thoughts on rockwool

[RockyMountainHi]

I do not like RW, it itches, nasty stuff, unhappy little girls when itchy.

It ain't wool like clothes wool -- yeah that's scratchy too

I don't think they are spose to wear it I think it makes better shoes for them,

And friend, - my girls LIKE rockwool shoes.








PS Haps - they seem to like Liquid Karma Also! Thanks!

 

[ronby]

yes, and i have stepped on expanded clay pellets while barefoot on a concrete floor.

it hurts!

 

[lysol]

I am using straight tap water too and not getting algea ( with 1" cubes in DWC the cube stays bone dry ), are those DWC or ebb and flow buckets? You're flooding the cube?

 

[GR8shoeBaDizzle]

I use to hate to clean them damn clay pellets.....

I love to use rockwool for clones and seedlings. Other than that they go into soil after that i always spilled water every where....

 

[humble1]

Rockwool is evil ish, especially from an environmental perspective.
that said, I always have babies going in rockwool.... but i would never use hugos.
single shot and then straight to the landfill?
no thanks.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

It ain't wool like clothes wool -- yeah that's scratchy too

For those of us with more sensitive skin, yes it does itch and we can feel the tiny little rock particles in our hands and fingers. It's not pleasant.

Rockwool is not that great to work with, even if it doesn't personally bother you.

 

[RockyMountainHi]

I have had bad experiences with rockwool. Not a big fan. Algae and mold are just some of the issues using rockwool.To each, his/her own. Just be careful with Rockwool.... They can be very trickyy...

This can be said for about any method by someone - I am an old soil grower (Fox Farms) and - I'll have to wait till I get a harvest to speak with confidence, but I will say thus far - I still have not lost a plant in rockwool - I have clones and seedlings now and they are dong quite well, concidering the diet is the same accross the board - well besides veg and flower

Rockwool is evil ish, especially from an environmental perspective.
that said, I always have babies going in rockwool.... but i would never use hugos.
single shot and then straight to the landfill?
no thanks.

Really?

My friend and mentor has grown plants out of the same block 3 and 4 times!

Where do you get your facts?

For those of us with more sensitive skin, yes it does itch and we can feel the tiny little rock particles in our hands and fingers. It's not pleasant.

Rockwool is not that great to work with, even if it doesn't personally bother you.

While rockwool and fiberglass look alike to the naked eye - they are worlds apart under the microscope. Rockwool is made about like cotton candy - whiich now that I think about it, is also the method they use for fiberglass.

Only one of those three, would I eat.

Now I gotta go look up the MSDS on Rockwool

Here's info from GroDans FAQ's

http://usa.grodan.com/sw55201.asp

7) What is stone wool?

Stone wool is a mineral wool manufactured from volcanic rock. Stone wool is comprised of pores (about 95%) and solids in the form of rock fibres (5%).



8) How is stone wool manufactured?

Grodan stone wool is manufactured from basalt and limestone. These raw materials are heated in an oven at 1500°C, when they melt into lava. The lava is then poured onto a number of discs spinning at a high speed. The centrifugal force throws drops of lava from the discs, which are then transformed into threads. In fact, the process is similar to that used to make candy floss at the fairground. The threads are compressed to form a solid mass, which is then sawn into slabs and blocks.


Made from Basalt and Limestone -- nuttin hazardous there.

No mention of skin irritant, but worth noting. On that note - the lady of the house is - "sensitive" (UNDERSTATEMENT) and there has never been mention of any issues.

I find nothing about ingesting - it is intended for food crops so I doubt it is any more hazardous than volcanic lava

 

[Haps]

My bitch eats the random hydroton on the floor, she eats lava rock too. [dog, not wife]

 

[DarkLance]

I'm in the process of building a new e&f table and was leaning towards the rapid rooter into hydroton.

I've been cloning into RW cubes and i think they hold entirely too much water, even over another medium.

From the environmental perspective, absolutely, you should be avoiding disposable medium. Its also a security issue, as you cannot compost the stuff

 

[dongle69]

Recycle Rockwool:
http://www.hydroponics101.com/sw58002.asp
It is actually good for landfills, too.
Rockwool aerates compost and speeds up the process by 20-30%

 

[RockyMountainHi]

My bitch eats the random hydroton on the floor, she eats lava rock too. [dog, not wife]

looks a LOT like kibble

CRUNCHY TOO

and - back in first wife days - she was the bitch,,,,,,

come to think of it,,, some days,,,,,


never mind.

 

[humble1]

Really?
My friend and mentor has grown plants out of the same block 3 and 4 times!
Where do you get your facts?

I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm saying most people don't.
It's another symptom of our disposable culture.
Would you reuse a slab or hugo after a serious insect or fungal/bacterial infestation? I've talked to folks who reuse slabs and they're battling recurring infestation and serious pH imbalances because the liming agent is washed out.

 

[dongle69]

When stonewool/rockwool is new it contains some residual lime from production.
You are supposed to soak it before use to get rid of the lime.
It is an inert media.
There is no liming agent in stonewool/rockwool.
Lots of good stonewool tidbits scattered on the manufacturer's web site:
http://www.hydroponics101.com

 

[krunchbubble]

used rockwool for years. 4" on top of 6". hand water the top till runoff, couldn't get any more simpler then that!

 

[RockyMountainHi]

I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm saying most people don't.
It's another symptom of our disposable culture.
Would you reuse a slab or hugo after a serious insect or fungal/bacterial infestation? I've talked to folks who reuse slabs and they're battling recurring infestation and serious pH imbalances because the liming agent is washed out.

I dunno there not-so-humble1 - seems a lot of peeps here seem to know a little more than you about the topic. I don't know a hella lot, but I did review a couple websites - and do a little reading - and I pretty well have issues with every notion you posted about rockwool. And from my short term experience - I am not an authority - shit - I'm damn close to being a rookie with this


First few responses in my other thread warned me of huge problems with Hugo blocks and flood and drain -- They wern't bad growers and I'm far from being a grow god. It just shows different results using the same general methods. That happens alot here.


The girls are finishing up the mad stretch - - I've never had a flower room this sick - in a good way.

And GREEN - in a green way

 

[PeteWeedSeed]

I don't understand why people put the rockwool cubes on top of the hydroton, even the manufacturer recommends it be buried under the medium. Hidden from light.
That's the way I do it and I never have any problems with it, and once I pull it on harvest it's still perfectly green without any mold or anything on it.

I also soak my cubes for 24 hours in Supernatural rockwool soak. This stuff turns rockwool into magic stuff, roots just explode out the sides.
http://www.4hydroponics.com/clone/rockwoolSoak.asp

 

[ronby]

the only reason i put my cube on top of the hydroton (rather than in) is because i wanted the extra depth for the roots.

 

[dongle69]

Grodan reccomends either method.
If you bury the cube, take the wrapping off.
If you place the cube on top, leave the wrapping on.
Pretty simple!
Supernatural Rockwool Soak is now out of production.
They have another product now called Super Soak, but it has changed.
http://fearlessgardener.com/

 

[Longhair]

Hello,
I Don't Like It. I Use Jiffy.
Thank You

 

[paulobaca]

used rockwool for years. 4" on top of 6". hand water the top till runoff, couldn't get any more simpler then that!

Whoa you hand water all those?
That is what I call dedication!