what is the easiest way to grow weed..tired of soil is there any thing better

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
its left over soil from my last grow i put it all in 1 bag and sealed it back up, it had a bad batch b 4 and i looked funny the color was way off, and fox farm would not exchange it it pissed me off so bad
THERE'S the problem!!!!

You don't reuse soil when using synthetics!

I run 100% organic soil - water only. It's a choice.
Did it for years (Did hydro at the same time - Ebb and DWC) and started to play with synthetics.....Several years back went back to organic.

As far as hydro.....I liked DWC a LOT. Nobody has listed the big problem with it. RES and ROOT temps! You MUST keep the bucket and the solution they sit in below 68F for plant safety! That res hits 70 and you can with in 24 hrs completely lose plants! No cure, no repair - gone, dead!

As far as it being hard after that - Nah! You just have to monitor pH daily at lights on and adjust. There is a fool proof mthod for add back and dump and refill that makes it simple and care free. I never monitored ppm's or EC. I simply mixed by ml's and followed the 33% add back rule and never looked back!

So, if you have time to spend doing that AND not have to worry about root/res temps during the hot months - go for it!

Things to consider with any hydro.
Raw water ppm's over 150 are not good to start with result wise.
The use of a Ca/Mg and RO is mandatory.
The use of Silica is a very wise choice! (Always add any Silica to 1/2 your water first. Mix the other nutrients and additives in the other half of the water and then mix the 2 together and pH - THEN use.)
 

TWS

Well-Known Member
THERE'S the problem!!!!

You don't reuse soil when using synthetics!

I run 100% organic soil - water only. It's a choice.
Did it for years (Did hydro at the same time - Ebb and DWC) and started to play with synthetics.....Several years back went back to organic.

As far as hydro.....I liked DWC a LOT. Nobody has listed the big problem with it. RES and ROOT temps! You MUST keep the bucket and the solution they sit in below 68F for plant safety! That res hits 70 and you can with in 24 hrs completely lose plants! No cure, no repair - gone, dead!

As far as it being hard after that - Nah! You just have to monitor pH daily at lights on and adjust. There is a fool proof mthod for add back and dump and refill that makes it simple and care free. I never monitored ppm's or EC. I simply mixed by ml's and followed the 33% add back rule and never looked back!

So, if you have time to spend doing that AND not have to worry about root/res temps during the hot months - go for it!

Things to consider with any hydro.
Raw water ppm's over 150 are not good to start with result wise.
The use of a Ca/Mg and RO is mandatory.
The use of Silica is a very wise choice! (Always add any Silica to 1/2 your water first. Mix the other nutrients and additives in the other half of the water and then mix the 2 together and pH - THEN use.)
Few issues here

Synthetic feed soil amends just fine . ( do it myself ) Amend my outdoor synthetic feed soil every year.
Root Rot will not necessarily kill your plants in 24 hrs . Takes a bit longer then that and is curable and you can run up to 75f with Bennies.
PPMs of 200 or less are fine for tap water ( 220 for me) Straight out of the hose reeking of chlorine.
RO and cal mag is not mandatory and sometimes a waste of money, ( see above )
PH drift is good. Adjusting a rez daily is not.
I only change res's twice in a cycle. just top off and add back. Rarely have to adjust PH.
Mixing in Silica the way you describe must be a pain in the ass .
It is advisable use a TDS pen .

Sorry Doc if you disagree but these are facts as I have done and do so myself.

This kiddie pool was amended indoor synthetic run soil . Feed synthetics, amended again and will be used this year too.





 
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Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
@TWS

"Few issues here - I respect that !!

Synthetic feed soil amends just fine . ( do it myself ) Amend my outdoor synthetic feed soil every year. You know what your doing, she does not. I never liked attempting to reuse soils that I poured bottled nutes through......To much build up and the soil is almost dead. I found feeding differences that did not allow for my chosen nute dial in...I suspect that to be more related to the nutrient line of my choice. My observation.

Root Rot will not necessarily kill your plants in 24 hrs . Takes a bit longer then that and is curable and you can run up to 75f with Bennies. I did not say root rot. How about when the temps get over 70 and you get the overnight wilt that hits the whole plant. YES - some can be nursed back but I don't find the 50% + loss as acceptable. Some strains are rather tolerant and some are not at all.....Several from BOMB seeds are like - Hit 70 and they hit a brick wall and had very bad results attempting to bring then back......The other side was always LA Conf. Man that is one tough and resistant strain!

PPMs of 200 or less are fine for tap water ( 220 for me) Straight out of the hose reeking of chlorine. I never said it didn't work ! I understand your point. Most recent listings in respected grow books list what I "suggested".....Personally, I find that in ANY hydro I ever ran that the use of RO was my basis for exact control and the best results. I never like the fact that you don't know EXACTLY what that ppm is! Start pure and you get better results in hydro every time!

RO and cal mag is not mandatory and sometimes a waste of money, ( see above ) Sorry, my bad, I did not qualify my use! IN HYDRO, outside of the use of "pre-charged" Ca/Mg nutrient lines for hydro (like "KIND" from Botanicare). The use of a Ca/Mg is mandatory with the use of RO in HYDRO.

PH drift is good. Adjusting a rez daily is not.
I only change res's twice in a cycle. just top off and add back. Rarely have to adjust PH. Damn, my bad again on the qualify thing! You are very correct! Explanation: I set my initial pH to 5.8 and let it drift to 6.1- 6.2 and adjust back. At the start in DWC it may take a cpl of days to stabilize the pH and may take daily adjustments for a few!

Mixing in Silica the way you describe must be a pain in the ass . To make it simpler, I should have simply explained that you should not mix a Silica and a Ca/Mg together unless up add the Si first and the Ca last.....I know you know why!

It is advisable use a TDS pen . Your right!! I get effected by all the money availability problems of many here.....I tend to simplify when I don't have to. Still, I did better with out one by doing Ed Rosenthals simple 33% add back rule......I know, I know, I could most likely optimize my ppm's effectiveness and maybe squeeze some more out of the plant but found with the nutrient line of my choice. The 33% add back rule worked so close it was simply less work!

Sorry Doc if you disagree but these are facts as I have done and do so myself."

Don't be sorry dude! You helped me see the things I should have!

Peace!

On a totally unrelated note. Sure would like to meet M. Dodge once! If he had the patience to.
 
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TWS

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Flood tables are a some what a costly up start and requires building tables and some more intricate plumbing ,kinda .
Ebb n grow buckets require no table builds and are plug n play . They by far are the easiest,most forgiving least costly upstart form of hydro and is comparable to dwc and your medium can be reused.
 
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Budley Doright

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I do use hydoguard on a new rez change or my rez will start stinking the next day but I all so use floralicious plus so the bacteria helps. No smell
How much hydroguard do you use per gallon. Shits fucking expensive here :(. I just ordered 2 pounds of oregano xl, hopefully it will last a bit longer :). Also trying to find a cheap amino supplement which seems to really help with nutrient uptake re calcium but all I got here is vitanimo, it's about the same price as platinum :(.
 
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TWS

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How much hydroguard do you use per gallon. Shits fucking expensive here :(. I just ordered 2 pounds of oregano xl, hopefully it will last a bit longer :). Also trying to find a cheap amino supplement which seems to really help with nutrient uptake re calcium but all I got here is vitanimo, it's about the same price as platinum :(.
Yes it is . I use the 2 mil per gallon on two 40 gallon res but I only add it once on a res change then it's good to go til I change again. You could use the Heinsbergs microbe tea for less but I'm lazy and don't like brewing stuff hence I why don't do the organic thing .
I use humic acid in the form of floralicious plus. Not cheap either.

One day when failure is not such a biggie I would like to try organic res's.
 
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