Building a homemade propagation dome to start my seeds in from a large rubbermaid container since I wish to use 4'' rockwool cubes and standard propagation domes are not large enough. My question is how much light from LED's should i use for my dome? I am looking at 12, 24 and 36W led's. Also looking at maybe getting 2 for better coverage for my 5 seedlings. Whatcha all think?
Homemade propagation dome - How much light? LED's
fanleaf
Well-Known Member
Sorry
Wish I could help but I've had about 100% propagation without a dome.
Wish I could help but I've had about 100% propagation without a dome.
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fanleaf
Well-Known Member
Im one of the biggest advocates of growing with LED but for that you can just use a few 24w (100w equivalent) cfl's in 6500k color temp and save yourself some bux. If your stuck on using led for it anyways I would look at Mars Hydro's smallest led.
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I agree with fanleaf. No advantage to spending $$$ on a LED bulb for cuttings. Use whatever is cheapest and will cover the area. They don't need much light while getting established.
billy13778
Well-Known Member
good info - not much light - cheap cfl's - how far to place the lights from the cuttings? - directly under the lights?
Not at all critical. You are mainly supplying the cuttings with the proper photoperiod to help them realize they should be growing roots and veg'ing. You aren't actually trying to grow plants at this stage.
Why a 4" rockwool cube? You must be planning on a hydro grow(?). I ask only because I hate rockwool.
fanleaf
Well-Known Member
I dont like rockwool either. I have some still from my only purchase of it. I should probably toss it.
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The 4'' rockwool cubes was to try and get the largest root system possible before planting into my final container. I have come to realize this is defiantly not necessary but thought it might help. Maybe I will settle on a small air pot to be able to re-use
The deal is I have 1 grow room that I will be able to fill with half the total number of plants i am allowed to grow. I would like to have a few small led's to veg the other half while i am waiting for the original half to finish flowering, so some wattage would be necessary, but I am not sure if I have the room.
The deal is I have 1 grow room that I will be able to fill with half the total number of plants i am allowed to grow. I would like to have a few small led's to veg the other half while i am waiting for the original half to finish flowering, so some wattage would be necessary, but I am not sure if I have the room.
fanleaf
Well-Known Member
The key to the best root system you can get isn't rockwool but rater a healthy medium that will encourage root growth. Probably the biggest factor for massive root growth for a newer grower is to not overwater.
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Exactly!
I'll add the grow medium should be something that is light/loose, does not compact easily, with plenty of drainage, and is PH compatible with our crop. Rockwool should fill the bill, but I had PH nightmares with it.
I'm not a big fan of rockwool either. I got a big sheet of 1.5x1.5" (or close to that) squares for my first clone attempt. I had the highest success rate putting clones in rockwool, but not much better and not really worth it IMO. It could have also just been the ambient conditions were more favorable to clones at that time, it's been cooler and less humid for recent attempts. As the rockwool ages/wet-dry cycles/gets covered with dust/whatever, it becomes slightly hydrophobic.
Since rockwool is technically a hydro grow, the roots in the rockwool need 5.5 pH (IIRC). The roots in soil need 6.5 pH. I believe it is that which caused some slight nute problems for me with the small cubes in a 16 oz cup. Once the majority of the roots were outside the rockwool, the plants did much better. I now use sifted soil from the start and it's much better (the cheap store brand soil I use to start seeds/clones has a fair number of wood chips and sticks in it). You can also get peat starter blocks which I've heard good things about but never used myself.
Since rockwool is technically a hydro grow, the roots in the rockwool need 5.5 pH (IIRC). The roots in soil need 6.5 pH. I believe it is that which caused some slight nute problems for me with the small cubes in a 16 oz cup. Once the majority of the roots were outside the rockwool, the plants did much better. I now use sifted soil from the start and it's much better (the cheap store brand soil I use to start seeds/clones has a fair number of wood chips and sticks in it). You can also get peat starter blocks which I've heard good things about but never used myself.
billy13778
Well-Known Member
my best cloning (4 for 4), i used willow tea and then straight into good soil. was i just lucky?
fanleaf
Well-Known Member
Maybe, but the op wasnt talking clones. He was talking sprouting seeds in rockwool.
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