What is the best grow system to go with?

[autopotking]

double post

 

[dtfsux]

I was a big SOG grower, fuck that, never again. Double the work, cloning etc. Plus I got busted and have all these clones counting against me.

I have run E&F tables and buckets. If I had to start over again, I would do the tables. Easy as hell to setup, practically bullet proof. Once setup and tested, it can be left alone for several days if you have a big enough res. No drippers to clog etc.

Then if you want to switch to drip, you already have the table.

Aero, DWC, etc get great results, but equipment failure will kill ya quick. I have seen my tables go 3 days w/o water (not on purpose)

 

[corradogang*]

Active systems like NFT, Aero, DWC can give a bit more % yield in a few days less, than Passive systems like Drain to waste Coco, Perlite, etc but are a lot trickier to get right all the time, easier to get very wrong.

Re SoG vs full size plants, it is simple, more, smaller plants need [waste] less time vegging, the yield from the same space/light is pretty similar, done right, any of these ways. Running more, smaller plants means more crops per year due to less veg time wasted.

nft is fool proof imo 1 tray a pump no plumbing thats all there is to it

 

[dtfsux]

You will see increased results with Co2, but it does take some additional setup, sealed room, A/C etc. I suggest doing a couple runs w/o, getting everything dialed in, then adding the Co2.

 

[Lazyman]

Agreed with DTFsux on the CO2, it will add 20% to yields if ALL ELSE IS PERFECT. If you don't design your room to be sealed with AC it's just a waste of money otherwise.
For growing systems I prefer the simplest, lowest maintenance and most forgiving setup. I've done hydro buckets, ebb and flood trays with hydroton, E&F with rockwool cubes (SOG), SOG in trays with coco, SOG in trays with soil, trees in soil, you name it.
My current system is 2 gallon pots of soil on the ground, fed by reservoirs (gravity feed, no pumps or timers) to Tropf Blumat autowaterers. I can leave my garden for weeks without incident, though I don't recommend it! It's very simple, very few moving parts, and reliable. Every plant gets exactly as much or as little water as it wants, always. No waste, no mess, no floods.

Quick shot of part of my veg room



I would suggest pots of soil, handwatered for your first crop or two. Get to know your environment and how the seasons affect your temps. After you have your ducting and odor control and genetics in line, add a hydro system if you still feel like fussing with stuff. After that's dialed in perfectly add CO2.

Keep it simple!

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

My current system is 2 gallon pots of soil on the ground, fed by reservoirs (gravity feed, no pumps or timers) to Tropf Blumat autowaterers. I can leave my garden for weeks without incident, though I don't recommend it! It's very simple, very few moving parts, and reliable. Every plant gets exactly as much or as little water as it wants, always. No waste, no mess, no floods.

I've had the Tropf Blumats set up for about a week now... I am very impressed. I'm using much less water, instead of having to mix up nutes every other day, I can do it once a week and just check the PH each day. The reservoir is outside my cabinet, so I can check it at any time of the day.

 

[Mike Seed]

hello mike seed. what strains were you running 89/90 and 94? does anyone around still have those clones?? im still growing my 1992 clone. 15oz per 430w and she flowers 51 days.

Oh back then the only place to get seeds from was that big NL Seed Bank, so i was just growing seeds i would find in my bags of good stuff, not that street rag weed. Eventually i had some herms and got seeds good enough to use but had about a 40% male ratio.

 

[SunshineJoy]

I'll second the WaterFarm buckets. When I was first starting, I did soil grows side-by-side with buckets to fill up space and learn. Of course, what works best for you is optimal, but if you try a couple things, you'll find out for sure what you like.

 

[captain.koons]

Now a-days...coco in a Hempy is the way I rock it. Even Hempy himself uses coco in his buckets now.

Good luck whichever method you choose.

What % of coco do you use?

On another forum I'm at a lot of people are growing in "hempy buckets" filled entirely with perlite.

 

[Mile Hi Dave]

The best system is the one you feel comfortable with. I grow both soil as well as a 24 Pot Ebb & Gro. As long as you are using RO'd water, the E&G is awesome....real easy to use and quite forgiving. Just my opinion....

 

[Lowman]

What % of coco do you use?

On another forum I'm at a lot of people are growing in "hempy buckets" filled entirely with perlite.

I fill the bottom of the bucket to the hole with perlite...then a mixture of 2/3% coco chips and 1/3%coir mixed with napa auto parts floor dry(I think it's part # 8822) and fill the bucket the rest of the way with those three things mixed together. Be sure to charge your coco before using. Charging just means watering with full strength nutes about a week before using. Coco binds up nutes...so the first feeding helps to start the release. A little cal/mag with the charging isn't a bad idea either.

 

[Mile Hi Dave]

Floor Dry??

 

[Bogie]

IMHO RDWC Bubble Buckets are the way to go. Ive tried areo, E&F, and the bubble buckets. The Buckets are by the easiest method i have used. I grew 1 plant in the bubble buckets using the scrog method, and pulled 136g dried from it. i did FIM and Top the plant and it vegged for 6 weeks. I couldn't have done it without the ease of the RDWC bubble bucket system I built.
Good luck with whatever method you choose bro

 

[Lowman]

Floor Dry??

Yes...floor dry. It's a form of diatomaceous earth. Some people claim it's like turface. I've never tried Turface. It's a good source of silica for the plants which is one ingredient missing in soiless mediums.

Absorbs and holds water until needed.

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

Floor Dry MSDS

Crystaline Silica, Quartz < 1%
Diatomaceous Earth 65%

Turface MVP MSDS

Silica, Crystalline Quartz 3-5%

Turface Mound Clay MSDS

Crystalline Silica (Quartz) 15-40%
Crystalline Silica (Cristobalite) 1-5%

 

[Lowman]

Floor Dry MSDS

Crystaline Silica, Quartz > 1%
Diatomaceous Earth 65%

Turface MVP MSDS

Silica, Crystalline Quartz 3-5%

Turface Mound Clay MSDS

Crystalline Silica (Quartz) 15-40%
Crystalline Silica (Cristobalite) 1-5%

Greater than 1% could be anything couldn't it?

The typical chemical composition of oven dried diatomaceous earth is 80 to 90% silica, with 2 to 4% alumina (attributed mostly to clay minerals) and 0.5 to 2% iron oxide.[1]

So floor dry is 65% diatomaceous earth...and diatomaceous earth is 80 - 90% silica.

Thanks for posting the MSDS. I feel even better using it now than I did the first time 3 years ago.

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

Shit my bad... that was supposed to be <... that's why I included the links.

Diatomaceous Earth MSDS

Cristobalite < 40%
Quartz < 4%

 

[Lowman]

Shit my bad... that was supposed to be <... that's why I included the links.

Diatomaceous Earth MSDS

Cristobalite < 40%
Quartz < 4%

I appreciate the info GrnMtnGrwr. But you see where I pointed out their findings don't make sense.

It can't have low levels of silica if it's 65% Diatomaceous Earth.

When you break down the contents of Diatomaceous Earth...which you posted of Cristobalite and quartz. Both are forms of silica.

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

Yeah so it looks like any of those 4 products would get the job done. Unless some forms are more accessible by the plants than others, I don't know anything about that.

I'm using Dyna-Gro Pro-Tekt @ 3ml/gallon to give my plants silica this time around.

 

[toohighmf]

After running everything under the sun, I am currently stuck on NFT. it is easy, cheap, modular, and great for sog'n. I prefer sog over trees because vegging is a waste and I can get the same off 16 small ones than 4-6 big ones. GH all the way. buckets are messy, flood tables are huge and bulky. NFT can be made at lowes. a 50 plant system will cost you about $250 and be built in under 4 hours, even if your not mechanically inclined. the yields are similar to Aero, yet the problematic issues of clooged sprayers, huge hot pumps, and PH fluctuations are not in the the equation w NFT.