Any Rockwool/Grodan Growers Here?

FourOaks · January 11, 2017

Hey all. Been forever since I posted anything here. Last year everything was doing well, I was the first grower with tomatoes at the market. Then the heat of the summer kicked in and once again my crops took a hit. I have been trying to retool my growbag situation, honing in a water schedule.

Meanwhile, I have also been looking into Grodan/Rockwool. Just curious if anyone here grows in it?

The advantages of Rockwool, it takes several days to dry out. The disadvantage is the price of the Rockwool itself.

Grodan, the largest producer of the Rockwool products has very limited info out there. I have spent the last several months, off and on, researching. I have Googled to my hearts content. I have Youtube'd, and did find an individual who has several short videos. I went to my local Hydroponic store, and asked questions. But Im coming up empty handed.

What got me looking into Rockwool, I took a tour of a very large commercial greenhouse last summer. They had huge greenhouses, utilizing just about every method of growing. Hydro, Raised Beds, In Ground, Grow Bags, but I was intrigued by the Rockwool.

The method that I saw, a transplant was in a small cube, 4x4x2, and that cube was on a slab. All was fed by drip irrigation. 3 Plants per slab.

Grodan offers a bunch of different options. Most I can buy at my local Hydro store, prices comparable, if not better then the internet. But, the cost for the medium would be around $5 for one plant, per season. I did see something about breaking up the cubes and slabs at the end of the year and using it as an additive to regular potting mix. In a sense recycling it.

So $5 per plant. And in my large tunnel, I would like to grow around 90 plants. You can probably start to see the cost issue. Not including Hydro fertilizer.

So, what im really asking, does the cost out weigh the benefits? Does rockwool allow the plants to produce more? If each plant would produce say 3 to 4 times the amount that I am used to, then I am all for it. Obviously commercial growers use it for a reason.

Anyone have any insight? This year, I plan to experiment some with the Rockwool, maybe grow a dozen plants or so.

January 11, 2017	#1
FourOaks Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: NC Posts: 511	Any Rockwool/Grodan Growers Here? Hey all. Been forever since I posted anything here. Last year everything was doing well, I was the first grower with tomatoes at the market. Then the heat of the summer kicked in and once again my crops took a hit. I have been trying to retool my growbag situation, honing in a water schedule. Meanwhile, I have also been looking into Grodan/Rockwool. Just curious if anyone here grows in it? The advantages of Rockwool, it takes several days to dry out. The disadvantage is the price of the Rockwool itself. Grodan, the largest producer of the Rockwool products has very limited info out there. I have spent the last several months, off and on, researching. I have Googled to my hearts content. I have Youtube'd, and did find an individual who has several short videos. I went to my local Hydroponic store, and asked questions. But Im coming up empty handed. What got me looking into Rockwool, I took a tour of a very large commercial greenhouse last summer. They had huge greenhouses, utilizing just about every method of growing. Hydro, Raised Beds, In Ground, Grow Bags, but I was intrigued by the Rockwool. The method that I saw, a transplant was in a small cube, 4x4x2, and that cube was on a slab. All was fed by drip irrigation. 3 Plants per slab. Grodan offers a bunch of different options. Most I can buy at my local Hydro store, prices comparable, if not better then the internet. But, the cost for the medium would be around $5 for one plant, per season. I did see something about breaking up the cubes and slabs at the end of the year and using it as an additive to regular potting mix. In a sense recycling it. So $5 per plant. And in my large tunnel, I would like to grow around 90 plants. You can probably start to see the cost issue. Not including Hydro fertilizer. So, what im really asking, does the cost out weigh the benefits? Does rockwool allow the plants to produce more? If each plant would produce say 3 to 4 times the amount that I am used to, then I am all for it. Obviously commercial growers use it for a reason. Anyone have any insight? This year, I plan to experiment some with the Rockwool, maybe grow a dozen plants or so.