Ok thanks. I am 4 days away from xfr'ing rooted clones (RW) into ebb & grow buckets of STG inserts for vegging. I may just try your suggestion in a couple of my buckets.
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Sure To Grow Inserts - Anyone Tried Them?
- Thread starter Vespatian
- Start date
Ok thanks. I am 4 days away from xfr'ing rooted clones (RW) into ebb & grow buckets of STG inserts for vegging. I may just try your suggestion in a couple of my buckets.
just chopped 100 clones and am trying to root them in the "sheet" or mat type. It was a gift from my hydro store to see if I like it.
It was kinda a pain in the ass to cut all of them and poje the holes and all that. If it doesnt root any faster or fuller than Rapid rooters already do for me, I wont use it again. it IS a pain to cut it up and poke a planting hole.
Also..... when you push the stem in the STG stuff its like cotton it sticks to the freshly cut stemso you have to be pretty carefull.
So far im not liking them mjuch, but well seehow quickly they root and dry ot and all that...
MG
It was kinda a pain in the ass to cut all of them and poje the holes and all that. If it doesnt root any faster or fuller than Rapid rooters already do for me, I wont use it again. it IS a pain to cut it up and poke a planting hole.
Also..... when you push the stem in the STG stuff its like cotton it sticks to the freshly cut stemso you have to be pretty carefull.
So far im not liking them mjuch, but well seehow quickly they root and dry ot and all that...
MG
HerbNgardn
New member
The little seed cubes are not the best option for cloning. Ask Matt from STG and he'll tell you the same thing. I had 2 full seed trays pop, but I ended up pulling my 36 trial clones out of the STG cubes after 14 days, and put them in my bubble cloner. All but 2 rooted after taking out of cubes. STG is by far the best media I have tried recently, but there are still a few wrinkles to be ironed out when using the Ebb system and other flood and drain methods. Matt has ensured me that things are looking very good in the near future. Keep your eyes open for fixes.
mikecar312
Member
i had algae growth too in my ebb&flo because i like to flood to the top of the stg. i bought some block covers and all is well now. i am doing a run with stg 4" blocks which fit perfectly inside 5.5" pots.
here's a link to the cover i'm talking about:
http://www.n-g-w.com/ngw/gardening_..._4IN_AND_6IN&title=Growing Media&type=product
Once your roots are established there is no reason to flood the top parts of the roots. The parts of the root system that take up the nutrients are much lower, but otherwise over watering should not cause any damage. You do risk root rot when the plants are young.
Mike, u mention they fit perfectly in 5.5 inch pot. That combined with block covers....... well thats how they should sell them! Maybe u should be their marketing guy....
I am doing initial test. The water pooling could be a problem, so I think aeration is super imprtant there. Rockwool probably keeps alot of water in bottom as well, but ya cannot see it. The 4 inch height might be good compared to 6 inch tall hugo rockwool so ya dont get salt gradients.....maybe.
I would like to grow it in same ebb n flow res compared to 6 inch rockwool, but maybe these need more water??? I water 3x in 12 hour flower. maybe I will keep plant small so it needs less water. At least u can see cube and water usage.
I am doing initial test. The water pooling could be a problem, so I think aeration is super imprtant there. Rockwool probably keeps alot of water in bottom as well, but ya cannot see it. The 4 inch height might be good compared to 6 inch tall hugo rockwool so ya dont get salt gradients.....maybe.
I would like to grow it in same ebb n flow res compared to 6 inch rockwool, but maybe these need more water??? I water 3x in 12 hour flower. maybe I will keep plant small so it needs less water. At least u can see cube and water usage.
Rockwool distributes the water evenly it does not like sure to grow have a bunch on the bottom. Sure to grow has been a waste of time, labor, money and a harvest.
The tight fibers are suffocating the roots- the roots try to get out of it.
Not toxic? The plants start to look like plants in PVC grow tents.
The plant does not thrive until the roots are out of sure to grow.
It is a bad product which the manufacturer knows about and tries to blame it on the hydro system. Next they offering a fix for the cap system to disguise their broken product.
The tight fibers are suffocating the roots- the roots try to get out of it.
Not toxic? The plants start to look like plants in PVC grow tents.
The plant does not thrive until the roots are out of sure to grow.
It is a bad product which the manufacturer knows about and tries to blame it on the hydro system. Next they offering a fix for the cap system to disguise their broken product.
I have been running 9 stg insert buckets (one light) and comparing it to 81 hydroton buckets (9 lights). During the first three weeks of veg they performed exactly like the hydroton buckets. The last week of veg they lagged behind. We just flipped into the bloom rooms yesterday and during the move we could see that there was very little root mass hanging out of the inner buckets compared to the hydroton buckets. A couple had no root mass below, which is unusual discouraging. We also noticed that these inserts compressed down approximately 2" during the last 4 weeks. No algae issues.
Hey 420Clones,
Its been my experience with 6x6x6 hugo cubes in ebb n flow that the water does pool in the bottom. Very quickly after watering the liquid goes to about half way down. We have a syringe that we draw solution out so we can get accurate levels. Rockwool you cannot see so its hard to say.
4 inch cubes tend to hold more water.
I think that in general water is held in bottom 2ish inches of mediums like rockwool and STG. Similar.
Its been my experience with 6x6x6 hugo cubes in ebb n flow that the water does pool in the bottom. Very quickly after watering the liquid goes to about half way down. We have a syringe that we draw solution out so we can get accurate levels. Rockwool you cannot see so its hard to say.
4 inch cubes tend to hold more water.
I think that in general water is held in bottom 2ish inches of mediums like rockwool and STG. Similar.
ThePieEyedPiper
Member
So I have 72 of these ebbngro bucket inserts and 144- 4" blocks try out. How many times should I be flooding the buckets per day? I am flooding my tables only twice a day now with the four inch blocks, was three times<too much.
This will depend on a lot of factors, like whether you are using clones or seeds. Personally I would not start seeds or young clones in four inch RW cubes. There is simply too much chance of getting root rot, even at once a day. I even experienced this with 1" rockwool cubes, so I cut them in half so they wouldn't retain as much moisture. And even that was touch n go!
>>I think that in general water is held in bottom 2ish inches of mediums like rockwool and STG. Similar.
Not at all true.
STG is saturated while a RW block right next to it does not have the visible water line.
Due to RW wicking nature it is impossible for it to have 25% wet, 75% dry.
STG does not wick but the water adhesion keeps a pool at the bottom percentage of the soft sponge.
Not at all true.
STG is saturated while a RW block right next to it does not have the visible water line.
Due to RW wicking nature it is impossible for it to have 25% wet, 75% dry.
STG does not wick but the water adhesion keeps a pool at the bottom percentage of the soft sponge.
P E PPEP,
Flood lots at first because the top stays dry.
When roots get lower you will not need to flood for a long time because the bottom 25% takes a few days to dry out.
Make sure to use grorox in some pots so you can compare results.
2-3 weeks in all the STG plants may start to yellow.
If the others get yellow also then the STG may be leeching chemicals into the water.
Flood lots at first because the top stays dry.
When roots get lower you will not need to flood for a long time because the bottom 25% takes a few days to dry out.
Make sure to use grorox in some pots so you can compare results.
2-3 weeks in all the STG plants may start to yellow.
If the others get yellow also then the STG may be leeching chemicals into the water.
I started a new batch of seeds side by side in RW grow cubes and S2G cubes.
Seeds were germinated in paper towel then transfered to the cubes.
The RW was so outperforming the S2G that I felt something was wrong. YEAH, LIKE I FAILED TO READ THE S2G DIRECTIONS that are right on the package.
I will have to try more seeds in the S2G before I can comment on their viability over RW, but RW and aero do not mix well. The RW slowly disintegrates and will clog your filters.
Seeds were germinated in paper towel then transfered to the cubes.
The RW was so outperforming the S2G that I felt something was wrong. YEAH, LIKE I FAILED TO READ THE S2G DIRECTIONS that are right on the package.
I will have to try more seeds in the S2G before I can comment on their viability over RW, but RW and aero do not mix well. The RW slowly disintegrates and will clog your filters.
ThePieEyedPiper
Member
We are also have difficulties with algae.
coopdevillan
Member
Algae
Algae
How can we handle algae on the started inserts ? I start getting quite a bit growing during clones time under hood
Algae
How can we handle algae on the started inserts ? I start getting quite a bit growing during clones time under hood
be careful when using it; i know a lot of people replace mediums in the dwc systems and treat it like hydroton or lava rocks; it holds a lot more water and u have to adjust your water level and feedings accordingly
from what i've seen with it i have not been impressed; i grow in soil, coco, hydoton, rockwool chum, and aero all currently and i've used lava rocks in the past so i don't consider myself biased towards any one medium over another
from what i've seen with it i have not been impressed; i grow in soil, coco, hydoton, rockwool chum, and aero all currently and i've used lava rocks in the past so i don't consider myself biased towards any one medium over another
