Shanus
Active Member
Okay okay. There's a million posts on hydroponic vs soil. Im not even going to get into that debate. This thread is started because im really tired of people being so intimidated by hydroponic growing. I too started in soil and had failures and success. Then I took the plunge and went hydro. More success less failure. My success rate is increasing, but so has my knowledge and investment. So, i wont base yield comparing success between the two either. This is simply my attempt to get people to quit fearing the hydro!!
SOIL:
My first few grows (ever), where pretty much fail. I didnt have enough light, didnt know shit about watering or nutes. Im still a noob, but finally I got a decent crop from some soil and organic nutes. The entire grow I was abusing the plant with shitty watering techniques. I also had a hell of a time figuring out how to feed them. I tried so many soil mixes and various things, and it was just kinda a pain in the ass. Granted, Im confident in my soil grows now, it was still something that was a bitch until learned. The biggest benefit i saw, was it was cheap to fail and try new things. I had very little equipment and a low setup cost. Of course, monitoring changes in soil was difficult because of the time it took to see the changes. Did I mention bugs and mold?
HYDRO:
My very first hydro grow was a complete success. I ended up with twice the plant as my soil, and never really had any "uh oh" moments. Well, once i added the wrong ph of nutes and it stunted them until i corrected it
. The biggest difference in the hydro was that I could automate the watering cycle. Yes, I had to monitor my tubs about twice a week, and still move water weekly; but it was definately easier to see what the plants were drinking. I also enjoy the ability to flush my root system, at will, easily in my hydro setup. I wouldnt say that hydro is any less work than soil, I can just say that its not much more. Hydro has been a lot cleaner in the house too. The startup cost of ebb and flow hydro is a little higher than soil, but reusing the media recovers it very quickly.
All this talk of ppm's and ph and wahtnots can be daunting. Yes it's probably VERY hard to reach perfection, but these gals will grow wonderfully without perfection. With $40 worth of ppm and ph equip, keeping the nutes straight isnt that bad. Dont worry, keeping ph between 5.4 and 6.8 isnt normally that difficult a task either. Ive learned how my tap water responds over the week now, so its a no brainer.
To summarize, I dont believe neither soil or hydro can be considered better than the other. They are both growing methods that can fit a persons individual needs and preferences. I do believe that if youre a new grower and your checking your plants daily anyhow, hydro wouldnt overcome your abilities. Just as in soil, once you get your system and setup figured out, the task will become nearly automatic and simplistic. If you think you want to try hydro indoors, DO IT!!
Fishin' for rep and comments! Anyone else find hydro easier than expected or feared?
SOIL:
My first few grows (ever), where pretty much fail. I didnt have enough light, didnt know shit about watering or nutes. Im still a noob, but finally I got a decent crop from some soil and organic nutes. The entire grow I was abusing the plant with shitty watering techniques. I also had a hell of a time figuring out how to feed them. I tried so many soil mixes and various things, and it was just kinda a pain in the ass. Granted, Im confident in my soil grows now, it was still something that was a bitch until learned. The biggest benefit i saw, was it was cheap to fail and try new things. I had very little equipment and a low setup cost. Of course, monitoring changes in soil was difficult because of the time it took to see the changes. Did I mention bugs and mold?
HYDRO:
My very first hydro grow was a complete success. I ended up with twice the plant as my soil, and never really had any "uh oh" moments. Well, once i added the wrong ph of nutes and it stunted them until i corrected it
. The biggest difference in the hydro was that I could automate the watering cycle. Yes, I had to monitor my tubs about twice a week, and still move water weekly; but it was definately easier to see what the plants were drinking. I also enjoy the ability to flush my root system, at will, easily in my hydro setup. I wouldnt say that hydro is any less work than soil, I can just say that its not much more. Hydro has been a lot cleaner in the house too. The startup cost of ebb and flow hydro is a little higher than soil, but reusing the media recovers it very quickly. All this talk of ppm's and ph and wahtnots can be daunting. Yes it's probably VERY hard to reach perfection, but these gals will grow wonderfully without perfection. With $40 worth of ppm and ph equip, keeping the nutes straight isnt that bad. Dont worry, keeping ph between 5.4 and 6.8 isnt normally that difficult a task either. Ive learned how my tap water responds over the week now, so its a no brainer.
To summarize, I dont believe neither soil or hydro can be considered better than the other. They are both growing methods that can fit a persons individual needs and preferences. I do believe that if youre a new grower and your checking your plants daily anyhow, hydro wouldnt overcome your abilities. Just as in soil, once you get your system and setup figured out, the task will become nearly automatic and simplistic. If you think you want to try hydro indoors, DO IT!!
Fishin' for rep and comments! Anyone else find hydro easier than expected or feared?
