2ft clones in 1gal promix - transplant to hydro?

[caregiver123]

Just as title says: 

Is it possible to transplant 2 ft clones growing in 1 gal pots of promix to a DWC system?? Just shake the dirt off the roots a bit and pop them in the baskets and fill in with hydroton?  This is what I’ve done before with clones in soil/coco, but they’ve never been this big. 

Otherwise I gotta research growing in a 70/30 coco/perlite mix. I’m not exactly sure how to manage nutrient levels and deal with run off, etc. But maybe I can just drop em in my hydro baskets?

 

Thanks guys!!

[Restorium2]

Have done it and it works surprising well. Your level of success is going to depend on how much of the roots stay intact. 

[caregiver123]

That’s good to hear. The more I read about coco, the less I wanna go down that road. It seems like to get the most out of it is to treat it like hydro, hand feeding multiple times a day, etc, etc. I was looking for something that was less work than my DWC buckets, not more. 

Any advice on the best way to transplant these big girls out of their dirt and into the water?  Gently. Lol.  When I’ve transplanted  smaller clones like this, I’m not really concerned about getting all the dirt off. In fact, it seems they transition better when some dirt is left on when they go into the baskets. But I imagine the dirt is gonna be harder to remove on these larger ones.  I could dip the roots in water to clean the dirt off maybe if it won’t just fall off shaking it a bit?  I just don’t know if that’s really necessary, and the more I mess with them, the bigger the chance of breaking roots. 

Thanks!

[Restorium2]

Definitely dunk the whole root ball under water in a larger container. Keep gently swishing it around until all the dirt comes off. 

[caregiver123]

Will do. After reading more, it seems this is the recommendation. Also sound like it’s best to dial back the nutrients to like 1/4 strength at first to avoid shocking them.  Plants this size I would be typically be giving 20/25/10ml per bucket of my GH trio. 

Edited October 7, 2018 by caregiver123

[Restorium2]

1/2 strength 

[caregiver123]

Groovy.  20/20/10 is half strength according to recirculating GH chart.

I transplanted a couple of these teens out of their promix and into their DWC buckets. It’s been 2 days and they are standing tall and looking very good. Over a couple days, I’ve transplanted a few more and so far they are all looking healthy.  I’m just praying they stay that way. I’m so afraid to wake up one morning and find em wilted. 

I double rinsed them in 5 gal buckets of water. A lot more dirt, etc stuck to the roots than I anticipated, but I shook out as much as I could.  They were clean enough where I could slip some roots through the bottom of the baskets. But it was quite a root/dirt ball sitting in the baskets. I’m afraid of soaking this root ball too much- maybe lowering the water level below the baskets more?  I’m not sure what else I can do for them at this point.  I hope they continue to do well. 

[Restorium2]

Amazing isn't it? Treat them the same as you would on a regular run now.  

I use the chart but ultimately go for ppm. I'm running GH in aero not hydro but it's almost the same. 

[caregiver123]

I’m quite amazed. Bare root clones just seem so vulnerable. I’ve transplanted groups of 10 or 12 several times and I almost always have a couple that have trouble or totally die.  18”+ roots hanging down into fresh nute water in optimal conditions and they die.  I dunno if the “dirt” helps buffer them somehow.  Roots created in dirt compared to creation in straight hydro are very different. It’s strange that transplanting from dirt to hydro seems to be less shocking than hydro to hydro.

[Marcustomer]

Hey caregiver, how did this process work out for you in terms of success rate with number of plants that made it along with yield.  Did you notice any stunting of the plants or yield?

[Restorium2]

41 minutes ago, Marcustomer said:

Hey caregiver, how did this process work out for you in terms of success rate with number of plants that made it along with yield.  Did you notice any stunting of the plants or yield?

It's better than starting over but not quite as good as a clone from an aerocloner going straight to hydro or aero. 

There's a little bit of a 'lag' that you don't see from plants that were not in dirt. 

[caregiver123]

4 hours ago, Marcustomer said:

Hey caregiver, how did this process work out for you in terms of success rate with number of plants that made it along with yield.  Did you notice any stunting of the plants or yield?

This process works quite well. I have never lost any plants doing this and yields are comparable to straight hydro. It works best if you transplant them to hydro before they get too large - maybe a foot or 18” max so they have more time to assimilate to the hydro environment. But I guess that depends on when you chose to start to flower your plants. Also, 1 gal poly bags just barely fit into a 6” basket. I’ve had to literally squish them down into them before (which didn’t seem to bother them ultimately).  8” baskets make for an easier fit and allow some fill in with hydroton instead of cramming them in there. 

[Restorium2]

10 minutes ago, caregiver123 said:

This process works quite well. I have never lost any plants doing this and yields are comparable to straight hydro. It works best if you transplant them to hydro before they get too large - maybe a foot or 18” max so they have more time to assimilate to the hydro environment. But I guess that depends on when you chose to start to flower your plants. Also, 1 gal poly bags just barely fit into a 6” basket. I’ve had to literally squish them down into them before (which didn’t seem to bother them ultimately).  8” baskets make for an easier fit and allow some fill in with hydroton instead of cramming them in there. 

Exactly right. They take more time to assimilate to hydro than plants that started out in a hydro or aero environment. Lag time.

I have had both on the same system and the plants that started in aero were ahead of the ones that started in dirt.

[Highlander]

I had a terrible experience switching from dirt to DWC years ago.  The problem was that I didn't properly address the risk of root rot, and I lost most of my plants before I installed a chiller and started using enzymes.  

Now, I use aerocloners and transfer the bare root clones (in the same foam insert) into a 2" net pot (with the bottom cut off) and put them in my DWC system.  Unless I make a big mistake (clogged airstone, water level too low, break roots) my transfers are 100% successful, and the plants take-off.  

I run two aerocloners.  One has minimal nutrients for rooting and the other has about 25% of the recommended veg-grow nutes.  

Someone mentioned DWC being a lot of work.  Once you have the system dialed-in, it's probably one of the easiest grow systems to manage.  The growth rates are steller and second probably only to aero.  Some day, I'll pick Resto's brain about going full aero.  It's a bit intimidating thinking about the build and making sure the nozzles don't get clogged, but the upsides (less nute volume = less need to chill the water, higher oxygen levels in the water) are probably worth it.

[Marcustomer]

I agree, dwc is relatively straight forward, especially if you stick to a nute regimen that doesn’t involve 6 plus nutrients!  

[caregiver123]

Agreed. Once you get dwc dialed in they are pretty low maintenance. Use hydrogaurd to keep root rot away and allow for higher water temps. Flush weekly (use a liquid transfer pump so there is no need to lift plants out of their buckets, etc) Check pH daily. Easy peasy. 

Edited May 22, 2019 by caregiver123

[Restorium2]

3 hours ago, Highlander said:

I had a terrible experience switching from dirt to DWC years ago.  The problem was that I didn't properly address the risk of root rot, and I lost most of my plants before I installed a chiller and started using enzymes.  

Now, I use aerocloners and transfer the bare root clones (in the same foam insert) into a 2" net pot (with the bottom cut off) and put them in my DWC system.  Unless I make a big mistake (clogged airstone, water level too low, break roots) my transfers are 100% successful, and the plants take-off.  

I run two aerocloners.  One has minimal nutrients for rooting and the other has about 25% of the recommended veg-grow nutes.  

Someone mentioned DWC being a lot of work.  Once you have the system dialed-in, it's probably one of the easiest grow systems to manage.  The growth rates are steller and second probably only to aero.  Some day, I'll pick Resto's brain about going full aero.  It's a bit intimidating thinking about the build and making sure the nozzles don't get clogged, but the upsides (less nute volume = less need to chill the water, higher oxygen levels in the water) are probably worth it.

No nozzles. A spinning cone with a disk that sprays. Takes a lot to clog one. I just clean them between grows.