Ok so i was wondering what makes soil and soiless mediums differ. i mean besides the fact that one uses dirt and the other uses water, but what are the advantages and disadvantages of hydroponics compared to soil.
-speed of growth
-yield
-ease
-affordability

basically I know how to grow using soils, but i also want to learn how hydroponics work and why, or even if, hydroponics are better than just soil.

and if someone could school me on hydroponics, thatd be GREAT

hydroponics has many benefits... but... isn't cheap to setup. if you are going to invest in setting a system up, make it aeroponics

When I grew in soil-
After spending a little time in the grow room I would get dirt all over my clothes and on my hands, everything I touched got dirty which leaves a little more evidence than I need. I had a much bigger problem with gnats, fruit flies and spiders when I grew in soil, which meant more money I needed to put into it. When I grew in soil i made a lot of mistakes, one of them being overwatering and when U over water in soil it turns into mud, and if the mud dries out it will turn into a brick! Then U gotta spend even more money on the other ingredients U need for a good soil mix. I had a much bigger problem making sure the roots were getting oxygen, bcuz the soil could choke out the roots when it dries out during flowering bcuz the plants are drinking more.

When I grew in soiless mixes (Peat moss, perlite)-
Everything stay much cleaner even tho the problem with the fruit flies still continued. It dried out much quicker than the soil which meant more frequent watering. Whenever I would overwater in the peat moss it would drain much faster, making flushing easier and getting rid of more build up. The plants grew much faster in the soilless mix allowing them to get bigger in a shorter period of time, so i could harvest earlier. Potency was still comparable to soil.

Now Im growing in hydro-
To start off I had to cough up about $90 up front for some of the basic supplies I needed to start, including a pump, res, pots, nutes, ph tester. now I find out I need to cough up another $100 for a tds meter. I have noticed that the plants are loving the rockwool cubes. From pre-soaking in a cup to germination, my seeds sprouted in a total of 48hrs and was ready to go under the light. I've only had my plants in the cubes for a week and already they are working on their second nodes. The speed of growth is amazingly different from what Im used to seeing. I believe that by next week my seedling will be working on its 9th or 10th node at this rate. The whole hydro setup pretty much runs itself. Everything is controlled by timers and pumps, as long as U monitor your levels of everything and keep the res clean and at a cooler temp u will be fine. Hopefully U have proper ventilation or else the heat from ur lights may cause ur roots to rot, which isnt a problem Ive had to deal with until I switched to hydro.
I havent harvested any homegrown hydro but if U've ever bought some U would know the high is pretty good.

IMO the soiless is the best option

Soiless is easier, cleaner, better aerated, and has the advantages of both hydro and soil.

As far as price initially the soil is more inexpensive than hydro, but if U want a quality product, then hydro is the way to go..

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Spittn4cash, Thankyou for that breakdown. I like the idea of using hydroponics now more than before. Im not as concerned about the money but more about doing the set up right. I geuss i could follow FilthyFletch's steps to building an aerogarden (when he finishes it). but i would know what to do.

Don't rule out DWC. They are cheap and easy to build. I've never used another hydroponic method, but have experienced explosive growth in my DWC grows.

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sry, but wats DWC??? new to hydro...

dwc is bubler systems an is what im using...you can build a big 4 plant system for 30-40 bucks...

Deep Water Culture, basically its a bucket of water(nute mix) with an airstone in it, plant sits in a little net pot mounted in the buckets lid and hangs its roots into the water.

theres the simple "hempy bucket", a bucket of perlite/vermiculite mix that you water/feed by hand. as simple as it gets.

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Live Chat. my veg box
whiteskunk 250w HPS/bagseed 12/12

How much of the netpot do you keep in the solution before the plant actually grows it's roots into the nutes below..?

And curiously..How big do you allow your seedlings to get before transfering them over to DWC?

amen brothrean!!!!!!

cheap easy and not much maintenance.