I grow rockwool flood and drain SOG w/LED (formerly 2 GLS 300, currently HLG blackbird) and Jacks 321. I use panda film to cover the flood tray and cubes, and cotton batting at the bottom of the tray to provide some scaffolding for the roots.
Mt first run I did full strength jacks with decent results, but the plants were burnt. Last run I ran at half strength and suffered severe deficiencies into late flower. I’m narrowing down my window for feeding Pineapple Fields.
Where I’ve run into trouble is light intensity, nutrition strength, and flood times.
I’ve been dialing in my light and making adjustments to nutes, but where I’m struggling most is flood frequency and duration.
Any help would be appreciated. I’ll supply whatever additional info needed, just ask.
Thank you for your time. - TB
Here are the ugly broads from my last grow. They don’t smoke half bad, but I know I’m not getting close to their potential.
so i can only go by what i know. i grow in rockwool as well but top fed 3gal buckets. rockwool holds the perfect ratio of water to air, so i think you would want to flood more frequently(every 15-30 minutes) but the duration should only be enough to saturate the cubes. what are your flood cycles like now?
the longer you let the cube dry out, the higher the ec concentration will be in the media and lead to possible burn.
also welcome to the community, your going to love it here.
I flood for 4 minutes (the water level rises about 1/3 of the cube) once an hour after lights on, once mid day, and once right before lights out, towards the end of flower.
I always thought the cubes needed to try back quite a bit to avoid symptoms of over watering, but its likely I took the method applied to seedlings and applied it to the whole life of the plant.
oh wow, i think you need way way more water cycles!!! you may even need to flood during lights out if the blocks get too dry. are you using 4" blocks?
the directions for the cubes they say not to even squish them due to change in water/air capacity.
i water my 3 gal buckets 3 times during lights on and have thought about increasing watering frequency but a shorter duration.
if you were in coco or soil i would say yes let them dry back, but rockwool this isnt the case.
also check to make sure the cubes are soaked to the top with a cycle that goes 1/3 the way up the block. sorry i dont have more input for you.
I grow rockwool, but top feed dtw. So just some general comments …
With flood drain, you get salt buildup in the top of the blocks. So it’s necessary to periodically top feed to flush them out. If not, your ec in the blocks will creep high. You doing that?
1/3rd flood seems low, but that’s an uninformed statement. Can you flood higher? I don’t think longer makes any difference, because your only goals are to replace nutes in the block and pull in oxygen during the drain portion. But maybe the low flood level is contributing.
EC, I run pretty much 1.0 from seed to harvest. Not sure how or if that relates to flood/drain.
I grow in 4" blocks on unislab and I do allow dryback during the dark period, that’s a trial and error thing I think.
I’m not offering much here I realize, but maybe something will help. Good luck!
I do weekly flushes with PH’d RO and a little bit of h2o2.
I can flood higher. I might try 1EC, but my gals get awfully hungry during the stretch.
Admittedly, this could very well be a result of my practices, not an actual representation of the plants needs in an ideal environment.
Regarding dryback, I only really “allow” that to happen during lights out. In my case, I don’t need to water overnight. My plants are light in the morning, but a long way from dry. If you are only in 4" blocks you might not be able to make it through the night. But you could still allow a little dryback if you can make it work. Remember that when your rockwool dries out too much, the EC and the ph will rise substantially, something you obviously want to avoid.
During lights on, when I am actively fertigating, my rockwool pretty much stays fully saturated.
That would explain alot. A few of my issues look PH related, but I keep that pretty well in check. Perhaps I’ll add a mid dark period flood in late flower…
I don’t think there’s any “rule” about not watering during dark. I think that practice came about from trying to limit the amount of moisture (humidity) that is being introduced into your grow during lights out.
If you’ve got your rh in check and your plants need a nighttime feed, go for it.
I suppose another struggle I’m having is what adjustments to make.
I tend to make major adjustments to fix problems, in large part because I have major problems, but it makes it hard to tell what is working and what isn’t. Its all a part of the learning process, but its a struggle with these long flowering gals.
Some days I just wanted to scrap everything and start over lol
I know what you mean. I recently moved to a new grow space and I may as well been a first time grower. Took me until my 4th cycle before I truly thought I had figured it out (again)
Each grow, try to make it better than the last. But yeah, our human inclination to want to fix everything at once isn’t the best approach in this hobby. I’m guilty of that at times too.
Having said all of that, the pic you posted in your original post isn’t that bad! Sure, some leaves would’ve been nice ( - just messing with you) but you brought buds to the finish line. That’s the goal!!
I was disappointed in the terp profile, as PF is supposed to be a real stinker, but everyone who’s tried it has really enjoyed the smoke, so I’m moving in the right direction!
If it was easy to get right, it wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying
- just messing with you) but you brought buds to the finish line. That’s the goal!!