jaz1873 said:
Im learning to mate but the impression i got was once u have your clone in the smaller rockwool and the roots are coming through it u then transplant it in to the bigger rockwool which there is a perfect space cut out of it .then thats there till harvest
then smokin ya go
Hey guys, here's the way that an NFT system is supposed to work.
For the NFT system, you've got either tubes or troughs for the nutrient water to flow through. Remember what NFT means. Nutrient Flow Technique. The Nutrient is pumped from the primary reservoir through tubes to the uphill side of the growing troughs. The nutrients then flow through the roots and media until reaching the point at which they fall back into the reservoir.
Some people use no media in the troughs, most use some type of media. Coconut shell, hydroton, gravel, rocks, and all sorts of stuff have been used. I prefer hydroton. It's fairly light and has great porosity. The nutrient solution passes easily through it.
The top of the NFT system should allow a net basket to rest in it and extend to the bottom or near bottom of the growing tube. This net basket should have the rockwool or peat pellet with roots growing out, at the bottom of the net basket and then the rest of the net basket is filled with hydroton or whatever. This provides a starter area for the root system to develop.
This net basket is placed into the growing tube within the media that fills the tube.
A NFT system runs continuously 24/7 with no stopping of the flow. This brings both nutrients and oxygen to the entire root system.
Now, here's the problem with a NFT system. Quite often, the root mass will fill the entire tube and actually block the flow of the nutrient solution. This happens when the flow is interrupted by "timing" the flow or someone is manually shutting the pump off and on. The plant will "sense" a lack of water and expand the root system in an attempt to find more.
This is a very common problem. THE PUMP HAS TO RUN 24/7, NON-STOP.
By running the pump continuously, the plant DOESN'T grow excessive roots and will allow the flow of the nutrient solution to pass through the media and roots to return to the reservoir.
The root system will grow through the media within the net basket, into the media within the grow tube. This is what stabilizes the plant and keeps it from falling over.
Systems that advise the use of NO media within the grow tube are not the proper method of NFT for use with Marijuana. Marijuana has much too much weight ABOVE the tube, and NEEDS the additional support that an intertwined root mass among media gives.
OK, what did I miss? Any questions so far?
