When to move rockwool seedlings to dutch buckets

[gdgdad]

Thanks Stan,
I’ll be flushing the system today and I’ll add in (separately per your instructions) some Epsom salts. You mentioned in a previous post “…maybe 3 tablespoons once a month”, is that per my ~ 16 gallon reservoir, or per gallon of water? I removed the last neoprene collar and added hydroton around the stems, do you think that will still constrict the plants? My intent is to block out sunlight to prevent algae, but I doubt that’ll be a problem this time of year. Just a note on the pump timing, it remains at 15 min off & 3 min on, 7/24, and the plants seem to be OK with that, so I’ll leave it be – though I do have an additional timer to run the Spartan® timer. I custom built a panel to house the four timers so it doesn’t look like the wiring in the Griswald Christmas vacation movie! I’ll post a pic when it’s complete. And... that video was awesome - I'll be the "bee" for now, though I have actually had a couple bees wander in when the garage door is open.

[Stan]

LMAO Griswald Christmas !!!

I use a palm full which is about 3 tablespoons in a 48 gallon reservoir. I would start with 1 tablespoon in an 18 gallon.

Hydroton won’t constrict it the stem will actually move the hydroton as it gets larger. I don’t even use a lid on my 5 gallon buckets and they sit in sunlight for 14 hours a day in the summer. When it rains they get fresh water. I usually keep reservoir 3/4 full when I know it’s going to rain.

pump timing the plants will let you know if you need less or more time. As long as the plants look good keep the timing unless you want to adjust a little at a time either reducing watering by 30 second - 1 minute intervals. You could also play with the time the pump goes on from every 15 minutes try every 18 - 20 minutes see if plants look good after 24 hrs. Again these are things you will eventually dial in for your area and the time of the year.

[gdgdad]

Stan, just thought I'd touch base and give an update. Hope you had a good Christmas. I'm still in Michigan but the neighbor "watching" my plants says they're growing like crazy. He's opening the garage during the day - we're having 70's to even 80's with lots of sunshine! He's only added 1 gal of my PH balanced nutrient solution. I'll be home in a couple days and will send pics. When I left - tallest plant was just over 2 feet. I'm remaining optimistic!

[Stan]

Glad to hear the good news!! Happy New Year to you and family!!

I’m 100% sure you will be very surprised of how fast those plants grew.

[gdgdad]

Stan – Got back to Florida the 3rd. , settled back in and back I’m on the tomatoes. First off – WOW did they grow! The tallest is 40” ! There are two tomatoes – the larger 1 ½” and the smaller <1/2”, on 2 different plants. My concern is there’s yellowing on the center on many of the leaves, and brown curling on a few (see pics). I checked the PH, it was slightly low @ 5.5, but that’s still within range (I shoot for 6.0). I can’t attest to how much sunlight they’ve been getting – it was hit and miss with a neighbor opening the garage on sunny days, weather permitting and him being home – so some issues might be from sunlight deprivation? OK – some details: Fertilizer was at 25%, temps were low 80’s and now upper 60’s to mid 70’s but sunny. I contacted Verti Gro about the fertilizer you suggested – turns out they’re about an hour away so I’ll be picking that up in a day or so (confirmed they still have the 2 bag set). I’ll add Epsom salt to the mix in the dose you suggested. Next concern: suckers all over. My neighbor (the Jamaican farmer) had to fight every urge to cut them off! He also says I should be removing all “lower” leaves/branches. Your thoughts / suggestions. Again, thanks so much! Can’t believe I have 40” tomato plants in early January! Best “crop” since I’ve lived in Florida (>10 yrs. Now).

[Stan]

At 40” tall you should have lots of tomatoes forming and tons of flowers. The discolored leaves is a nutrient deficiency. Like I said in an earlier post I’ve never grown a tomato plant to fruit using miracle gro. When you start the new nutrients the plants should get better hopefully it’s not to late.

You should cut the lower leaves up to the first set of tomatoes. Also cut discolored and brown leaves off. I usually pluck the suckers off up to the 3rd - 4th set of tomatoes for large tomatoes. For cherry tomatoes I’ll let the suckers grow above the second set of tomatoes.

[gdgdad]

Darn…. not what I wanted to hear but it is what it is, I just can’t throw in the towel yet. Verti-Gro is only open Wed thru Sat so this Wednesday’s the soonest I can get the new nutrients. I read the yellowing was likely a magnesium deficiency so days ago I added Epsom salt @ just over 1 gram per gallon. I’m also moving the plants into full sun every morning (pic) then back in in the evening (nights are still chilly). In addition to getting the right nutrients ASAP, here’s what I’ll do:
- I’ll remove discolored and brown leaves. Question: On the “yellowish” discolored leaves that (I believe) are the result of magnesium deficiency – cut those too? Will they not recover? They appear healthy except for the discoloration….?
- As for suckers, since there’s only two tomatoes, I’ll have to “guess” how high up to go.
- As for cutting “lower leaves”, I’ll cut off lower 3 branches.
- I'll flush the reservoir, boosting nutrient mix to 50% (albeit MiracleGro), maintain Epsom salts @ just over 1 gram per gallon, and do it all over again when I have the new nutrients.
I’ll be crushed if these plants fail, or fail to produce. I’ll take even a meager crop…. Thanks.