General Hydroponics New RainForest 36 - Manual (Page 6)

HELPFUL GUIDELINES
PLANTING CUTTINGS
You can start 1 to 5 cuttings in each of
the RainForest 36 growing sites. If you
start several cuttings in one growing
site, plan to separate them soon after
roots have formed and before their
roots become entangled. For large
plants and plants that you will raise
to maturity, use the center hole in the
CocoTek Cap.
Always use fresh, clean cuttings that
are free of disease and/or soil contam-
ination; soft green stems work best,
while woody stems are slower to
establish roots. Place a CocoTek Cap
on each growing cup and poke out
the precut holes in the cap. Trim each
cutting to the correct length. Each
cutting should have a leaf node very
near the bottom end of the cutting.
Trim so that 2” of the cutting can
extend below the CocoTek Cap and
near the bottom of the Net Pot. Be
sure the cuttings are well separated.
Insert the cups firmly in the holes in
the Hex Lid. Cover any unused growing
sites to retard water loss by spray.
FILLING
When filling the system with a nutrient
solution it is best to mix the nutrients
in a known volume of fresh water and
pour into the RainForest 36 until the
system reaches the desired level. The
RainForest 36 holds approximately 4
gallons.
PLANTING SEEDLINGS
To prepare a seedling or a plant for
trans-planting, remove all soil and/
or organic material from around the
roots. Plants must be sturdy with
established roots before transplanting
into the RainForest 36. Choose
seedlings because it’s more difficult
to successfully transplant older plants.
If your plant has been growing in soil
or peat moss, gently remove the plant
from its pot and carefully rinse as much
soil as possible from the roots before
transplanting. Although this method of
transplanting from soil to hydroponics
is somewhat risky, (soil may contain
disease organisms that proliferate in
the rich hydroponic solution), we have
been very successful in implementing,
particularly with culinary herbs and
encourage you to try it.