
check on them every day to make sure they dont dry out. mist them with water if you have to.
Dont be afraid if you see green stuff growing on the top of the cube .. alge ...
you can stop this with some thin cardboard with a slot and hole in the center for the plant
just lay it on the top of the cube around the plant.
http://www.plantitearth.com/store/product.asp?pid=548&catid=62
Rooting cutting is about the same , you just have to keep a eye on the rockwool so
it dont get to dry. I find it easer and faster to use a aerocloner or bubblecloner
which are simple to make .. there is a few threads in the propagation fourm on them.
also remember there is no plant food in rockwool ...
I have had better luck rooting the seeds paper towel method wet in a ziploc, once you have sprouts, place them into the rockwool hole. The sprout will find its way out in a couple days. I just set them in a tupperware to soak up water and place them in the black tray with dome as well. Don't bother fertilizing till your first leaves appear and spread out. Don't plant it in soil until you have healthy roots shooting out of the cube. good luck!
I was the G-house buyer at our local hydro/rare-plant shop and used rockwool all the time for cuttings. I had great luck with the rockwool sheets and just kept a little water in the bottom of a nursery flat. I also added a little superthrive, a cloning gel and often a little seaweed extract (all at 25% recommended strength). This worked very well for most cuttings and you can fit 90-something to a flat. Be very careful with any xeric (dry loving) plants, rockwool gets too wet. Also, if the rockwool ever dries out, its very hard to re-wet. Ohter than that, I followed a very similar proceedure to VBSparky for cleaning and prepping the medium. I also second the notion of a spray cloner, they are great. Plants that dont root up in anything will root like crazy in a cloner, including woody plants, I got some rare rhododendrons (tropical epiphytic rhodys) to root in a cloner when I only had 15% success in other methods.
Seeds are trickier. I had mixed results with seed in rockwool. Some love it, some hate it. It depends on the native conditions for the plant but I always had worse results in rockwool than other methods. I germinate most seeds in either promix or, if you feel rich, FoxFarm Light Warrior Agriponic mix (this stuff rocks!, but its pricey ~$20/bag in the NorthEast). In my experience, the only real advantage to germinating in rockwool is if you want to go directly into an ebb-flow hydro setup without cleaning roots. The paper towel method works great as long as you dont get fungal growth. I usually start seed on a plug tray with a dome. Look up the germination cues for each plant and you should be well off.