Growing strategy Soil/Hydro ?

I am going to be groing 12 - 18 plants under 3 x 1000 watts. I want my grow to yield me the most it can from 12 - 18 plants. My question is which method should I do to see the best harvest results. Here are the 3 options

1. 3000x1000 watts in 15 gallon pots in soil.

2. 3000x1000 in a seperate dwc 5 gallon buckets

3. 3000x1000 in a Ebb and Flow

Which one is going to produce the best harvest. I know hydro is going to be easier and cleaner but I want to stay with in my limits of 12 - 18 plants. Anybody have any expert advice.

poundpusher2009 said:

I am going to be groing 12 - 18 plants under 3 x 1000 watts. I want my grow to yield me the most it can from 12 - 18 plants. My question is which method should I do to see the best harvest results. Here are the 3 options

1. 3000x1000 watts in 15 gallon pots in soil.

2. 3000x1000 in a seperate dwc 5 gallon buckets

3. 3000x1000 in a Ebb and Flow

Which one is going to produce the best harvest. I know hydro is going to be easier and cleaner but I want to stay with in my limits of 12 - 18 plants. Anybody have any expert advice.

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Have you ever grown cannabis before?

Who told you that growing hydro is easy?
Well, they've lied to you.
The only thing that might be easier about it is the fact that you don't have to physically
water your plants when growing in hydro. Your hydro setup should already be hooked up to an automatic timer.

Everyone who's ever grown both hydro and soil will tell you that soil is easier,
Due to the soil acting as a buffer if you run into any issues.
Growing hydro takes alot of, MAINTENANCE.
Plus you better have some good Ph, TDS, and EC meters.
These things have to be checked twice a day.
You have to change your nutrient solution at least every 10 days,
which can get rather expensive depending on the size of your resevoir.

Most people that I have known ( Including muself) who grows hydro,
does it for one main reason.....SPEED.
Growing in hydro shaves at least 3-4 weeks off the entire growth cycle.
The bud is'nt more potent when grown hydro. That's just a fairytale.
Honestly I think cannabis tastes & smells better when grown in soil.
You can add sweetners to your solution to make up for the taste when growing hydro.
But that's just another expense.
Known Fact...Growing hydro costs more money to grow it than soil growing.
You don't need as much fancy equipment when growing in soil.
I grew in soil for years before trying hydro.
I had to invest about 1500 dollars extra to the setup I already had to make it a hydro setup, and that's not including nutrient.
I ended up spending over a 1000 in nutrient when I first started.

Totally agree Juice soil is much easier for the newbie. Get some soil grows first imo.

Easier as in a cleaner and less physical operation. I am far from a newbie boys. But thanks for the comments. I have partnered in several grows just have never done hydro. I have watched a multitude of grow journals in hydro and everyone of them sais hydro is so much easier than soil and they would never go back. They also said it took time to get it all dialed in and it was very frustrating. I appreciate the input.

I was actually planning on doing a similiar grow to one of the members on here. I posted a link to his grow below. Check it out pretty amazing with very simplistic setup.

https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/291051-3000w-trees.html

Hydro is easy. It is not hard at all, and it is not expensive. You can build your own system for the same price you would spend on soil. If not cheaper. The hardest objective is keeping the PH at an optimal range. I like to keep it at 6.0 - 6.5. If you live in a city area and use tap water from a resevior(city water supply) then you have to eliminate the chlorine. Very easy to do just fill up a large container and leave the lid off, so the water is in contact with the air, for 48 hours. The chlorine will disipate and cease to exist. They also sell tablets to add to ur water to eliminate the chlorine. If you have well water than your golden(for the most part). Hydro is a very inexpensive and easy growing choice. It is not hard and not the least bit expensive. If you go to a hydro shop then yes you will pay an arm and a leg for everything you buy.
To avoid that problem build your own. DWC is the easiest. Buy a rubber-maid container as big as you want or as small depending on how much you want to grow. The container will be only $5.00. Then buy an air pump. The air pump should blow the most air through the air hose to the air stone. The air pump is $12.00 for a 25-35 gallon pump (at walmart) and has two air hose connecters, the air stone is $2.50, the air hose $2.00 all at walmart. Then you will need a medium to let the plant grow into net baskets. You can use gravel from an aquarium store or walmart. Most people buy net pots to use. I make my own. You can put as many holes as you can into a bucket at the bottom up about 3 inches. Just make sure the holes are small enough not too let the stones you will use as a medium for the plant to fall out. Then in the lid of the rubber-maid container cut holes that will hold the pots into place. Make sure the holes hold the pot so they do not fall into the water. Remember the plants grow and get heavier. Make it snug. The roots will grow out into the water anyway, just guide the roots through the holes when you fist put them in the pots. Put the air stone at the bottom of the rubber-maid container. I use two 8oz ceramic coffee cups that have handles. I slip the air stone through the handles and let the cups hold the air stone down at the bottom. This makes it easier to get out if and when I need to clean the air stone. Some people silicone(glue) the air stone to the bottom. But if it brakes then what? Your screwed!
I grow the plants until they are about 4-6 inches high in peat pellets and then put them in the gravel medium and place them into the DWC system. In the begining take the babies out of the peat and wash the roots as good as you can. Then place the roots so they are going through as many holes as possible. Then add the gravel. Dont put too much gravel on them because you can quish the roots. You can add gravel later when the plant stem and roots get bigger. Add just enough at the begining so the stem can stand up. Fill the rubber maid container, also called the resevoir, up so the bottom of the pots are resting in the water. After the roots grow into the water you will only fill the resevior up within 2-3 inches of the pots. Make sure your air pump is running smooth and on 24 hours a day. Some people change the water in the resevoir every 2 weeks. But some people do not change it at all. The later is for the more experienced hydro grower. Now you just grow what you will. From here on it is just like a soil grow. The only thing you do is check the PH 2 times a day to make sure it is not hurting your plants and change the resevoir water every other week or more if need be.
When it comes to hydro, more air bubbles coming up the better. You can LST, SOG or any other method you choice. Hydro is not hard and is not expensive at all if you make your own set up. You can buy all the materials at walmart cheaply. It will only cost you 30 - 60 dollars, depending on how big the container, for the entire set up. The best part is you can use it over and over again. All you have to do is clean it up after each time. You might have too buy some new air stone or air tubing but that is only $5.00 for both. The air pump will last a long time. The rubber-maid container is only 5 bucks but you should'nt need a new one for quite some time just clean it. You can find a lot more threads on here about this subject. Just look up DWC. I have saved $ using this method and produce better everything. I am far from a pro and it is easier than soil by a long shot. Have fun and bubble away.

In my opinion soil is a much less labour intensive way to grow and a soil grow can ba a lil more forgiving if a mistake is encountered ... I've seen more than one hydro grow bomb on a coulpe somple mistakes that were aspects of hydro growing that you don't encounter in a soil grow ..... Even using a soilless mixture would be a option as well ...