Die-off of active new roots in S/H

[slide1475]

Hi Ray,

As always, thanks for your additional insights - pH is something I have been avoiding a bit since I am intimidated. I am VERY pleased to know that NYC water will be so close to RO and I will adjust from there. I will look into pH testing also.

As for now, I have been using just a regular, run of the mill 20-20-20 fertilizer and I also have a liquid MSU fertilizer that I bought with the First Ray's starter pack. Unfortunately, I bought the MSU for tap water and not pure water (I just had no idea that NYC water meant low pH) so I will have to re-buy.

To reply to your other thought that maybe I didnt pre-soak well enough, I actually rinsed thoroughly in fresh NYC tap water, then soaked for 48 hours in NYC tap and finished with a 24 hour soak in properly diluted K-L-N. I did not soak in epsom salts, etc. - please let me know if you would suggest additional soaks. I have a ton of PrimeAgra and would be more than willing to swap out the current PA!

[Ray]

As to the soak - what was the volume of liquid compared to the medium? I use at least a 2:1 ration, usually more like 3:1

[Becca]

Originally Posted by Ray

As to the soak - what was the volume of liquid compared to the medium? I use at least a 2:1 ration, usually more like 3:1

I know this wasn't directed towards me, but I thought I would chime in I didn't know there was a specific volume of liquid to be using for the presoaks. I was just putting in enough liquid to cover the Prime Agra, is that a no no?

[slide1475]

hi, I didnt know that there was a specific/recommended volume for the presoak either, so it is just pure dumb luck that I use a very large volume of water. I would think at least 3:1.

[Ray]

I don't know that there is a specific ratio, but the greater the water volume compared to the medium, the faster the residues will be extracted.

As the concentration of a substance dissolved in water increases, the rate at which more can dissolve decreases.

Time is the other factor - long soak is better than short.

I typically keep some material in a vat of water, just in case I need to repot something, and sometimes it'll sit for a month or more between uses.

[Joella]

Ray, how do you feel about boiling the Prime Agra for about a half an hour before use and then rinsing to extract the residue? Does this remove most of the residue or harmful substances. That is what I did when I last ordered Prime Agra. My plants have been in the Prime Agra for about 3 months (some transplants from regular medium, some transplants from another LECA) and are all doing wonderfully. I have a Cat. that I bought with mostly rotten roots and it is now putting out about 20 new roots in the Prime Agra!

[Sun rm.N.E.]

Ray

Thanks for the information. I think this thread will save a lot of roots.

[Ray]

Joella, heating certainly enhances the solution of residues, but it seems to me the proof is in the pudding (or in this case, in your pot!)

[slide1475]

Hi everybody,
As a follow-up, I wanted to report that several of my worst-hit plants have begun to bounce back really nicely. Though one is in sphag and bag, the Bulb lilacinum has begun putting green growing root tips out of what I thought were lost-cause roots (not all of the burnt roots are recovering this well, but some is better than none!), and my Cirrho Lovely Elizabeth Buckleberry - which I almost pulled out of S/H and put into sphag and slat basket - has put out a lovely, thick new rootlet.

After a lot of thought and all of your wonderful input, I know believe that I burnt those roots with bad timing. I misted with a water + superthrive and not with just water, not realizing that the top layer of LECA was so critical and probably more ready for flushing - not for an application of any fertilizer-type solution.

I want to also say that S/H is working wonders for me. I genuinely believe that the roots my S/H plants put out (even if they were pouting or I damaged them) are thicker and more vigorous than in other media.