Growing in rock.....

While I was working with my hydroponic setup, I had an idea of starting my plants from seed in the hydroponic setup....     I did not have the clay pebbles,  ( hydroton )  but I did have river rock.         I had started plants from seed in river rock in my hydroponic  setup in years past,   and I decided to give it a go starting them this way...

About 1/2 of them did not make it, but 1/2 did....     I believe the problem was the soil was too wet for the seedlings, so I decided to wash out the soil and try again with the 1/2 that did not work.

Now, I can put the seeds in walk away and come back to plants.....      I am getting closer to this goal.

Interesting! It looks like pretty coarse rock -- I would have thought pea gravel would be more suitable.

It's a specific use though -- plants in situ for their life. They wouldn't transplant worth a darn. But that could be pretty handy for a low maintenance setup.