soil vs hydro

KushKid916

Member
hey RIU whats up

first time grower wanting to know if i would lose any quality or potencey by doing soil over hydro?


Thx
KushKid916
 

sickshot

Active Member
From my experience hydro plants tend to grow abit quicker than soil plants, I think the weed is better tasting aswell. If your a 1st timer i wouldnt recommend doing Hydro. Learn the basic in soil its less forgiving.
 

420BongRips

Well-Known Member
Soil is good for a starter like me, Hydro is less forgiving as sickshot said, and you can easily make mistakes if you don't know what you're doing. Growing in soil does take a bit longer, but idk if the potency is different.
 

wiseguy316

Well-Known Member
From my experience hydro plants tend to grow abit quicker than soil plants, I think the weed is better tasting aswell. If your a 1st timer i wouldnt recommend doing Hydro. Learn the basic in soil its less forgiving.
I think ya got than wrong soil is more forgiving. np
 

wiseguy316

Well-Known Member
How do you work that out ? In Hydro set ups there fed constantly, The smallest mistake in PH or EC/PPM can cost dearly. In soil you feed it nowhere near as much.
you are missing what u posted,,u said soil is less forgiving, I knew what U meant u just didn't catch it, yes hydro is more complicated thats what i said soil is more forgiving to be able to make mistakes. just go back and read it.. it's all good
 

wiseguy316

Well-Known Member
and actually you feed less in hydro becuase the nutes are readily available to the plant so it has to be in a lower dose. In soil you can pour it on cause the soil acts as a buffer.
 

sickshot

Active Member
you are missing what u posted,,u said soil is less forgiving, I knew what U meant u just didn't catch it, yes hydro is more complicated thats what i said soil is more forgiving to be able to make mistakes. just go back and read it.. it's all good
Yes my bad i made a typo,
 

sickshot

Active Member
and actually you feed less in hydro becuase the nutes are readily available to the plant so it has to be in a lower dose. In soil you can pour it on cause the soil acts as a buffer.
The plant might feed less, But the pump is still pumping the water to it 18 hrs a day, Your not stood pouring water into soil for 18 hrs are you ? But its neither here nor there, He should try soil before attempting Hydro.
 

906breeder

Active Member
as a former soil grower now hydro i would reccomend starting in soil no matter what and then switching according to your needs. I switched because I wanted to do a larger system and it would be more practical for me to use a recyclable medium such as hydroton as it would be awkward and a security issue for me to bring large amounts of soil into my grow op, and get rid of it after harvest. I also do a Sea Of Green method and the cost of many small plants in large hydroton beds is alot cheaper than lots of soil pots. If i was growing like 10 big plants i would use soil. Also I enjoy the faster rate of growth and precise control of ph, ppm, temp, and how often they recieve nutrition. With this also comes problems as well. The slightest error and everything can crash, but its easy to maintain any sytem with proper care and upkeep, as well as prevention. As far as potency...depends on the strain and your determination of potency, as far as thc and cannabanoid levels, I believe thats determined genectically and by your grow prochedure being optimal. I dont know of a test that proves thc levels in identical plants from identical grow rooms being more potent in hydro than soil or vice versa. And FLAVOR. As a hydro grower i will say I think ITS POSSIBLE to have better tasting bud in water only due to the ability to almost completly flush your plants easier and more efficiently, but soil has its own "natural power" too. This is a pretty old beef, but i think it all comes down to the grower and his or her needs and abilities. Hydro is better in some situations. And Soil is best in others....
 

wiseguy316

Well-Known Member
The plant might feed less, But the pump is still pumping the water to it 18 hrs a day, Your not stood pouring water into soil for 18 hrs are you ? But its neither here nor there, He should try soil before attempting Hydro.
You can feed a dirt plant a 20 -20-20 high dose of nutes and not kill it. Hydro is is more like 2-1-6 because it is being fed all the time at a lower dose. I did hydro successfull my first go around. I also read about for a year and a half while buying the right stuff. I agree he should try dirt first.
 

906breeder

Active Member
You can feed a dirt plant a 20 -20-20 high dose of nutes and not kill it. Hydro is is more like 2-1-6 because it is being fed all the time at a lower dose. I did hydro successfull my first go around. I also read about for a year and a half while buying the right stuff. I agree he should try dirt first.
with this being said, also with soil you can do a much fiercer nute program and some really beastly root systems come with soil as well
 

sickshot

Active Member
You can feed a dirt plant a 20 -20-20 high dose of nutes and not kill it. Hydro is is more like 2-1-6 because it is being fed all the time at a lower dose. I did hydro successfull my first go around. I also read about for a year and a half while buying the right stuff. I agree he should try dirt first.
If he reads up on it and buys the correct meters then he could grow a succesful crop in Hydro 1st time around, Like you said you have done it, I have done hydro since day 1 aswell. I spent along time reading/searching the net tho before i wasted any money.
We are just looking at it differently, I know what i meant by my reply and you know by yours lol. Its all good :)
 

sickshot

Active Member
with this being said, also with soil you can do a much fiercer nute program and some really beastly root systems come with soil as well
This could be said about Hydro tho aswell, Diff strains respond differently to high/low nute programs, I done a SSH grow in Hydro and the EC at the highest point was 2.4 -2.6 (not sure what that is in PPM) But thats high.
Not really tried any dirt grows tho so cant say wheter you give it more than that in soil.
Any1 care to enlighten me ?
 

906breeder

Active Member
i do agree with strains being nute specific, good point too. With soil it provides a better buffer against ph fluctuations as well as nutritrient burn from high levels of salts (2.6 is a high ppm, like around 1700 based on which scale) with soil its not going to use more nutes, the soil just allows you to make mistakes and use time release methods as well. Thats more of what i was saying.
 

wiseguy316

Well-Known Member
what i will say is you have more control over your garden in hydro. like you said you took the ec up to 2.4 . I don't know how to do that in dirt, it's more reading the plant, i don't know whats left in the soil from the last time i fed it. with hydro if ya keep after it all of these thing are more manageable instead of winging it.
 

sickshot

Active Member
What im asking is can you raise the EC higher than 2.6 in soil ? If you can how high can you go ? Is it dependant on strain rather than what medium you use ?
 
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