from dirt to dro

[themadhatter]

question 1 - is it possible to start your plants in dirt and transfer them to a ponic system?

question 2 - everyone has there ways of doing things but i want to hear some stuff about sprout care, the most early stages of the plants most critical care. (please no germ tips)

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

1) yes but it is difficult and I would not recommend it. The entire root system must be thoroughly cleansed after removing from dirt. This must be done quickly so that the roots are exposed to as little light as possible. The ENTIRE root system must be COMPLETELY clean or you are just going to end up clogging your pump. The water you use to rinse the roots should be room temperature or you could shock the plant. Taking the plant from dirt to hydro is very stressful to the plant, and even if you do all of this very carfeully the plant could still stress too much and turn hermie. I would say just finish out the grow and then switch. You certainly will not benefit the plants by switching them. One other tip, the younger the plant, the easier it is to transplant from one medium to the other.
2) As far as taking care of seedlings, they just need plain water, a fragile touch, and lots of light....or did you mean clones?

 

[themadhatter]

1) yes but it is difficult and I would not recommend it.
2) As far as taking care of seedlings, they just need plain water, a fragile touch, and lots of light....or did you mean clones?

1-thank you for the info on Q:1, i am always trying to think of new ways to work things out, find out what works better than normal, and what is worse, i will not even attempt i was just curious. i have never done a dro grow, ive been looking into it alot as of late, now i'm curious how dro grow seeds get germ-ed.



2-nope just regs, im not at the clone level yet.

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

when I have germinated seeds for dro in the past I have used rockwool cubes. I soak the cubes and germinate the seeds and keep the cubes wet in a humidity dome until the roots grow through the cube, then I move them to the dro system. It is tricky at first and you really have to keep an eye on your water levels when they are young. Since the root system is only like an inch or two long once sprouted you need to make sure the water rises up past the roots when you flood the pots, but not so high that you flood the seedling and dislodge it from the rockwool...pain in the butt.

 

[themadhatter]

rockwool are those little brown balls right? (sry dont know much when it comes to the dro systems)

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

here is a pic of a slab. The ones I used were 2" squares.

View attachment 19.bmp

 

[themadhatter]

then what the heck are those little balls called, ive asked a few people but to no avail. ( i feel stupid omg )

 

[NYC_Diesel x Jack_Herer]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hydroton-Grow-Rocks-10L-Clay-Grow-Medium-Hydroponics_W0QQitemZ250375218522QQcmdZViewItemQQptZHand_Tools_Gear_Equipment?hash=item250375218522&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

I believe you are talking about Hydroton, this is the material that replaces dirt as the grow medium in a hydro system (this is just one type, there are many). The link is to some that is being sold on ebay so it will only work for a while. But the pic shows the little round brownish red balls. This is a clay like material that holds moisture very well, for hours and days. The roots grow around these little balls and slowly suck the moisture out of them. When the hydro system floods, the balls suck up more moisture, the system drains, and the roots have new juicy wet balls to suck from....wait that didnt come out right.


And don't feel dumb asking questions, read my signature.

 

[themadhatter]

yep that is exactly what i was thinking of!

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I have successfully "transplanted" several times from soil to hydro with no problems whatsoever.

If you are just starting out, I would recommend a DWC system. It is absolutely the easiest most foolproof of hydro systems IMO.

 

[WeedHopper]

I transfer my seedlings to a Neopreme incert,, once they have a taproot.(paper towel). http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showpost.php?p=417269&postcount=9
and then,,look at taproot overnight growth
http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showpost.php?p=417918&postcount=11

Just took these, he popped his head out yesterday. Lowryder.

 

[pcduck]

I have successfully "transplanted" several times from soil to hydro with no problems whatsoever.

If you are just starting out, I would recommend a DWC system. It is absolutely the easiest most foolproof of hydro systems IMO.

:yeahthat: Works great. I place my plant that is in soil, in a tub of ph adjusted water. Gently swish it around, then place it in the DWC hydroton.

 

[311Grower]

it's certainly not the best route but I've not had any problems with this method and it's easier than rockwool b/c you don't have to worry about the pH issues that rockwool can give you... I used jiffy cubes to start my seeds off in and once the tap root was coming out the bottom I transplanted the whole thing into a DWC bubble bucket and haven't had any issues, no dirty water or anything.

 

[311Grower]

rockwool are those little brown balls right? (sry dont know much when it comes to the dro systems)

that's hydroton (clay pellets)

rockwool is a synthesized material that is a bunch of fibers all squeezed together and usually in the form of rectangular slabs or blocks.

 

[themadhatter]

so to my understanding theese bubble buckets dont use the hydroton?

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

No, bubble buckets do use hydrotron.

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=100927&d=1234985521

The hydrotron goes into the net pots. I would caution against something like Jiffy Cubes to start your babies. Although 311grower may not have had trouble with them, they can disintegrate and cause problems in hydro. If you do not like using rockwool, try something like Rapid Rooters.

 

[DirtySouthernAfficionado]

I also sprouted in the dirt and moved to a DWC hydro setup. My plants were about 2 weeks old when I transplanted, haven't had any issues. They are about 10 weeks old now, 6 weeks in flower.
I persoanlly stray away from rockwool. I've never had problems with cloning or germinateing seeds until I used rockwool. Not to say there is anything wrong with it, I'm sure if I tried again I could get it right. I just as soon build an aero-cloner. Easiest way to get clones ready for any hydroponic setup.

 

[scatking]

I have germed in coco in a net pot and then simply move the entire pot and plant to my dwc with great success. This way the pant suffers no trauma form transplanting and spends its entire life in the same medium. Less stress=faster grows and less maintenance. I llke to keep it simple

 

[themadhatter]

is there anything i could use in place of the clay pellets, like loose pebbles?