Hydro VS Soil

KP419 · Sep 28, 2012

I have heard this and that of differences of hydro growing and soil growing but whats true and whats not. I have been told hydro growing is done in half the time of soil grows, is this true? Can you have a soil and hydro grow in same room and harvest both at same time? What are the Pros and Cons of hydro and soil grows? I am on my second hydro grow now but have grown soil in the past but never was I so determined and into it as I am now. I just want to learn everything I can about what I am doing. Before it was just plant the seed, water it and harvest, never did I worry about all the technical things that is involved with growing as I am now. I was thinking of doing half hydro and soil in my next grow but wanted to know the grow times of each and the pros and cons of each before I do this. What does everyone else prefer?

pcduck · Sep 28, 2012

I have been told hydro growing is done in half the time of soil grows, is this true?

No...Flowering times are the same. Hydro has faster veg time then soil. ime

Can you have a soil and hydro grow in same room and harvest both at same time?

Yes, as the flowering times will be relatively the same.

What does everyone else prefer?

With Summer time temps I prefer soil, as I cannot keep my rez cool enough without a chiller. Cooler temps will bring out my DWC buckets

KP419 · Sep 28, 2012

I have heard when the temps in your buckets reach higher temps that there is some problems with the roots is this true?

pcduck · Sep 28, 2012

KP419 said:
I have heard when the temps in your buckets reach higher temps that there is some problems with the roots is this true?

Yes..high temps and light getting into the buckets are very bad.

Locked · Sep 28, 2012

KP419 said:
I have heard when the temps in your buckets reach higher temps that there is some problems with the roots is this true?

Yes, this is what pc was alluding to. Soil is more forgiving IMO and sometimes a better fit for beginners. Hydro requires ph and ppm monitoring, while soil you can get away with just ph monitoring if using Chem nutrients and no ph monitoring if you are all Organic and have a healthy microherd. Jmo

Rosebud · Sep 28, 2012

I am an organic dirt farmer and I love it. I like seeing the hydro grows but it just doesn't seem like a good fit for me.

best wishes on both ways.

orangesunshine · Sep 28, 2012

i prefer soil---never grew hydro but can tell the taste difference of hydro in the final---depending on the quality of your water supply you prolly need/want RO water system---only hydro i do is for cloning---hydro is supposed to be easier---hydro reacts very quickly to what you bubble in your rezzy---seems hydro would raise the RH in your room and increase chances of mold if already in a high RH environment---don' think you can get organic hydro nutes---the term organic is used loosely cause you are growing under artificial light---soil is more forgiving---

The Hemp Goddess · Sep 28, 2012

I have to say that I was personally really surprised at the difference in size between a plant I grew hydro and those in soil. I am a veteran at hydro and an organic newbie, so I put a lot of the difference down to my own inexperience.

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=195700&d=1348521334
All the plants are the same age. The plant in the middle is the hydro plant. The other plants on the right and left were soil plants. I transplanted the soil plants to hydro last Saturday.

I am probably going to run DWC through the winter and try more organic plants in the spring/summer. It gets hard to deal with dirt and organics during the winter because of temps--dirt freezes and the supersoil has to be kept inside or it does not stay warm enough for microbial life.

I would suggest that you do go ahead run both and see what works best for you. Your grow time will not necessarily be any different, although your hydro plant may be larger through veg. There is nothing, no growing method, no additive that can hasten flowering. Veg is,of course, as long as you want it to be. Whether hydro or soil is easier is one of those relative questions. Make sure you understand the difference requirements between hydro and soil, like pH.

If you have not decided on a nutrient line, I find General Hydroponics Flora series a good nutrient. It can be used with soil also. It is not organic. I did try the GH organic line, but did not like it for hydro.

pcduck · Sep 28, 2012

orangesunshine said:
..never grew hydro but can tell the taste difference of hydro in the final..

Orange if you can tell the difference, the grower that grew it doesn't know what they were doing.

Grown both ways, smoked both ways with friends and nobody can tell the difference. Even from broken branches from my DWC that were at the limits of their ppm's, nobody could tell the difference..ime.

orangesunshine · Sep 28, 2012

pcduck said:
Orange if you can tell the difference, the grower that grew it doesn't know what they were doing.

Grown both ways, smoked both ways with friends and nobody can tell the difference. Even from broken branches from my DWC that were at the limits of their ppm's, nobody could tell the difference..ime.

although it is not just a one time thing---that is possible---maybe it has something to do with flushing---hydro seems to burn a bit quicker and don't get that "earthy" dirt taste---pretty sure i can tell the difference---but---then again i my just be a dirt snob and it is all in my head

pcduck · Sep 28, 2012

I think it is all in your head

Got friends that say they can tell the difference, I guess there is a 50/50 chance but they're not even close to that 50/50.

orangesunshine · Sep 28, 2012

pcduck said:
I think it is all in your head

Got friends that say they can tell the difference, I guess there is a 50/50 chance but they're not even close to that 50/50.

prolly so---but---not only do i have a 50/50 chance of getting the guess right---it also opens the door to do more testing on different strains :hubba:

think i might even change my name from os to the dirt snob

pcduck · Sep 28, 2012

Always more testing

gonna test some now..cheddarwurst2 :bong:

OldDaddyFedder · Sep 28, 2012

Dirt farmer for the present-but I do have a hydro set-up...one of these days I just might...

:48:

ODF

Hushpuppy · Sep 29, 2012

I have to chime in as I just finished harvesting my organic trio today, and am very disappointed in the size of the buds, and amount of bud per plant. I ran 2 strains in organic and in hydro. I have hydro plants(Blue Mystic) that are six weeks in flower now that have bigger buds than the ones I just pulled, and the Blueberry Punch in the other tent is only 5 weeks into flower and already have more, bigger buds that are by far, more resinous than the Blueberry(organic) that I pulled yesterday.

I know that there has to be a noob curve but I really tried to make them produce, and with less effort(albeit more actual work) the hydro plants are far outperforming the organics.

I also took some dried and cured buds to a friend that is a bit of a kroneseur and he said he likes the taste of my hydro better than the organic.

I will stick with hydro

The Hemp Goddess · Sep 29, 2012

I kind of have done likewise, at least for the time Hushpuppy.

4u2sm0ke · Sep 29, 2012

I love my ****..and My DWC bucket to wash me dirty hands

NorCalHal · Sep 29, 2012

I have found that usuing a soiless mix works well for me. Alot of folks have a misconception about soiless mixes like Promix and Sunshine for example...they think it is dirt. It is not.

I use regular hydroponic nuits (GH) and feed when they are dry. The benefit for me for the soiless mix over another hydro medium like rockwool is the wet/dry period. With soiless, you have a bigger window of when you need to water, dsepending on container size of course.
Rockwool tends to dry out alot faster, and therefore the garden needs almost hourly attention. Regardless of a autowatering system or not. The more pumps,air pumps you have, the greater the risk for failure.

DWC is another monster alltogether. I really don't classify dwc as traditional hydro.
Without a doubt, DWC will acheive faster growth and more weight per sq/ft then regular hydro, but there are alot more variables to deal with to pull of a succesful crop in dwc lasting upwards of 90 days with including veg time. Something goes bad, it goes bad quick.

It all depends on how much time you have to garden with. I like the KISS method.

The Hemp Goddess · Sep 30, 2012

One of the things I like about hydro is also one of the things that make it tough and more hands on, is as NCH mentioned, things happen fast. I have lost plants overnight and had not a clue what went wrong. They will have received the same nutes and had the same environment as their neighbor who is thriving. However, if you are a hands on person and spend a lot of time with your plants, you can recognize problems, treat them, and have the plants respond a lot faster than in soil. So, while I like the KISS method too, I find hydro easier for me personally.

Hal, why don't you consider DWC traditional hydro? (I am going to be picking your brain about CO2 in the near future)

CasualGrower · Sep 30, 2012

Personally I like Hydro... I use DWC for the most part.... started with a drip system but all those lil lines getting clogged and other issues....DWC is the way to go...... buckets/airpump and stones you are GTG..

but I am a lazy hydro guy, I usually dont get in my grows for a couple days because of my work....... I should probably grow soil for the slower reaction .... but I have good luck at the hydro.... Nerver had it with soil...all depends what you get comfortable with using...

CG

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