Is switching from soil to hydro worth the time,money, and effort.

Soil is so simple. I'm wanting faster veg growth plus the possibility of increased yield. With soil, I mix the nutes, bubble for 24hrs, ph , and done. Very simple to me but with the slowest growing method imho. I tried dwc years ago but constantly trying to ph 15 individual buckets everyday got really old fast. Now my growroom can be modified to were I can add 10 more ladies without increase my light source. I went overboard on my initial led build. Instantly I just increased my yield with hardly any money or time spent, plus I already have 5 gallons of EJ bloom and grow and from using this stuff for a while , I can tell u it isnt for hydro. With all that being said would this major change be worth it. I will have to change my vegging style also since I wont be using dirt anymore. Seems like so so much change. What do u guys think?

It's simpler then soil to run RDwc. Just connect those buckets to a reservoir. Then you don't have to pH them individually.

You may get bigger yields or you may get nothing if you screw it up. How much bigger is very much in debate. Most hydro guys claim bigger and better, but that is also in debate - especially if you are a soil guy.

If you do hempy buckets its not only easier, its cheaper, and a lot less work compared to soil - or any other hydro method. Hempies are stupid simple and dirt cheap. All you need is a bucket and some perlite and nutes. No pumps, no rez.

Any other type of hydro is going to be, to one degree or another, more $$, more complexity, and more work than hempies. But hempies are boring. Any type of hydro (other than hempy) is waaaaaay more fun and interesting than soil. Soil is super booooooorrrrrrriing

So, you may or may not get bigger and better yields, but you will for sure have more fun - unless you screw it up and they all die

Larry3215 said:

You may get bigger yields or you may get nothing if you screw it up. How much bigger is very much in debate. Most hydro guys claim bigger and better, but that is also in debate - especially if you are a soil guy.

If you do hempy buckets its not only easier, its cheaper, and a lot less work compared to soil - or any other hydro method. Hempies are stupid simple and dirt cheap. All you need is a bucket and some perlite and nutes. No pumps, no rez.

Any other type of hydro is going to be, to one degree or another, more $$, more complexity, and more work than hempies. But hempies are boring. Any type of hydro (other than hempy) is waaaaaay more fun and interesting than soil. Soil is super booooooorrrrrrriing

So, you may or may not get bigger and better yields, but you will for sure have more fun - unless you screw it up and they all die

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I dont have alot of play time in the garden. I only get 2 days off work a month. So my time is extremely important cause I dont get much of it. Boring is good to me since I'm so busy. Maybe i should just stick with soil. I'm very happy with my results. When i 1st started growing i tried dwc for 1 run. Then i went to hemp buckets and perlite. Hemp style was very easy and i got great growth once the roots hit the res that's created. Only downside is having to get rid of large amounts of perlite and purchase new. I dont have a local hydro shop. The reason I do soil is because I can fill up 2 5 gallon buckets for like 3$ with plain topsoil that comes out of a bag from ace hardware. I can use it till the next summer and it so ez to dispose of. Just pour it out in the back yard and spread with a rake. My soil route is even easier than hempy. Because of how ez soil is to acquire and dispose of.

Sounds like soil would be best for you then. Any type of hydro - other than hempy - will require daily checking of the rez water PH and EC, mixing and topping off etc. I managed to stay away from my first hydro grow for 5 days straight, but that was pushing it for me.

Larry3215 said:

Sounds like soil would be best for you then. Any type of hydro - other than hempy - will require daily checking of the rez water PH and EC, mixing and topping off etc. I managed to stay away from my first hydro grow for 5 days straight, but that was pushing it for me.

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I dont have time for that. I go into my growroom every night after work but that just something I do to wind down when I get home. Sometimes I just go in there and look around for 30 minutes , not really doing anything but looking at the ladies. Been doing this for almost 8 yrs and I still stare at my girls like it's the 1st time seeing them

Just do 1 DWC bucket and see how it compares with the rest of your garden. Once you get dialed in with good nutes, PH shouldn't need adjusting very much.

I can walk away from my hydro set up for a week without issue if I just changed the res and plan it. That said it seems to me the OP doesn't have time to deal with the "curve" of switching to hydro so I would suggest he stay with soil. I still run a few plants outdoors in soil as that is where my roots run deep but my preference these days is hydro, especially for indoors.

BleedsGreen said:

I can walk away from my hydro set up for a week without issue if I just changed the res and plan it. That said it seems to me the OP doesn't have time to deal with the "curve" of switching to hydro so I would suggest he stay with soil. I still run a few plants outdoors in soil as that is where my roots run deep but my preference these days is hydro, especially for indoors.

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I've been talking to guys on other forums. They say the most 5 gal rdwc buckets that can fit in a 4x8 is 8. I fit 20 ladies easily, but could add 10 more maybe if I wanted a total sea of green. I avg between 3.5-5lbs every 9/10wks. If 8 is all I can fit then I better be averaging 6+oz/plant. From all I've read 2.5 to 3 is max on 3-4ft plant growing dwc style, which is typical for indoor grows. I would love to see 6+oz on a 4ft tall 2ft diameter plant. There wouldnt be any room for leaves and stems. One solid bud!!