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6" RW no growth, cubes not draining

method187

Member
Just looking for some expertise.

3 days ago I transferred my clones into 6" rw cubes which previously I soaked in 5.5ph water.

I didn't feed them nutes right off the bat because the cubes were obviously soaking wet. The next day the cubes were still quite wet but I watered with half strength nutes just to get the plants some food.

The following day (yesterday) I did not feed them at all because the cubes were still very wet and heavy and the leaves are a little droopy (sign of overwatering). So I left them overnight and this morning I checked on them and the cubes are still very heavy and wet.

I have the 6" cubes sitting on corrugated plastic roofing panels that are pitched slightly to provide drainage. I am top feeding them by hand right now and the runoff goes down the panel into a gutter system and DTW.

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I am worried the plants aren't getting enough nutes and why these cubes are not draining/evaporating water. I don't want to go several days between feedings, but I also do not want to overwater them either.

The plants are still the same size as when I put them in the cubes 3 days ago. They aren't showing any major signs of stress other than the leaves drooping a little like I said.

Any recommendations?
 

OldPhart

Member
RW is awesome, just because it holds so much water. What ever you do, don't squeeze them, that would break down their structure. You could always take them outside, and 'sling' the water out of them, then water again with nutes. but I would personally just waste a little nute solution and just pour it through the blocks to replace the water. I wouldn't worry about them being over watered, RW is also very good at maintaining proper air, along with the massive amount of water.
 
After their first watering, the 6" cubes can go a 5-10 days without being watered again. Once you see the first roots coming out the bottom of the cube, it's usually a good sign to water again.
 

Spaventa

...
Veteran
Oxygen to roots... Did they go into the 6" cubes bare rooted? or in 1" starter cubes? I would get them to root out 3" cubes first and then move in the 6" cubes.
 

bsgospel

Bat Macumba
They do look a little over watered but nothing to worry about.

Easy solution to draining these (if you didn't already know-) Stack your plant on top of an un-used/new cube (doesn't hurt if it's a little damp, as well.) The capillaries will line up and open- then all the water will drain into the new cube. Your cube with the plant in it should now be light and able to breathe a bit easier and ready to take on new moisture (but of course this is not the same as flushing!! Your ec/ph will still need to be stabilized!)
 

method187

Member
I guess the issue there is I have 72 of these plants/cubes going and don't have 72 extra cubes laying around right now lol

I'm less concerned with the overwatering issue and more concerned that they haven't grown an inch in 5 days since being transferred to the rw cubes and just look lifeless.
 

bsgospel

Bat Macumba
You only need one extra cube. The extra water will drain instantly. Repeat 72 times. Your plants will grow if the roots stretch and they won't do that if they're water logged/don't need to search for water.
 

method187

Member
You only need one extra cube. The extra water will drain instantly. Repeat 72 times. Your plants will grow if the roots stretch and they won't do that if they're water logged/don't need to search for water.

Gotcha. I just figured after a few cubes, the cube used to drain would get pretty saturated. I'll give it a shot.
 

sturgeongeneral

Active member
Veteran
Personally, when I transplant my clones to their permanent 4x4 home I always squeeze the excess water out so I can get to my regular every other day veg feeding. And I start with plain ph water until I see signs of them bein g hungry, then I add a very light dose like 25ml to 40gal and work up..
 

yts farmer

Well-known member
Veteran
You've been given some pretty good answers here to get over your problem.

On your next round, soak your larger rw cubes a few days before you need them and it may help a bit.

When i first started growing i was using rockwool in nft and after a while when transplanting up from 1 inch cube to 4 inch cubes i stopped pre soaking my 4 inch cubes and started watering straight through the whole in the centre until i get a little bit of run off, then with my spray bottle wet the walls of the hole.

Never had any bad reactions doing it that way and always had roots visible within a couple of days, once that happens wet the cube some more and would never transplant to the nft table's until roots were busting out of the bottom of the cubes.

Peace.
 

method187

Member
Some of this info will definitely help for the next round and thanks for the input everyone.

But unfortunately i'm still in the same position. It's now day 6, the cubes are still about 50-70% saturated by weight estimation even after slinging all of them out which was quite a task to do 72 times lol.

I tried setting the soaked cubes on dry cubes but they are not wicking away very much water at all. After a couple of hours the dry cubes underneath are still basically bone dry except a little moisture on the very top from the ridge lines from the bottom of the wet cubes.

I tested the ph of the cubes which is about 6.1. So no issue there.

Again, my main concern is that these plants aren't growing. My dilemma is should I just keep waiting for the cubes to dry/drain or should I feed them again with nutes?

I just want to help these plants grow so I can move towards flipping them into flower. I feel like i'm stuck in mud here.
 

Ogtg2213

Member
I've had this problem before,
Feed with oxygenated nutrients at 68f constantly or if hand watering do it every couple hrs, and basically treat it like dwc until the roots pop through
This will acomplish a few things, it will fix any nutrient/ph/dissolved oxygen/tempature issues all in one shot.
Next go around set up a drip or recirculating system for preveg and don't go to the larger cubes until you have good roots coming out of the rockwool. Ph and dissolved oxygen will change quickly in the cube so a constant drip or frequent flooding takes care of those issues for you
 

sturgeongeneral

Active member
Veteran
Squeeze the excess out. They will be fine. Dont feed again until the cubes are light. All it does is keep the cubes saturation up and they'll never dry out that way...
 
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