How to prepare rockwool?

Did you know that ROCKWOOL has become the common name for basalt or stone wool, because the company of the same name was one of the first to process this material for horticultural purposes?

Which type of rockwool will you use?

The selection of recyclable basalt wool products is very varied. You can choose, for example, whether to use seedling cubes wrapped in plastic film or without it, various growing cubes with holes, or the very practical growing mats. Growing mats are, after all, becoming increasingly popular among growers, which is why we dedicated a separate article to them that you can read HERE.

Preparing rockwool

• Prepare the rockwool propagation medium you want to get ready for use.
• If the product is packed in protective film, clean and disinfect it. For disinfecting the substrate you can use, for example, a cloth with a potassium permanganate solution or Purolyt.
• Have standing water available at least 24 hours in advance.
• Adjust the pH to 5.1 – 5.6 (the exact value always depends on the properties of the water, which may be from your own well or from the mains, and also on the properties of the specific RW).
• First and foremost, ensure that the pH of the soaking solution is not too low, because in that case it could cause undesirable disruption of the rockwool structure.
• For soaking rockwool be sure to use the proven BioNova FreeFlow wetting agent.

• After about fifteen minutes the pH should stabilize at the desired value.
• Assuming the rockwool will be used immediately for planting, in addition to adjusting the pH it is good to also check the water temperature, which should be around 24 °C.
• To lower the water pH, be sure to use only appropriate products, such as BioNova pH- or Canna pH- growth 17%. A common mistake is, for example, using products primarily intended for aquaria.
• Electrical conductivity of the solution (EC) is measured using an EC meter. For soaking rockwool its value should not exceed 0.8.
• At this point we have prepared water with an EC up to 0.8 at a temperature of approx. 24 °C and a pH in the range 5.1 – 5.6. It's time to immerse the rockwool in it for 24 hours.
• Beginner growers sometimes have the tendency to wring rockwool after soaking. This damages its fibers and with the degradation of the structure any aeration of the propagation medium disappears.
• The best approach is to stack the rockwool blocks on top of each other and simply allow the water to drain off them naturally.
• A separate chapter are the growing mats, which after soaking you move from the water directly into the Libra planter.
• Finally, it is important to note that the soaking itself should take place in a suitable container, which you should always choose with regard to the size and amount of rockwool being soaked.

If you have any questions about ROCKWOOL, do not hesitate to direct them to the familiar address info@higarden.cz. We're here for you!

We also recommend these products:

• Grodan - seedling cubes (from 1 Kč)
• Growing mats (from 89 Kč)
• BioNova FreeFlow - wetting agent (from 429 Kč)

What to read next?

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• Growing in soil: advantages and disadvantages
• Indoor plant cultivation and the savings associated with it