Soil is for Suckers

JarrettM · #1 06-12-2008, 07:59 AM

This is my first try at growing hydroponically and I can't believe what I have seen. My last soil batch took 7 months. This batch is about 3 or so. I have never been happier. I didn't clip too many lower branches this time so it has gotten a little too wide. Next time I will do the see of green method.

Oh yeah I recommend 420 Seeds if your looking... Took about a week for them to get my order and recieved them two weeks later.

ORECAL · #2 06-12-2008, 08:02 AM

hahaha.......nobody will argue that soil is faster than hydro. glad to see you made the discovery....

stamdima · #3 06-12-2008, 07:45 PM

Go HYDRO ! ..

patjack · #4 06-13-2008, 05:02 PM

I never thought I would say hydro is better than soil... of course I had never done hydro before... now that I have I must say, hydro is better than soil... but to each their own of course

Ultracombo · #5 06-13-2008, 08:14 PM

I cant really look down on soil since i never grew in soil before. I'm currently growing some Master Kush and have some White widows germing as speak. I have an Ebb n Flow system and im about 1 month and a week on my grow, currrently put into flowering so about 1 week in flower. My tallest plant is about 2 feet tall and the rest about 1 to 1 1/2 ft. I've been looking in the sick plant sections in all the MJforum and it seems as if Soil just seem to have so many problems such as yellowing, wilting, and of course dying, i was kinda iffy about going into hydro since so many ppl say that its hard but luckily i ddint listen to them and end up buying my ebb n flow and i havent had any problems so far, all my nutes are according to what the plants need, watering cycle is pinpoint in my opinion, and light cycles time good. My master kush plants currently have 9 fingers, so my question (which is totally off subject) are more fingers you have the better?

cp420 · #6 06-14-2008, 09:50 AM

Well I'm just poking around and thought I'd throw in a post. I currently have only ever grown soil, but I must say I am looking forward to my first hydro grow... whenever that may be.

I'm sure It'll be successful with all the knowledge on these boards.

Al B. Fuct · #7 06-14-2008, 12:11 PM

The real magic of hydroponics is the ability to flow a lot of highly oxygenated nute soln through the roots. Various watering systems and media do this to a greater or lesser degree and with various quirks and caveats.

Highly absorbent media (rockwool, etc) tends to act somewhat like soil. Faster and more productive than soil but not quite the top performer among all media types. Lots of water storage, but because water is retained in the medium, you can't get more in until the plant has removed the last splash you gave it.

Less absorbent media like clay pellets can be watered quite frequently, often 3-5x per lights-on, dependent upon a few factors. The more often you can water, the more O2 to the roots. However, with little water storage, there's little tolerance for watering system failures (pump, timer, etc).

Medialess systems like DWC, NFT & aero are the ultimate in getting lots of oxygenated nute soln through the rootballs. However, they are also the most sensitive to watering system hardware failures. DWC in particular has an Achilles' heel in that airflow to the airstones/bubble curtains in the nute soln in which the roots are submerged must be maintained 24/7. An air pump failure or a power outage can be a disaster as without constant air supply, roots will drown.

At the end of the day, the best hydro system is the one that suits the amount of attention and effort you want to put into it.

I use pots of absorbent media in flood systems because the method is very fault-tolerant. I'm a stoned slacker and may not look in on my op every day. Flood systems are no-brainers- no way they can clog, no periodic preventive maintenance needed. If a water pump quits for some reason (air bubbles caught in the pump chamber are common), I have at least 2 days to catch it, given the 175mm dia pots I use. I used to use pots stuffed only with rockwool floc but have recently switched to Fytocell. Fytocell is a bit less absorbent than floc and can be watered 2x day, where floc could only be watered 1x/day in most cases. It still gives me a 1 day backup even in the case of large plants in late flowering.

I sacrifice absolute max yield for ease of running the op and low labor input. I could easily add 30-40% to my yields if I were to put more work into it.

sir smokesalot · #8 06-14-2008, 01:56 PM

hydro is less forgiving if you do something stupid though

but its also easier to correct if you catch something bad happening, just flush and let it sit for a couple days

having done both soil and hydro i think that soil is just easier and less time consuming than hydro. plus if you dont have the proper equipment and know what your doing your going to have big issues. i went to soil because i dont have a lot of time each day to care for my plants and my last hydro grow suffered from it. plus soil plants are much more mobile i case you need to go stealth for a little bit

SunnyD · #9 06-14-2008, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JarrettM

This is my first try at growing hydroponically and I can't believe what I have seen. My last soil batch took 7 months. This batch is about 3 or so. I have never been happier. I didn't clip too many lower branches this time so it has gotten a little too wide. Next time I will do the see of green method.

Oh yeah I recommend 420 Seeds if your looking... Took about a week for them to get my order and recieved them two weeks later.

what are u growing that takes 7 months????

Al B. Fuct · #10 06-14-2008, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sir smokesalot

hydro is less forgiving if you do something stupid though

but its also easier to correct if you catch something bad happening, just flush and let it sit for a couple days

Disagree. It's much easier and faster to make corrections in hydroponics. If you overfertilise soil and must leach it, it is harder to remove ferts from soil than it is to simply change the nute strength in the tank.

Quote:

having done both soil and hydro i think that soil is just easier and less time consuming than hydro. plus if you dont have the proper equipment and know what your doing your going to have big issues.

Natually, you need the right tools for any job. If you attempt to do hydro OR soil without the necessary equipment, expect to fail.

There's really not much difference between setting up a grow room for either soil or hydro. The only functional difference is the watering system, which can be automated in hydro. Hydro also requires a pH meter and a nutrient meter, both of which have become a lot cheaper over the years. If you set up a proper grow room with suitable ventilation that can maintain the right temps and RH, about $150 more makes it into a hydro op.

Quote:

i went to soil because i dont have a lot of time each day to care for my plants and my last hydro grow suffered from it. plus soil plants are much more mobile i case you need to go stealth for a little bit

My 130 plant perpetual harvest op can be maintained in as little as 10-15 mins/day, with marathon manicuring sessions and a batch of cuttings done every 2 weeks. Plants in pots of absorbent media are equally portable to those in soil.

Hydroponics in lightweight, disposable media is far easier for growers who move a lot of plants through the op. While soil may be re-usable, it can carry root diseases form crop to crop. The weight of soil, particularly wet soil, makes a big difference when you're managing a lot of pots full of the stuff.

If you've done hydro and gotten bad results, don't blame hydroponics. Blame the amount of research and effort you've put in.

At the end of the day, the increased productivity of hydroponics covers any cost difference over use of soil, many MANY times over.