Any Rockwool/Grodan Growers Here? - Page 4

Ricky Shaw · January 16, 2017

A friend who lives in rural Weld County 30 minute drive from me, has 2800ppm water. Agriculture and fracking are big out there, but the water was terrible before all the fracking, so it's doubtful that's the cause. Water has a slight sulfur smell and milky, but supposedly okay to drink. They drink and cook with bottled water.

AKmark · January 16, 2017

My meter tops out at 2000ppm, that is just brutal. I remember growing up in southern Indiana and some people having that rotten egg smelling sulfur water. YUK

FourOaks · January 16, 2017

All this talk about funky water reminds me of the Greenhouse/Nursery that I worked for back in 2012.

The Office/Residence on the property had city water. But the Greenhouses and all the nursery grounds were watered from a deep well. We were advised to never even consider drinking the well water.

It had an oddly chemical smell to it. If you washed your hands with it, after the water dried, it was like you had a very small quantity of oil on your hands. Not enough that you could see it, but something was there.

Whatever it was, the plants didn't seem to care. They all grew fine, seeds would germinate just fine. If a well ever needed to be tested, that was the one.

BettaPonic · January 18, 2017

I would recommend using Coco Coir. It is cheaper and you can reuse it. I grow all my Tomatoes in Coco Coir. I use air pots, grow stone, and fertilizer. The big problem with my method is it requires more watering. Coco Coir in general is more tolerant of overwatering.

Nematode · January 19, 2017

http://hortamericas.com/wp-content/u...Properties.jpg

200 is a bit wet for tomato.
I will be using 300 this year.

3 plants per bag, $1 per plant for media isn't too bad.

BettaPonic · January 19, 2017

Because Coco Coir has a high oxygen content it makes it harder to overwater. You have too mix it with something like perlite.

Nematode · January 19, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by BettaPonic

Because Coco Coir has a high oxygen content it makes it harder to overwater. You have too mix it with something like perlite.

There are different formulations with differing air filled porosity levels.
AFP of 10 is very wet (200 material) this is easily overwatered.
That is why 300 is getting a try this year.
At AFP of 25, it should be quite a bit more root friendly.

BettaPonic · January 19, 2017

I just use standard nursery stuff. Then I flush it of salts. You should add some sort of mix. You could use perlite or any other oxygen supplementing media. I use Grow stone mixture.

FourOaks · January 19, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nematode

http://hortamericas.com/wp-content/u...Properties.jpg

200 is a bit wet for tomato.
I will be using 300 this year.

3 plants per bag, $1 per plant for media isn't too bad.

Thanks for the link! So it looks like mixing 30/70 of coco peat and coco chips might be ideal. In the coco world, is chips the same as, or equivalent to long strands of fiber?

What size of bag are you planting in to accommodate 3 plants?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BettaPonic

Because Coco Coir has a high oxygen content it makes it harder to overwater. You have too mix it with something like perlite.

The evidence is pointing to simply using a variety of different coco sizes. But, maybe perlite would be a good substitute?

I think I have read that a ratio of 1:7 perlite to coco might work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nematode

There are different formulations with differing air filled porosity levels.
AFP of 10 is very wet (200 material) this is easily overwatered.
That is why 300 is getting a try this year.
At AFP of 25, it should be quite a bit more root friendly.

Interesting stuff. I think this year im just going to have to conduct experiments to see what yields the best results.

Nematode · January 19, 2017

Bags are about 3 ft x 6" x4"
Need to be watered several times a day on automatic drip.
Perlite works great. But I just didnt like working with it...

FourOaks · January 19, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nematode

Bags are about 3 ft x 6" x4"
Need to be watered several times a day on automatic drip.
Perlite works great. But I just didnt like working with it...

So.. something like the Grodan Slabs???

Do you have a link for the bags? Im interested.

Nematode · January 19, 2017

http://hortamericas.com/catalog/hydr...oir-grow-bags/

PureHarvest · January 19, 2017

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nematode

http://hortamericas.com/catalog/hydr...oir-grow-bags/

Nematode, how many plants do you grow in the bag in the above link? At $3 and not having to hand fill bags, you got me thinking about a trial on these.

It seems to me that it is just like my vertical bags that you drip feed to waste. I get 2 plants in one vertical bag, with media, labor and bag costing me around $5-6.

Or is that just a bag of media that you then have to install into your own container/bag?

Nematode · January 19, 2017

3 per bag.
Feed 5 times/day
Use a 4" rock wool cube for first transplant, second transplant is into riococo bags.

Have seen commercial setups with 6/bag, but things can go wrong in a hurry.
Drip feed to waste.

PureHarvest · January 19, 2017

This one shows 4 holes. Do you just not use one of the holes, or did yours have 3?

http://www.riococo.com/index.php/riococo-300-growbag

Do you flush the bag with water before 1st use?

How many ounces or gallons are you dripping per emitter per day for a full grown plant?

I'm wondering if you could get away from having to use the 4" RW cube to pot on with. Like maybe go from 1' cube seedling right into the bag?

January 19, 2017	#51
BettaPonic Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: NOVA Posts: 114	Because Coco Coir has a high oxygen content it makes it harder to overwater. You have too mix it with something like perlite. __________________ Big Tomato Fan, mostly grow Tomatoes from cuttings, all Tomatoes are grown in Coco Coir/Grow stone. I love Air Pruning.

January 19, 2017	#53
BettaPonic Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: NOVA Posts: 114	I just use standard nursery stuff. Then I flush it of salts. You should add some sort of mix. You could use perlite or any other oxygen supplementing media. I use Grow stone mixture. __________________ Big Tomato Fan, mostly grow Tomatoes from cuttings, all Tomatoes are grown in Coco Coir/Grow stone. I love Air Pruning.

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January 16, 2017	#46
Ricky Shaw Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Zone 6a Denver North Metro Posts: 1,910	A friend who lives in rural Weld County 30 minute drive from me, has 2800ppm water. Agriculture and fracking are big out there, but the water was terrible before all the fracking, so it's doubtful that's the cause. Water has a slight sulfur smell and milky, but supposedly okay to drink. They drink and cook with bottled water.

January 16, 2017	#47
AKmark Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Wasilla Alaska Posts: 2,010	My meter tops out at 2000ppm, that is just brutal. I remember growing up in southern Indiana and some people having that rotten egg smelling sulfur water. YUK

January 16, 2017	#48
FourOaks Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: NC Posts: 511	All this talk about funky water reminds me of the Greenhouse/Nursery that I worked for back in 2012. The Office/Residence on the property had city water. But the Greenhouses and all the nursery grounds were watered from a deep well. We were advised to never even consider drinking the well water. It had an oddly chemical smell to it. If you washed your hands with it, after the water dried, it was like you had a very small quantity of oil on your hands. Not enough that you could see it, but something was there. Whatever it was, the plants didn't seem to care. They all grew fine, seeds would germinate just fine. If a well ever needed to be tested, that was the one.

January 18, 2017	#49
BettaPonic Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: NOVA Posts: 114	I would recommend using Coco Coir. It is cheaper and you can reuse it. I grow all my Tomatoes in Coco Coir. I use air pots, grow stone, and fertilizer. The big problem with my method is it requires more watering. Coco Coir in general is more tolerant of overwatering.

January 19, 2017	#50
Nematode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2012 Location: massachusetts Posts: 1,710	http://hortamericas.com/wp-content/u...Properties.jpg 200 is a bit wet for tomato. I will be using 300 this year. 3 plants per bag, $1 per plant for media isn't too bad.

January 19, 2017	#60
PureHarvest Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Mid-Atlantic right on the line of Zone 7a and 7b Posts: 1,369	This one shows 4 holes. Do you just not use one of the holes, or did yours have 3? http://www.riococo.com/index.php/riococo-300-growbag Do you flush the bag with water before 1st use? How many ounces or gallons are you dripping per emitter per day for a full grown plant? I'm wondering if you could get away from having to use the 4" RW cube to pot on with. Like maybe go from 1' cube seedling right into the bag?