Can nutrient solution safely be boiled???

[Loc Dog]

Have dozens of rockwool cubes from cuts that never rooted. Worried about possible bacteria in them. Was thinking about boiling the solution before hydrating them but worried it may hurt the nutrients. Should it be safe to do??

 

[Ca++]

You can't boil nutrients, no.

I thought you would be cleaning the blocks. Am I reading this wrong?


Rockwool is inert, so you could go silly on it with thin bleach or whatever. Then wash it out without leaving a residual level that would hurt.
Perhaps baby bottle sterilising fluid, if you can't get thin bleach. It kills stuff, but isn't strong enough to need washing off before the bottles are used again. You could give them a soak.. drain..soak... wash out.

 

[Loc Dog]

You can't boil nutrients, no.

I thought you would be cleaning the blocks. Am I reading this wrong?


Rockwool is inert, so you could go silly on it with thin bleach or whatever. Then wash it out without leaving a residual level that would hurt.
Perhaps baby bottle sterilising fluid, if you can't get thin bleach. It kills stuff, but isn't strong enough to need washing off before the bottles are used again. You could give them a soak.. drain..soak... wash out.

Thanks. I tried it then decided to wait till tomorrow to clone them. Will rinse the hell out of them. i got totally screwed by a strainly seller that sent insanely resistant spider mites with the clones and have been battling for months then got botrytis everywhere from trying to keep humidity level high. Was waiting for them to recover enough to get healthy cuts but all plants on verge of death. Any suggestions to save the genetics even if I have to go to tissue culture or several generations of clones to get chemicals out. I have myclobutanil I bought and never used several years ago. I think that takes 6 months to get out of plants.

 

[Ca++]

Not sure how big they are, but mites drown with wetting agent. You should be able to control them enough to get the plant healthy. Then as you take the cuts, you can 100% submerse the cuts for a couple of hours. Then you have week of not disturbing the cuts as they get some sort of root. In that time the mites will again get a hold. However, it's very easy to use your cuts to stir the jug of death every few days.

If you have them after that, then your room wasn't cleaned well enough

 

[Loc Dog]

It is the botrytis that is killing them now. Used no pest strip for 3 days recently in closed room for the mites and humidity level was high again. Cut the stalk on a dead plant and mold went into the air. If I can get these clones to grow, will soak for a few minutes every 3 days and bug bomb the rooms, use UVC every few days on rooms, the no pest strips again. Biggest problem with the mites is they are on bottom of leaves. Have used fogger and still keep coming back. Will not flower again till sure they are gone. I think they use chrysanthamums as bait plant because they love them.

 

[exploziv]

You can't boil nutes solution but maybe you can boil water, treat them, then let them cool and resoak them with nutrient solution?

 

[Loc Dog]

You can't boil nutes solution but maybe you can boil water, treat them, then let them cool and resoak them with nutrient solution?

I was panicking to save genetics and did it already. Will rinse with RO water (maybe boiled again). Should probably dry in toaster oven before using so nutrients at proper level for cloning. I threw in some FloraKleen flushing solution. The cuts are looking better sitting in water than when on plant. Botrytis was working its way up plants, and tops were starving.

 

[troutman]

Nutrient solution isn't your problem.

Soak your rockwool cubes in boiling water for 20 minutes or get new ones.

 

[Ca++]

Forgive me father, for I have sinned. I have twice used old cubes, that were pretty much crusty. I did alright, but did pay a penance with increased, but tolerable, failure rates.

Don't tell anyone I told you that.





Rot bactreria only grow where they can. Get that pool shock (or whatever) on the go. It will keep everything sterile. Though not everything can be saved. Things like fusiarium will grow in the middle of the trunk, where the bleach isn't getting

 

[Three Berries]

Hydrogen Peroxide works as a disinfectant and leaves just water behind.

 

[beta]

I can't imagine that the labor to clean them would cost less than just buying new ones.

 

[Loc Dog]

I can't imagine that the labor to clean them would cost less than just buying new ones.

Did not have time to wait for new ones to come through mail. Plants had suddenly started dying including Chimera #3 that was selling for $10K. Had a bunch of non grodan cubes that came in slabs which were crap. When inserting stem compressed the layers. Fibers were not in same direction as insertion like grodan. They were cubes where the cuttings died before rooting.

 

[Ca++]

Sorry? What was selling for 10K ?


I don't use h2o2 with cuttings straight away. It has caused me failures. I messed about, and found just 24 hours later I could dunk them again to add h202, but not day 1.

Mist farm thingies often run other bleaching agents, so I presume they are fine.

My cutting technique is walk away. Though having h2o2 at hand, I do clean up with it before I start. I have a spray bottle containing 17.5% that see's a lot of action. Just not in my blocks as the plants go in.

I realise some water supplies actually have it added, and can be a very cleansing 100ppm. I'm not sure how that plays out for people that always loose their cuttings.

 

[beta]

Did not have time to wait for new ones to come through mail. Plants had suddenly started dying including Chimera #3 that was selling for $10K. Had a bunch of non grodan cubes that came in slabs which were crap. When inserting stem compressed the layers. Fibers were not in same direction as insertion like grodan. They were cubes where the cuttings died before rooting.

If you have any plain coco it's great for cloning, it's all I ever use. Small 9oz keg cups.

 

[Ca++]

If you have any plain coco it's great for cloning, it's all I ever use. Small 9oz keg cups.

Not sure why I spoke of my blocks. It's years since I used anything but canna coco in seed trays. One of the best things I ever did, trying coco as a block replacement.

 

[troutman]

I've cloned in Pro-Mix.