This was taken from the January/February 2007 issue of The Indoor Gardener Magazine

How to Place A Plant in Rock Wool Flakes, Gardex (Mixture Of Vermiculite, Perlite, and Rock Wool) Or In Coco Fibre

By Pierre Bonnard and Jean-Pierre Daime (City Plantes)

In Hydroponics, plants grow on a mineral or vegetal growing medium which is neutral, amorphous and sterile. Plants proster thanks to a nutritive solution (water + liquid nutrients). The support (the substrage or growing medium) simply acts to support the plants and their roots and spreads water and air around the roots.

Expanded clay pellets limit evaporation and the formation of moss on rock wool (Gardex, coco). We can also use quartz gravel or granite shingles (which do not react with nutrients) to decorate the pots surface.

These materials increase the weight of the pot, which can be very useful on a balcony or terrace: it will allow your plants and flowers to resis the winds onslaughts. Place a two-centimetre layer of expanded clay pellets at the base of the pot to facilitage drainage and root aeration.

1- Prepare the Plant

-Remove the dirt covering the roots.
-Take the plant out of its pot, and gently tap the dirt to remove as much of it as possible.
-Rinse out the roots in plain water

2- Prepare the Pot

-Choose a pot with a drainage hole at its bottom. In this example, we used a 26-centimetre diameter pot.
-Place a two-centimetre layer of clay pellets at the bottom.
-Wet the rock wool (Gardex, coco fibre) with water containing nutrients (nutritive solution).
Note: Avoid manipulating dry to prevent the spread of dust
-Place a 2 to 20-centimetre layer of rock wool in the pot (depending on it's size).

3- Install the Plant

-Spread the nake roots on the rock wool (Gardex, coco fibre).
-Cover the roots with a three-centimetre layer of rock woold (Gardex, coco fibre).
-Fill up the rest of the pot with clay pellets (or use more decorative quartz gravel).

4- Maintenance

-Water when the substrate is almost dry (once a week indoors during winter and two to three times a week during summer outdoors). This be[s]in said, you could water as often as you like (10 times a day if you please!) because rock wool (Gardex, coco fibre) always keeps an ideal proportion of water and any excess is drained. We suggest (but it is not required) that you adjust the pH of the water used. Once the pH is adjusted, systematically add a minimal dose of nutrients.

This was also taken from the January/February 2007 issue of The Indoor Gardener Magazine.

Transplanting your Crops with Success- By J. Cimino

1. Choose a vigorous and healthy plant (here, a healthy spreading savory plantlet).

2. Remove the plant from the container (handle the plant by its root ball) and allow the roots to spread.

3. Pre-wet the root ball several times.

4. Wash the roots under tepid water.

5. Let the roots of your plant soak for a maximum of three hours, to remove any organic matter.

6. Using scissors, cut the broken or damaged roots (do not tear them off with your hands).

7. Cut the foliage to reduce its mass compared to that of the roots. That will allow the roots to gain strength.

8. Plant in the coco medium in a suitable hydroponic pot.

9. The savory plant in bloom one year after transplantation.

[Ono Nadagin]

good info, ty for sharing it with us

[gaiusmarius]

you need to specify that this transplanting method is specifically for medium changes to coco or rw, from earth. it also sounds like they are talking about tomatoes or some such low value crop.

when transplanting from coco to coco, there is no need to open the root ball at all, you take the old pot off and burry it in a new bigger pot of the same stuff its in. by breaking open the root ball and rinsing the coco off you are causing the plant loads of stress.

the above system with washing the roots is some thing you would only do when going from earth to rw or hydro balls. if going to earth, there is also no real need to wash the roots, just transplant to coco and start watering with a coco ph and thats it.

good info though, other then the thing of washing the roots. not saying this can't be done, just saying that it will cause a lot of stress to the plant that is not necessary.

[gaiusmarius]

from soil to coco it makes good sense. as long as one is very careful and uses phed water if poss, maybe even with a dash of rhizotonic in the water, then dunk your plants root ball and let the earth wash off. a little bit of earth left on will not matter.