scraping hydro

[*hillbilly*]

I have been running hydro for several years and have never been able to get the results that i wanted, I am switching back to soil. Has anyone else done the same? I was always having issues with the hydro, temps, root rot clogged lines, burnt pumps ect.

 

[Duckmang]

I'd recommend using your hydro knowledge and applying that to a coco grow, as they are relatively similar. Doing soil is quite different and you may well have to break through that learing curve yet again.

 

[corradogang*]

I have been running hydro for several years and have never been able to get the results that i wanted, I am switching back to soil. Has anyone else done the same? I was always having issues with the hydro, temps, root rot clogged lines, burnt pumps ect.

I have limited experiance but the nft tray has always been good to me, the simplisity (just a box with a tilted tray on the top and a pump circulating water to the tray) all that needs to be done is check pump works, check ph, check nute strength cannot see how soil can be easier at all as you know there so many things with pc and nutes drianage and so on ... Whats the problem regular breakdowns and a ruined graden?

 

[tomahto]

Hey Hillbilly, I made the switch to soil a couple of years ago myself. Humidity control and low weight got me to change over. I ran a ebb and flood table for a couple of years. I was getting big plants and beautiful looking colas, but the weight was never there.

Since switching to soil, it really simplified some things, like using a smaller number of products, and other things possible running multiple strains and runs. But made some things more time intensive, like hand watering and mixing soil.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the switch, yields are better and able to keep harvesting every couple of weeks. Just my two pennies.

 

[RewTheJew]

By far the easiest method of growing that i have found is ebb and flow. The uniformity/production of growth is unsurpassed in any other method.
I would rather do weekly 40 gallon rez changes, then water every three days or so. My biggest "beef" with soil is A) the runoff, (though this is a very easy problem to solve) B) Disposing of the leftover soil and the plain messiness of dirt. C) the growth rate, i can see daily differences in my flood tables.
Not to be a complete Negative Nelly about soil, but no PH'ing my water each time I feed is a beautiful thing. The amount of forgiveness if I fuck up(which I tend to keep to a minimum, but you know how it goes) is another awesome quality.

Finally hydro is just plain cooler.

 

[boroboro]

I've gone from soil to Hempy Buckets to Coco hand-watered in SmartPots. Picked coco to try since it seemed simple like soil -- no pumps, hoses, drippers, etc. Water once per day with a very simple nute recipe, and it's pretty easy to keep your plants happy.

I agree with the 'keep it simple' attitude, but it doesn't have to be soil to be simple.

 

[Synthettek]

I've done some Hydro runs but always come back to soil.
Much less maintenance [for me] and works out better with my lifestyle and time I have to give.

 

[FreezerBoy]

I loved growing in dirt outdoors. Plant seed, wait 6 months, smoke weed. If it were safe to grow outdoors, I'd do it in a heart beat. But, I can't imagine dealing with the headaches, mess and workload of soil in an indoor setting. With DWC, I can take off for 1 week with no preparation, 2 weeks with ease, and 3 weeks if I have to (though the plants aren't too happy with 3)

 

[*hillbilly*]

I ran ebb and flow buckets first and did OK with them, but then I switch to bio-buckets and can not get the system working just right. Its seems that there is a lot that can go wrong with them. my water temps and then clogged lines flooding everything and burning up my pumps, a snake crawled up my drain line once and drained the whole syste,burning up my second pump.I think being able to move plants into the flower room whenever I want my be the better way for me

 

[GreatLakes THC]

I started out running DWC. Then switched to E&F tables. But the last few years I've been running soil.

GreatLakes THC

 

[Guywithoutajeep]

The easiest method to me is Coco with blumats. I only have to mix a batch a week. No run off, no flushing the entire cycle. How can it get any easier? Not to mentioni how much cheaper it is than buying hydro tables and stuff. I'm not a fan of hydro at all, sometimes its fine though.

 

[!!!]

Try coco before going back to soil. It's clean, root love it, you can't overwater it, you can re-use it after each grow (up to 3 times, apparently), and it doesn't come packed with pests like soil.

 

[foomar]

and it doesn't come packed with pests like soil.

Two UK coco products from Wyrevale and BnQ last year both contained large numbers of thrips and symphillids , apparently the coco is not sterilized in any way.

Used the same John Innes soil based compost produced locally since 1970 which is steam sterilized , and have yet to see any evidence of pests surviveing this process.

Pests are more likely to be present in extra peat added by the grower than in properly made JI.

 

[stinky]

I have tried a few different hydro setups but always come back to soil.

In pots or planting beds (aka somas beds) I love soil gardening. So what if you have to water by hand. You could set up a water res and hook it to a wand sprayer and it is less of a hassle.

The only drawback I have for soil is our tap water is crap so I have to make a weekly run to fill 5 gallon water jugs... hassle.

I love to get dirt under the fingernails...

 

[PetFlora]

Most hydro isn't that great. The lack of sophistication creates more problems than it solves. Enter True Aeroponic Growing.

Now, the most sophisticated Aero is with an accumulator, but I have not yet chosen that route. However, I have put together a KISS system that takes me to the accum door step, though they deny it.

Frankly, I have no proof one way or the other, as none these guys post any grow pics. That said, I am growing some sweet plants. This is only my second aero grow, and I have learned a lot. I am confident my next will be much better. Come by for a visit. You just might want to hang out