Ultimate question: soil vs. hydro vs. aero

Ok saying cost isn't a huge issue as long as the plants turn out good to great what is the best system that a pretty new grower can work with some ease? I've grown with soil before but everyone talks highly about other methods and I was wondering if everyone could throw their 2 cents in and let me know what they thought... -vega

Let the battle begin ....

i'll start by saying you should try what you think you'll dig the most. If you like getting your hands dirty and being in touch with nature - then soil might be your thing. Besides - you can always say it tastes better (though i'd be interested in a double-blind experiment regarding taste).

if you feel like more of a mad scientist that likes beakers and chemistry sets then you might be more drawn to hydro with the system that suspends roots rather than burying them. All nutrients comes from chemicals and you can mix and match them. A little micro - a dash of bloom and a touch of diamond nectar can make you feel like you're cooking up a monster (monster bud anyway). I think this goes for all types of hydroponics.

Maybe the gadget junky or an cutting-edge technology type might be drawn to the aeroponic style of hydroponics. You get the "mad scientist" theme of hydro with the "latest and greatest" glee that comes from using emerging technologies.

Or it might be someone decides to go with what a grower they respect uses successfully.

Influential books (Cannabis Bible, etc..) and websites (rollitup.org - there aren't any other websites, right?) can also sway people in this or that direction.

Could be people use what they can afford.

But as far as results go - I think all things being equal - the equipment you use is much less important than the experience of the operator.

email468 said:

i'll start by saying you should try what you think you'll dig the most. If you like getting your hands dirty and being in touch with nature - then soil might be your thing. Besides - you can always say it tastes better (though i'd be interested in a double-blind experiment regarding taste).

But as far as results go - I think all things being equal - the equipment you use is much less important than the experience of the operator.

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I like how you put that

My preference is to Soil as I prefer to keep that part of things a bit more simple and focus more on the roll of mother nature but, I'm considering a hydro setup down the road.

Thanks Dr. G - glad you liked it. This thread did not start the war i anticipated.

Hah give it time maybe but I'm thinking soil but it's hard to beat what people say about hydro and especially for my first grow I want whats easiest, thanx for the info and keep it coming. -vega

Grimvega said:

Hah give it time maybe but I'm thinking soil but it's hard to beat what people say about hydro and especially for my first grow I want whats easiest, thanx for the info and keep it coming. -vega

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Hydro is great if you no what you're doing you can kill a crop quick if you are lazy or don't know what you're doing. Soil is great to get yourself familiar with the plant, aero is nice to but can be bad if something "breaks" and also see hydro, easy to fry plants if you don't know what you are doing.

I do hydro and soil, love hydro but it's not as maintenence free as people make it out to be IMO, res change day is a pain in the arse.

I guess my biggest question about a soil grow would be when do I know when the nutrients are out of the original soil I've used and when/what new nutes should I give the babies. Also what kind of time frames between grow to veg to flower or is it strain specific and you kind of have to play it by ear and use your experience to know? -vega

OK first thing is I hate soil with nutes in it already, for the same reasons as the question you asked, how do you know what is in the soil and when...yada yada yada

I use Fox Farm Light Warrior and Ocean Mix and my plants do fine. Ask around or rather search for soil mixes on here get something without the food. Then usually in about week 3 start the nutes, low strength then build your way up, start with maybe 1/4th rec. dosage. How long to veg is up to you, do you want to do a SOG grow or do you want to grow monsters? I usually go at least a month for a regular grow and sometimes 2 but it's up to what you want, how much space you have, and lights.

Also check out the growFAQ it's full of info for you.

Monsters are possible for my space, its a walk-in closet 8' wide x 6' long x 8' tall. But as far as yeild is considered I'm not really sure what would be better, giants or a scrog. I'll keep lookin around about the nutes but thank you - and you're right about picking a soil without nutes already and I'll wait before I put the full amount of nutes in. -vega

I see canna is helping you out with a PM....have fun and good luck. That's a nice space to grow in.

Thanx gygax I really appreciate the info man. -vega

Gygax, i think what they mean was when do they start adding nutes in general. I use Foxfarm Ocean Forest too and if you read the back it says it has enough nutes to last a month. The nutes are int he form of seed weed, worm castings, guano, etc. i think thats what they mean. As for me, ive used Earth Juice since the day they sprouted. Started with weak mix and worked up. Its really really hard to over fert with organic nutes. Look for the very very VERY tip of the leaf to turn brown. This is called "greenhouse burn" and is a good thing. It tells you when they are getting all the nutes they can take. You want to see the very tip turn brown.