Hydro vs. Soil for newbie

Whats up everyone? I'm starting my first grow this month. I've done quite a bit of research and still have A LOT of questions. I just don't want to make any MAJOR beginner mistakes(I know I'll make a few).

First question- Hydro or Soil? It looks like Hydro is obviously harder to set up, but once up and running(properly) it may be easier to maintain. I should be able to check on my plants daily, but would like to be able to leave town for a couple days and not stress. Hydro also looks cleaner, rather than having to change pots and soils.

I'm looking at splitting a small bedroom - 1/4 of it Veg. - 3/4 of it Flower. I'm looking to harvest around 8 plants per month when up and running. I live in CO and have my paperwork-I also own my home.

Thanks for the help!!!

Soil isn't really messy.. their plants not dogs.. they don't dig the soil out..
and you transfer them 2 maybe 3 times top.. so it's not alot of trouble..

also soil is more forgiving.. if you make a small mistake in hydro the plants are effected really quickly.. just my 2 cent..

Soil is gonna be much easier for ya IMHO.....I started in soil, then set up a hydro/bubbleponic....went back to soil. I also use a room in my home although I do use a tent to enclose and control odor.....tons of info around here and in the faq....good luck.....

Soil is more forgiving.

While i say that, i did 1 grow in soil, a bunch i coco and moved very raipidly to hydro. Shit is messy and get's everywhere. Hydro if anything spills, well damn, it's just water. I grow with DWC and it could not be easier, and like you, i opted for this system as it alows me to leave it for prolonged periods of time unlike the 2 day limit i had on potted plants.

you couldn't leave your plants for more then 2 days in soil?

DB&ST said:

you couldn't leave your plants for more then 2 days in soil?

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Nope, not with my setup. I could have halved my plant number in a hope that yiled doubled and gone with larger pots, but as it was, they needed a drink after 2 days, 3 days sometimes prior to their 12/12 stretch. Was very very inconvenient.

oh.. my plant go a week with out asking for water.. but their outdoor so it's different..

deezbudz said:

Whats up everyone? I'm starting my first grow this month. I've done quite a bit of research and still have A LOT of questions. I just don't want to make any MAJOR beginner mistakes(I know I'll make a few).

First question- Hydro or Soil? It looks like Hydro is obviously harder to set up, but once up and running(properly) it may be easier to maintain. I should be able to check on my plants daily, but would like to be able to leave town for a couple days and not stress. Hydro also looks cleaner, rather than having to change pots and soils.

I'm looking at splitting a small bedroom - 1/4 of it Veg. - 3/4 of it Flower. I'm looking to harvest around 8 plants per month when up and running. I live in CO and have my paperwork-I also own my home.

Thanks for the help!!!

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Soil is slow. It's slower to grow, slower to show issues and takes longer to fix said issues should they arise. As you already stated, hydro takes longer to set up but is easier to maintain and operate in the long run. I do both and prefer hydro. The only drawback is harvest time. Harvesting time happens all at once in hydro and takes a big time commitment whereas soil pots can be staggered in a perpetual harvest which spaces out the work over weeks.

Hydro is not the way a first time grower should go. A first time grower should use only Pro-Mix BX, that way they control everything the plant gets and they can learn how the plant grows. Pro-Mix BX is a soil-less mixture by the way.

The first grow is not about top yields and massively growing plants, it's about learning all the basics, from setting up the grow room properly, which should be done and under control long before you sprout seeds, to learning how a plant feeds, to the harvest and cure. It's not about learning all the ins and outs of a hydro system.

Start simple, learn the basics of the grow, then decide if you have the skills to move on to more advanced and complicated ways of growing. OH, and read, read some more, then read a little bit more. Start with the free online version of Clarke's Marijuana Botany, all you need to know is there.

Good luck. Green mojo to you.

Thanks for all the good info everyone!

Thats a really good idea. I think I'll probably end up start out with the Pro-Mix BX and then see if I'm ready to take on a bigger, more complex way of growing. Thanks!

deezbudz said:

Thats a really good idea. I think I'll probably end up start out with the Pro-Mix BX and then see if I'm ready to take on a bigger, more complex way of growing. Thanks!

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Before you buy the Pro-Mix you need to get the grow area set up properly, adjusted to maintain its temp and ventilation. You want that space as close to optimal as possible before you put a plant in it. The last thing you want to do is deal with construction and environmental issues after you move the girls in.

Soil by far is much easier than hydro and starting in promix or sunshine is a good way to start. I would add coco to the mix. Hydro can go wrong very fast and can effect your plants in a number of hours. Soil is more forgiving and easy to fix. Just about need a science degree to figger some of it out.

One of the big deals with hydro is you can grow more, this is true but only for about 10% of the people who really know what their doing. The rest struggle along buying the next best thing in a bottle to grow monster plants. More bullshit most of the time. Hydro has a long learning curve, so if you like learning a lot and messing with your setup all the time go hydro.

Now all you hydro guys don't get your backs up, all you have to do is ask yourself the same question as a new grower, knowing what you know now, how would you start? Whats easier hydro or dirt?

Go get a 5 foot hard plastic kiddie pool to put your plants in and protect your floor.

Soil is simpler IMO. It's more forgiving and is easier to deal with. I'm a newbie as well, and I went with soil for a couple of reasons. Hydro you have to worry about Reservoir Temps, have to get a ppm meter to measure nutrient levels, much more money to get started up with hydro. The one I was thinking about doing was DWC because it's fairly simple, but again, I don't want to have to buy water coolers to keep my temperatures down, as they are very expensive. Just do your research, hydro is a bit more efficient and can produce quite a bit more, but as others have said, soil is more forgiving and easier to get started with.

I don't get why everyone acts like hydroponics is a step below rocket science or why it's not a good idea for beginners. If you start in soil and go to hydro you still have to learn a completely different methodology. As long as you pay attention to hydro it's easy and doesn't take a lot of daily work, but it does take daily work, meaning that you may not be able to take off for a few days like you said you wanted to. If you aren't in a heavy growth period or have a large reservoir, say 3 gallons for every plant, then you could probably leave it for that long. You have to stay on top of your ph and tds, and if you have too small of an amount of water per plant, your ph and tds will fluctuate and have to be adjusted daily. I also don't get why anyone would say that soil or even soil-less mediums aren't messy. Unless you have a nice run-to-waste setup, watering is a messy back breaking practice that I'll do without. Don't be afraid to get a little technical with your first grow if you feel you can handle it. It's all about how much time you're willing to devout to learning. Here's my first grow. Good luck with yours.

• 8x6 room. Plywood with b/w poly doors in front and back
• 2 - 1000w lights. Switchable, Aircooled 6"
• 2 - 8" Duct fans for exhaust. Solid duct. Intakes are passive
• 2 - 6" Duct fans for lights. Flexible duct. One in one out
• Top feed Hydro with dual res., circle drippers, grow plugs into grow rocks
• House and Garden nutrients only
• 7 Cheese on res.1, 2 Skunk Berry and 2 Vanilla Kush on res.2
• a screen

I just preferred to learn how the plant grows in a more familiar environment (soil) so I can learn how to read it prior to jumping blind into hydro. I made many mistakes with soil, and the plants were very forgiving in that environment. Hydro works great, but I was more concerned about learning about the plants characteristics first, before learning the ways of hydroponics. Once you know how the plant communicates, I don't think there is a bad way to grow it. DWC, aero, hydro, soil, what have you...If you can read the plant, do hydro, if you are worried, do a small soil grow, and learn what Ca, Mg, N, P and K deficiencies look like. Then jump on a hydro setup and you won't make the mistake of misdiagnosing something, as hydro works quickly to solve and worsen problems. That would be my only prerequisite to hydro.

Hudsonvalley82 said:

I just preferred to learn how the plant grows in a more familiar environment (soil) so I can learn how to read it prior to jumping blind into hydro. I made many mistakes with soil, and the plants were very forgiving in that environment. Hydro works great, but I was more concerned about learning about the plants characteristics first, before learning the ways of hydroponics. Once you know how the plant communicates, I don't think there is a bad way to grow it. DWC, aero, hydro, soil, what have you...If you can read the plant, do hydro, if you are worried, do a small soil grow, and learn what Ca, Mg, N, P and K deficiencies look like. Then jump on a hydro setup and you won't make the mistake of misdiagnosing something, as hydro works quickly to solve and worsen problems. That would be my only prerequisite to hydro.

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How's it goin' hudson. I don't think that learning the growth characteristics of a plant grown in dirt is going to be extremely helpful in knowing how it will grow in hydro. Hydro can make the plant grow differently because of how fast it is and even make the shape of the leaves and buds look different, as can different nutrient lines. Plus every time you switch to a new strain you will have to learn the way it grows. I just feel like hydro is very strait forward. PH.....TDS.....that's about it, keep it in range. Res. temps, aeration and all that technical mumbojumbo is well and fine, but unless something is seriously out of wack, like 90 deg. water or something, then it's just ph and tds. I use drip clean by house and garden through the whole grow so I only have to flush at the end. I spend about 3 hours a week working on my water. It also seems to me that soil may be a little too slow and a little too slow reacting to deficiency corrections for the usual impatient beginner. They don't have the experience to know how much correction is enough and by the time the plant lets them figure it out it's time to harvest it. Maintaining medium ph in soil is just as technical as anything in hydro. Just get a good hydro nute line like H&G, Advanced, Canna, ect.. and follow their directions, it's extremely simple. They give you a week to week schedule. You may have to add a little Cal/Mag at some point but it's nothing too scientific. You'll see the affects of your deficiencies earlier but also your corrections.

soil, 5-gallon buckets for noobie, easier not to fuck up

teddiekgb123 said:

How's it goin' hudson. I don't think that learning the growth characteristics of a plant grown in dirt is going to be extremely helpful in knowing how it will grow in hydro. Hydro can make the plant grow differently because of how fast it is and even make the shape of the leaves and buds look different, as can different nutrient lines. Plus every time you switch to a new strain you will have to learn the way it grows. I just feel like hydro is very strait forward. PH.....TDS.....that's about it, keep it in range. Res. temps, aeration and all that technical mumbojumbo is well and fine, but unless something is seriously out of wack, like 90 deg. water or something, then it's just ph and tds. I use drip clean by house and garden through the whole grow so I only have to flush at the end. I spend about 3 hours a week working on my water. It also seems to me that soil may be a little too slow and a little too slow reacting to deficiency corrections for the usual impatient beginner. They don't have the experience to know how much correction is enough and by the time the plant lets them figure it out it's time to harvest it. Maintaining medium ph in soil is just as technical as anything in hydro. Just get a good hydro nute line like H&G, Advanced, Canna, ect.. and follow their directions, it's extremely simple. They give you a week to week schedule. You may have to add a little Cal/Mag at some point but it's nothing too scientific. You'll see the affects of your deficiencies earlier but also your corrections.

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ive never checked ph growing in soil,and ive had many successful harvests.

Maybe your right, but if you come to find out that you are not in any circumstance to grow pot, then all you are left with are some buckets, a light, and some soil. Smaller investment. Plenty of people can't keep a cactus alive let alone weed. If you can get bud in soil, then make the larger investment in hydro.

I got to admit you have balls going straight into hydro, and your shit looks beautiful. But not so many people are as bold initially. Once they have confidence that they know the plant back and forth, the grow medium builds upon that. Im not talking about the growth characteristics in hydro or soil, Im taking about the growth characteristics of the plant itself. An N def. is an N def in soil or in hydro. If you misdiagnose in hydro, and think that it is a K def, or a cal def, you can make some bad soup real quick, and not only have a def, but a burn as well. Not that soil is any more forgiving, just a great tutorial to the live and times of said marijuana plant. Of course hydro can grow it faster, but also with much more prowess when it comes to equipment managing, all kinds of nutes and additives. I have no idea how much experience anyone on this forum has, so I just tell them my thought process.

All i know is that if you get a 5 gallon bucket with some holes drilled into it, a bag of soiless mix, some perlite, dolo lime, molasses, a pH/Moisture meter, a decent light of choice and some cheapo nutes. While watering and feeding within reason, then you get a plant that has a great lesson built into it for peanuts compared to the package needed for hydro.

I must concede that this is all assumption however. Hydro holds the same lessons, just for a higher initial investment.

teddiekgb123 said:

How's it goin' hudson. I don't think that learning the growth characteristics of a plant grown in dirt is going to be extremely helpful in knowing how it will grow in hydro. Hydro can make the plant grow differently because of how fast it is and even make the shape of the leaves and buds look different, as can different nutrient lines. Plus every time you switch to a new strain you will have to learn the way it grows. I just feel like hydro is very strait forward. PH.....TDS.....that's about it, keep it in range. Res. temps, aeration and all that technical mumbojumbo is well and fine, but unless something is seriously out of wack, like 90 deg. water or something, then it's just ph and tds. I use drip clean by house and garden through the whole grow so I only have to flush at the end. I spend about 3 hours a week working on my water. It also seems to me that soil may be a little too slow and a little too slow reacting to deficiency corrections for the usual impatient beginner. They don't have the experience to know how much correction is enough and by the time the plant lets them figure it out it's time to harvest it. Maintaining medium ph in soil is just as technical as anything in hydro. Just get a good hydro nute line like H&G, Advanced, Canna, ect.. and follow their directions, it's extremely simple. They give you a week to week schedule. You may have to add a little Cal/Mag at some point but it's nothing too scientific. You'll see the affects of your deficiencies earlier but also your corrections.

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