farm hippie
Active Member
I'm totally new to this computer forum thing but hey, gotta start somewhere.
I know those two topics are worn out but after a lot of time looking it up online, I figure this info might help someone. Any Input/opinion is welcome. If I commit some sort of forum sin. Please pardon me and educate me.
First question I had was soil or hydro back in 89. I did not have google so my research was books and high times magazine .
I chose hydro because it seemed easy. My set up was rockwool/volcanic rock with a 400w hps light and a 250w mercury vapor. I used seeds from my baggie of seeds collected from past bags. No idea what I was growing. I had no idea when a plant was done so I went by continually cutting a bud off and smoking it until it seemed right . I got some decent weed out of that grow but having grown up in So Cal I. The seventies I had smoked real Thai stick,Columbian gold,Maui wowie and other now legendary smokes, it was nothing special other than it was free(sort of) and mine. Next grow I figured out co2 using yeast and sugar.
I have now grown using DWC, hempie bucket, rockwool,coco, and different soil mixes both indoor and out. And also have grown many strains.
Then came autoflower plants. Holy crap! A whole new delema!
So.... Which is better? Here are my conclusions/ reasons.
First hydro vs soil?
First, weed is a plant. BTW I am also now a regular farmer so I understand plants. Any plant has basic requirements it needs to grow. Light,nutrients,and atmosphere. Any plant will only grow as much as the weakest link in that chain will allow. Have all the nutrients and co2/oxygen in the world and weak light and that is what will limit growth.
Second, when a plant needs nitrogen or any nutrient it does not care where or how it gets it as long as it does. For a long time I thought hydro was it because of bigger yields/faster growth. I tried all kinds of nutes and discovered some better than others for taste and overall health.
My first attempts at soil indoors sucked. Puny yields and scrawny plants. They would start out OK then by flowering drop off. So this led me to believe hydro was it. Then I bought a farm and learned about the theory of biodynamic farming.
OK I know this is long but please read on..
Now I use soil. But I also now understand why soil actually can give better quality (not always quantity). But actually the difference between properly grown soil vs properly grown hydro is subtle.
Way back I grew both for headstash and to sell so quantity was a big factor.
Then autos started coming around and I tried them. They have come a long way baby.
Tried growing outdoors but a neighbors cow got out and ate my plants only a couple weeks from harvest.plus my state is not weed friendly so over four plants is a felony.
After years of photo growing I was a bit sceptical of autos. But the idea of 2-3 month turn over was appealing. So I tried them using hempie bucket and DWC on one to see the difference. Out of four plants I got six ounces of pretty good smoke in seventy days from seed.
Now I grow autos almost exclusively in organic soil and average two to four oz a plant. Once in a while I get 1 1/2oz and have gotten six off of a plant. When my landrace sativa runs out I will do a grow of it photo and hydro. But five-six mo turn around sucks.
Bottom line. If I had to grow plants that take more than a couple months from seed, I would go hydro. If I'm growing autos or quick indica's I prefer biodynamic soil. Because soil ends up needing amendments after a couple months anyway might as well go soilless.
I know those two topics are worn out but after a lot of time looking it up online, I figure this info might help someone. Any Input/opinion is welcome. If I commit some sort of forum sin. Please pardon me and educate me.
First question I had was soil or hydro back in 89. I did not have google so my research was books and high times magazine .
I chose hydro because it seemed easy. My set up was rockwool/volcanic rock with a 400w hps light and a 250w mercury vapor. I used seeds from my baggie of seeds collected from past bags. No idea what I was growing. I had no idea when a plant was done so I went by continually cutting a bud off and smoking it until it seemed right . I got some decent weed out of that grow but having grown up in So Cal I. The seventies I had smoked real Thai stick,Columbian gold,Maui wowie and other now legendary smokes, it was nothing special other than it was free(sort of) and mine. Next grow I figured out co2 using yeast and sugar.
I have now grown using DWC, hempie bucket, rockwool,coco, and different soil mixes both indoor and out. And also have grown many strains.
Then came autoflower plants. Holy crap! A whole new delema!
So.... Which is better? Here are my conclusions/ reasons.
First hydro vs soil?
First, weed is a plant. BTW I am also now a regular farmer so I understand plants. Any plant has basic requirements it needs to grow. Light,nutrients,and atmosphere. Any plant will only grow as much as the weakest link in that chain will allow. Have all the nutrients and co2/oxygen in the world and weak light and that is what will limit growth.
Second, when a plant needs nitrogen or any nutrient it does not care where or how it gets it as long as it does. For a long time I thought hydro was it because of bigger yields/faster growth. I tried all kinds of nutes and discovered some better than others for taste and overall health.
My first attempts at soil indoors sucked. Puny yields and scrawny plants. They would start out OK then by flowering drop off. So this led me to believe hydro was it. Then I bought a farm and learned about the theory of biodynamic farming.
OK I know this is long but please read on..
Now I use soil. But I also now understand why soil actually can give better quality (not always quantity). But actually the difference between properly grown soil vs properly grown hydro is subtle.
Way back I grew both for headstash and to sell so quantity was a big factor.
Then autos started coming around and I tried them. They have come a long way baby.
Tried growing outdoors but a neighbors cow got out and ate my plants only a couple weeks from harvest.plus my state is not weed friendly so over four plants is a felony.
After years of photo growing I was a bit sceptical of autos. But the idea of 2-3 month turn over was appealing. So I tried them using hempie bucket and DWC on one to see the difference. Out of four plants I got six ounces of pretty good smoke in seventy days from seed.
Now I grow autos almost exclusively in organic soil and average two to four oz a plant. Once in a while I get 1 1/2oz and have gotten six off of a plant. When my landrace sativa runs out I will do a grow of it photo and hydro. But five-six mo turn around sucks.
Bottom line. If I had to grow plants that take more than a couple months from seed, I would go hydro. If I'm growing autos or quick indica's I prefer biodynamic soil. Because soil ends up needing amendments after a couple months anyway might as well go soilless.
?