Youknowwhoiam
Active Member
Rule of thumb as far as I`m led to believe is 100w minimum for the first plant then 50w for every other, but this can differ if your running perpetually as all the girls should be at differing stages, I ran 2 125w cfls for 4 plants and had no issues. So I`d say around the 300w mark it where to be IMHO.
Hmmmm not as much work as I thought, with me tho I have to research loads before taking the plunge (no pun intended) it took 6 months of intense reading and research before I switched to LEDs.From everything I've seen and heard from people who have done both hydro grows faster and more vigorous especially in veg. I can't say that people are unilaterally getting bigger harvests in soil per se. I think it would take more veg time in soil to get a plant capable of getting the yield a hydro plant could in a shorter time. So if you are talking about weight per time, I'd say for sure hydro wins. But there are so many ways people grow, and so many reasons people grow. I grow for myself in a small closet. Others grow for profit in warehouses. I grow in my bedroom closet and I work from home/ am home all the damn time. Others see their plants once a week. So many factors to which is better and which will even work for a situation. So it's a complicated issue.
Haha... it's funny cuz I always thought hydro was more work. I started hydro and ran that for 3+ years, then went to soil. Honestly I find soil SOOOOO much more work, and needing of attention. I am constantly having to remember to water my plants. Watering is a bit of a pain, and the soil is all over, have to store shit on my deck, blah, blah. I am not trying to complain, just saying to me it's so much more of a hassle soil is.
Hydro, sure you can complicate the shit out of it... but really, what I strived for was a setup that would handle itself. I had things pretty dialed in before I took it down to try soil. I would add water once a week, maybe twice. Nutes every two weeks or so. Only gave them nutes a few times really. Stopped giving them anything after 5 weeks flowering. And I loved the sound of a waterfall in the room. I left my hydro going for either 12 or 14 days (i forget which) completely on it's own and everything was fine, except the plants grew out of control. I didn't check pH or water temps. I kinda figured out a regular pattern and just estimated everything. Low maintinance just the way I like it.
Saying all that, I'm just starting to smoke my first soil harvest the past few days and WOW is the taste difference something. Hard to explain, but I am really digging the soil taste and smell. Smells more natural. Have to laugh at the yeild though. I don't think I cracked 0.2 g/w.However... I'm going with soil another round at least. Try to tame the beast.
I may look into it a little deeper if I ever get a bigger tent but for now I`m happy with soil, I find with soil grown bud the taste is more musky and defined, like you said its more natural from them to grow in soil. When it comes to yields I don`t see an issue with whatever`s pulled as long as it gets you to the next harvest.
Keep it green and if anyone`s in the UK enjoy today`s Bank Holiday
250W HPS.....
/ 150w hps/ 4x23w 5000k & 7x26w 2700k cfls
Lol.
