How do you transplant and water rockwool cubes in soil?

Keep in mind I have never used rockwool at all so I don't know how to water it. I have two trays of clones in RW ready to hit dirt but how? I tried this a couple of days ago with one clone. It wilted and the cube seemed dry so I watered it. It never recovered and after opening the cube up to check out roots, they were orange.... Overwatered? I hear dirt dries out theRW, butyou also dont want to overwater it...

How do I transplant these without killing them?

I typically steer away from putting rockwool into either soil or peet. The orange color you see is actually from the cube itself. There is a dye in rockwool that can wash out or saturate your cube (rot is still possible but at this stage your plant would be dead and not wilting.) If the soil is too dense or the columns haven't been aligned to allow drainage, the moisture you're putting in will just sit near the top.

It's just too weird a balance to guarantee the kind of rooting you're looking for, imo. RW with a good root mass will drink and dry too quickly, the soil will not. Therefore there is not reason for the roots to stretch into the soil looking for anything, but all the while everything close to the stalk is consuming in RW as it normally does. If you are going to proceed, you need to leave the top of the cube very visible and unobstructed/compacted. You must be conscious constantly of oxygen intake through the top of the cube and the retention of the soil. Water only the cube with small amounts until the soil has caught up.

Also- how big a container are we talking about for transplant? Are the cubes going into solo cups or 3 gallons or the ground or ...?

I feel its the other way around.... water the soil around the rock wool.... and let the rock wool absorb some of what the soil gives up.... so you don't over water the rockwool right at the base of the plant

MrBungle said:

I feel its the other way around.... water the soil around the rock wool.... and let the rock wool absorb some of what the soil gives up.... so you don't over water the rockwool right at the base of the plant

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Sure, I could get behind that as well. Whatever the case may be plantingplants, just be aware that they will dry at different rates for a time.

That is why I cover my rock wool with soil. Bury it an inch deep, so the soil encloses the rock wool, and in hopes to keep the moisture even. However I always have stress when I transplant rockwool into soil. All ears.

I see most people just plant and water thoroughly. Thoroughly wet soil shouldnt leach moisture from the cube andif cube is buried it shouldnt lose moisture off the top. I am going to bury half an inch and soak the pot and play it by ear from there. Thanks for the help everyone

Another option is to remove excess rw. As long as you don't tear roots you can maximize your root exposure and reduce the needs of rw. I've done this in coco and peet and they were totally fine. However i don't know how fully rooted your cubes are. If your roots are consuming more than 50% of your cube then leave em alone and plant as planned. You should be cool. Cheers!

what mr.bungle said,you can see that very method used,i only cover the 1inch cube with 1/4 inch soil or less,water like mr.bungle did ,mine small 4inch clone in 8oz cup,using 2 ounces of water,with or with out holes in cups.alot of 40 watt 4feet figures.you can see this watering technique @youtube..works great.using pro-mix bale,or nature care raised bed,miracle grow,you can use shake an feed on natures care or promix.peace moon/boom-baa

Put it in, top level of RW equal or slightly above your new medium and water it. Plants are very adaptable. I've done it more times than I can count.