Rockwool vs. soil for germinating seed

[Timbotide]

I would like to hear from some of you that have used
rockwool cubes as a media for seed germination.
Any pros or cons that you can provide will be appreciated.
I am looking at either using rockwool or the parks bio dome
as an alternative to the soil mix I'm currently using.

Tim

[mdvpc]

I have been using rockwool the past few times. When I plant the cube in my container, I use a pair of scissors to gently cut all 4 sides of the cube to make sure the roots get dispersed.

You have to soak them for a few hours to reduce the high ph.

[les matzek]

hi tim,
i use 4" rockwool blocks i fill the hole with light warrior
seed starting mix i put 2 seeds in each hole i put the blocks in a plastic bag and put them on the top of my
frezzer once they germnate i put them under my grow
lights ( four ft. 8 tube flourescent fixture ) till the true
leafs appear than i put the grodan blocks in my mege-tainers the roots penatrait the blocks and grow in to
media.
when my daughter comes for a visit i have pictures
of my broc. and caulif. growing in my megatainers
that she will post for me,regards.

les

[Mischka]

I bought a few blocks of coir last spring and tried it as a seed starter. I had great root development but it had to be watered a LOT.

That being said, I've also used rockwool cubes and wish they weren't so expensive. I bought sheets of them from Worms Way (they have a store close by) and used them to start cuttings from a rare variety that I only had two seeds to begin with.

Rockwool cubes + Clonex = almost 100% success cloning plants.

[casino]

Sorry, I have not used the rock wool cubes to start my seeds, they are a little pricey for me but the use of rock wool cubes has always fascinated me. I do understand when you say that you want to use rockwool as an alternative to the soil mix, damping off can be a problem and the cubes are cool.

I have tried my own experiments using cotton balls to start my seeds instead of using rock wool cubes, it works but it is a very specific process. too complex for the average user. Therefore I dont do the cotton ball garden any more, I found something better.

To avoid any soil damping off I now pre-start my seeds on plain paper towels. It goes like this. I get a glass dish and place one sheet of plain paper towel on it and moisten it. Then I cut up a sheet of plain paper towels in 1 X 1 squares and put them on the plate, moisten the squares with a spritz of water, put one seed on each paper square, put a sheet of clear plactic wrap to cover the seeds, put the dish in a warm area and when the seeds germinate take tweezers to pull out the paper squares with a germinated seed, plant one germinated seed square in a soiless planting mix and I get close to 100% germination with no damping off, and its cheap.

I can start hundreds of seeds using a small stack of dishes and it works.
Its also a good way to check the viability of your seeds. Use plain cheep paper no perfume, no additives, no hand moisturizers, just plain paper. Also on the clear plastic wrap, use a magic marker to write the date when you planted your paper towel garden to count the days of seed germination.

I have a hydroponic store close to me and so I want to SEE the planting process before I invest is the cost of the cubes to start my seeds, but for cloning plant cuttings that rock wool stuff is awsome.

[amideutch]

Two other systems I use and have had excellent results with are the Jump Start and Root Riot systems. Here's a link. Ami

http://homeharvest.com/seedstartingrootingmedium.htm