A History of Rockwool

As legend goes, rockwool was first produced by Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes. In ancient Hawaii, molten lava from erupting volcanoes left a trail of thin threads as it passed over natural steam vents in the ground below it. Hawaiians called this fiber Pele’s Hair.

Learn About Rockwool

Rockwool is made from basalt, solidified lava spewed from the innermost depths of the earth. In the mid-nineteenth century, American geologists saw Hawaiians using this volcanic material, the product of red-hot steam being forced through liquid lava under high-pressure, to insulate their huts.

The commercial production of rockwool duplicates this natural process. Today, extracted basalt is re-liquefied in furnaces at a temperature of 1,500 °C. The liquid Basalt is then spun into threads in spinning chambers, and then congealed in a hardening kiln using hot air (230 °C) and compressed into wool packets, which are then cut into slabs, blocks or cubes.

Rockwool Conditioning Solution

Rockwool has some residual lime left over from production resulting in a pH too high for growing plants. Saturating the rockwool with Rockwool Conditioning Solution neutralizes the un-buffered lime and adjusts the pH to the target of 5.5 – 6.0. After treatment, the pH of rockwool will not contribute to any changes in the pH of the solution. Ensuring pH values remain between values 5.5 – 6.5 is essential when growing in rockwool for optimum plant development and optimum substrate integrity.

In addition to lowering pH, rockwool Conditioning Solution contains a special mineral formulation designed for the needs of seedlings and just rooted clones along with vitamins to help reduce plant stress and nurture young developing roots.

Rockwool can produce bumper crops of the highest quality but requires treatment before using to reach these goals. Rockwool Conditioning Solution has been helping growers using rockwool achieve success for over 20 years and is considered mandatory by many commercial grow operations.