Starter Cubes turning deep green...

I am a novice grower who is making every effort to take this whole experience VERY seriously. I recently received clones that had begun to root. I believe how they were transported have affected their growth. The stems were deep green and each plant had sprouted leaves but they were extremely waterlogged and the weight of the water had snapped stems. I removed some of the excess water and placed my babies under the flourescent to begin a 18/6 photoperiod. Within a day the stems had perked but all of the leaves began to die and hang from the plant. They have since fallen. I moved the plants under the MH lamp where they have been for about 4 days. They are on a watering cycle every 12 hrs for 30min. The starter cubes that I tranplanted into the rockwool slab has started turning a dark green. It started with one plant and has now spread to all six. Should I be concerned? The stems have also lost that green quality that they had when they arrived. The environment in the growroom is pretty consistent. I have been using Co2 (fermentation) as a means to try and strengthen the plants and ensure they get a fair start. The temperature usually fluctuates between 80-86 degrees w/a humidity between 37-45%. The space is well vented.

One part of me is wondering if I am being impatient because it does not seem the plants are growing, and the other part just wants to make sure that I can catch a problem before it snowballs! There are to photos in my gallery so you can get an idea.

Thanks in advance

 

I'm not a lover of rockwool and other synthetic mediums so my method can also be considered sticking my neck out when I say this........


I'd soak the cube in it's current feed and then plant it in unwatered soil. Stick them in an electric dome with the vents closed, preferably with a flo above it.
Soak the soil medium after 24 hrs with PLAIN water keeping the lid on and vents closed for another 4 days. Open the vents half way on the 5th day and water only if the top and underneath of the pot looks dry, again PLAIN water.
On day 7 open the vents fully and water as needed for another 2 days when thet should be good enough to come out.
During the time the plants spend in the dome, spray inside the lid twice a day with a fine mist until droplets appear. This will raise humidity which is one area thats lacking in your description.

I'm not a hydro guy so thats the best I can offer you my friend. Plant survival with soil and organics I can handle but synthetic mediums with wet systems give me the willies!

Good luck with finding the correct solution.

Goldie.

 

Thanks, i will try but is switching to soil the only way?

 

The green is algea- it causes the cubes to be acidic. I t helps too keep light off them. Some hydro guys cover the wool with foil or something to block light from the cubes.
That's about the extent of my knowledge here too- im an old dirt farmer- but i root cuts in rockwool.

 

the algae will not affect your plants and is very common with rockwool cultivation i suspect the leaf drop off is due to overfertilisation and too frequent watering i wouldnt transplant into soil too much stress at this delicate time give em a shot of superthrive every day 1.2mls per 5ltrs of water/nutriant mix and 1.5mls of liquid oxygen you will see improvement within 48hrs good luck hope this helps. peace

 

forgot to mention feed strength cf/tds12-14 for rooting & veging clones ph 5.5-6.0 light height 3ft from tops of plants (400watt) 4ft(600watt)

 

Once again, thanks for all your help! I am going to try the superthrive/liquid oxygen combo and let you know what happens. Hopefully they'll perk. Oh yeah, GoldenAvatar, although i held out on tranplanting them into soil i DID take your other suggestions of increasing the humidity and soak in plain water w/dome that has made a considerable difference! I know Hydro isn't your thing but i appreciate your help.