I’ve seen some Youtube videos and articles where they grow their hydroponic plants in pool noodles. They claim to get high harvest yields, and they regularly talk about the benefit of being able to reuse the pool noodles.
I was concerned about the safety of using pool noodles; as we know plastic can leach chemicals and micro-particles into the water and plants (and eventually you). This process is often sped up with exposure to high temperatures… and Kuwait set a world record for the highest temperature in the world reaching 52.2°c (126°f) in the shadows and 63°c (126°f) in the direct sun!
Instead we bought a cloning collars and net cup pack as these have been specifically designed to grow plants and food.
After I bought the collars I realised that there weren’t many people online saying you could start seeds in the collars; they are generally used for transplanting cuttings from older plants.
I decided to do an experiment on whether I could grow seedlings in cloning collars.
I’m starting this experiment on Aug 7, 2019.
I sterilised the cloning collar and the container with hot water.
If you look closely you can see the Lemon Cucumber seed in the middle of the cloning collar. I’ve inserted it so its very close to the bottom of the collar (I’m holding it upside down), but far enough in that it hopefully doesn’t fall out.
Apparently seedlings will grow best when exposed to high levels of humidity. I wanted to make sure that my seedling could get as much light as possible at the same time. So I found this old Ikea air-tight plastic container. It has a de-gas spout which I have kept closed.
Fingers crossed that this container won’t grow algae since my nutrient rich water is also exposed to light.
Hey, did this work?
Unfortunately not well enough. One seedling began to grow, but within a few days it died off.
I suspect that whilst the cloning collar was floating on the water, not enough moisture was being delivered to the seed itself.
Maybe if the seed is placed alongside a small amount of rock wool or other grow media that can consistently wick up moisture, it might. If I get time in the future I might retry this experiment.
It works. 1st few days be weary of damping off where the stem protrudes from the collar. No nutes until 2nd true set. Sterile water. Even bennies at this point will rot the stem…
I was successful with lettuce. I tried one seed each in the top, middle and bottom of the collar. Top was slightly poking out, and bottom was about a millimeter inside, covered. I let the collar float in water the same depth as their height so that if I pressed on the top, the water would seep through the seams and fully hydrate the seeds. When I let go, they would just be floating and not drowning. I did this several times a day, and I very gently sprayed the top seed with water instead of submerging it as I didn’t want to dislodge it.
They all sprouted. The bottom was first to grow roots (right away) but took forever to reach the top. It also had to get past the middle and top one, which were by then thicker. It was a skinny sprout. The top one sprouted pretty fast (keep it moist with the sprayer) and did make a root reach the water in a decent amount of time. The middle one had the toughest time to start as it was further away from either water or light. It made a root first, but I was afraid it would run out of energy before it sprouted. It finally Made it (before the bottom). The best of the lot was the top, so I opened up the collar and removed the others.
Next time I would try placing the seed about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way in from the top — close enough so it senses light through a crack and far enough in so that I don’t have to spray it so often. I also plan to try larger seeds, but I suspect I’ll have to do a lot of dunking or, don’t laugh, what I’ve done in the past is create hours-long dunks by putting a clear yogurt cup over the collar and placing something heavy enough on top. Usually a pen will do. I’ve even used a candy cane. It’s all about balance. 🙂
The the only problem I see with this method is that it takes time and care. maybe if I get good at it, it won’t take so much, but if you’re doing a lot of plants, then it might not be the most practical.