Excited Roots

[waychillin]

Hello,

 

I'm a relavtive nuub as to this as it's only my third crop. I'm growing "red devil" in perlite. Anyway this is my first time growing in perlite and wonder what people thought of it as a growing medium? Furthermore how often do people think it'd be appropriate to water in perlite given that it doesn't seem to hold a lot of moisture.

I now have a problem. I've just turned the plants over to 12/12 and lifted up the the grow tubs to find the resivours beneath full of roots. What should i do with them? A mate said to put a spacer in because they'll rot. Will they harm the plant if i leave them there? Looking for any shared knowledge.

[Tom]

Hi there waychillin, welcome to Oz Stoner's.

 

I'm a relavtive nuub as to this as it's only my third crop. I'm growing "red devil" in perlite. Anyway this is my first time growing in perlite and wonder what people thought of it as a growing medium? Furthermore how often do people think it'd be appropriate to water in perlite given that it doesn't seem to hold a lot of moisture.

I use a 60/40 combiation of perlite and vermiculite, the vermiculite retains a little moisture, there is a link to my hydro set-up in my signature.

 

now have a problem. I've just turned the plants over to 12/12 and lifted up the the grow tubs to find the resivours beneath full of roots.  What should i do with them? A mate said to put a spacer in because they'll rot. Will they harm the plant if i leave them there?

As long as they are white the're fine, they are just following the food.

 

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[Guest Field_of_Light]

IMO underwatering them promotes excessive growth towards the bottom of your pots and out into your pot lines.....ppl have mutiple opinions on just how much to water when using the diff mediums...I have found that 4 times per day during stage one and 6 times during stage two is optimal for my needs.......

 

Dont water in the off cycle of your babies.......

[white_cluster]

perlite is fine by its self mate, its an excellent medium.

I use a 2/1 mix of perlite/vermiculite usually.

[wassily]

It depends on the system - if you're using a bubbler, no probs, if your using top feed or nft make sure they don't get exposed to the air too often. I wouldn't worry too much unless they block your drainage. I pull a mat of roots off the bottom of the buckets i grow in at the end of each harvest. It hasn't caused a problem yet. I suppose in a passive system you might get some root rot possibly.

[waychillin]

Thanks for the replies, The system is your basic recycling setup with 4 plants with a resivour under each draining back to a central feeding resivour. I have air stones in each of the resivours under the plants. So hopefully the babies wont have any probs with root rot/fingers crossed. And i think i'll give the verm/perl mix a shot next time as i was i was watering every 3 hours whilst they were on 18/6. Now i'll water every 2 hours on 12/12. And i think i'll get a filter over the drain holes.

[Guest weekprik]

mate cover the roots so they cant see light and add some Oxyplus or similar.

[Tom]

I used to grow in straight perlite with no problems, I found adding vermiculite did improve their growth rate so I now use a 60/40 mix of perlite and vermiculite.

 

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[Luke Skywalker]

I found the opposite tom, maybe I've got a crap supplier for vermiculite.... Are there larger grades that won't clog up drains? And how do you get around the vermiculite settling?

 

Perlite's great stuff, I only use one type though, as there are several brands sourced from different mines, this brand is much larger in avg size and seems to have a lot less dust, it also lasts quite a few changes too....

Anyway, the brand is "Premium Perlite" by Waterworld Wholesale. It comes in a big yellow, 100l bag, and from personal experience, beats all the other perlites I've tested hands down. You should be able to get it from hydro shops, but you may have to ring around.

[Tom]

I found the opposite tom, maybe I've got a crap supplier for vermiculite

Mines made by the "Australian vermiculite and perlite company" it comes pre-mixed at 60/40 and costs me about $50 for 100 litres.

 

Are there larger grades that won't clog up drains?

A mesh screen over the drain opening should fix that, I use run-to-waste so it's not a problem for me.

 

And how do you get around the vermiculite settling?

I allow for that when I fill the pots and you can always top them up.

 

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