New to hydro, but not new to growing...

[Nova]

Alright, so ive grown my fair share, but always in soil and have always been a "natures way" kind of guy in my approach to growing. To keep things short, i love to grow, and am always down for a new challenge in my grows. I am really lookin to try a Hydro setup, but know absolutely nothing about hydro itself, ive done some reading on here, researched a few setups, and am still undecided on what direction I want to go.

I am currently growing in soil, they are seedlings no more than a week old, so they are still relatively small. Is it very hard to convert from soil to hydro when they are small, anyone have the process, or is it as simple as just running some water over the roots?

I hope to purchase a setup at the first of month. I had this setup in mind....

http://tinyurl.com/2to7zv
(The 24 site version)

What do you think about that product? I do have an open-air greenhouse where everything will be grown, which means the sun will be my light. I would really like to get away for vacation a little this year, and growing in soil is tedious as you have to constantly water the plants every other day, makes it hard to travel.

So what do you guys think?

Thanks alot for helpin out a newbie hydro guy!

Nova

 

[massproducer]

You could wash off the roots and transfer them to a soiless medium or a hydro system, but it is kind of risky, the roots are very delicate.

Why dont you just grow out your plants and then take some clones from them and put them in a soil less medium of vermiculite and perlite. I always think it is a good idea to transition from soil to soil-less, then to a water culture. Soil-less has great growth rates but it is more forgiving then moving directly to something like, NFT, Ebb & flow or DWC, which are all water culture systems.

Just my thoughts.

 

[massproducer]

My only concern would be that hydro in a greenhouse in the summer can get very hard. I would definiately suggest a soil-less grow. For the automation of the grow you can set up your soil-less grow with a cheap dripper system, that will feed your plants automaticly on your schedule.

The problems with greenhouses and hydro is that greenhouses get very hot in the summer and hydro plants roots will rot very quickly in warm weather, because spores that are always present will start to hatch in warm res temps.

I am not saying that it can not be done, but it will take constant monitoring and interaction from you. I don't think that is what you want.

 

[Nova]

My only concern would be that hydro in a greenhouse in the summer can get very hard. I would definiately suggest a soil-less grow. For the automation of the grow you can set up your soil-less grow with a cheap dripper system, that will feed your plants automaticly on your schedule.

The problems with greenhouses and hydro is that greenhouses get very hot in the summer and hydro plants roots will rot very quickly in warm weather, because spores that are always present will start to hatch in warm res temps.

I am not saying that it can not be done, but it will take constant monitoring and interaction from you. I don't think that is what you want.

Its actually an open-air greenhouse, meaning it has a clear bicarbonate roof, but 3 of the side walls are left open for fresh air to circulate from the outside, we get awesome winds where i live, so it means i dont have to set up my own air circulation system.

So even though they are still young seedlings, like less than week, you wouldnt recommend just trying to rinse the roots clean? What about the hydro-system i posted, what do you think of that.

Again im not really versed specifically in the different types of hydro?

Ive only encountered a few....Ebb&Flow(Fill and Drain) as well as Drip, which explains itself. You dont recommend Ebb&Flow?

Thanks again bud!

Nova

 

[massproducer]

No i love ebb & flow systems, it is just that with hydro, especially active hydro the margin for error is very small compared to soil. So things that would normally take two weeks to happen in soil can happen in 2 days with hydro. If there is a problem it has to be delt with asap, or goodbye chop.

But passive hydro like a soil-less grow takes away some of the margins, for example with any active hydro system you are going to want to be test the PPM, PH and temp of the water constantly, to make sure everything is alright, and while they do not take long to do, they must be done, especially when you are just getting firmilar with your new system.

With soil-less you check you ph and feed your plants, or have a dripper feed your plants, because the buffers in your nutes will keep your ph stable, but as soon as you start reciruclating your nutes, your PH will slowly change, usually slowly climbing up.

With the right soil-less mix you can almost set and forget it for a minute. You can have your soil-less plants sitting in a small res and just fill the res. The vermiculite will wick up the water and nutes to feed the roots, while the perlite will create large pockets of air in the vermiculite so that the roots get a large amount of oxygen. What this mean is that with the correct soil-less mix it is virtually impossible to over water your plants or under feed because they are sitting in the nute solution in a highly aerated medium.

Trust me most people are very pleasantly surprised at the growth rates they achieve from a simple soil-less garden. Passive hydro can grow at similar rates to other active hydroponics, because they are getting everything that active systems provide, such as a constant supply of nutes and major amounts of air.

 

[Nova]

No i love ebb & flow systems, it is just that with hydro, especially active hydro the margin for error is very small compared to soil. So things that would normally take two weeks to happen in soil can happen in 2 days with hydro. If there is a problem it has to be delt with asap, or goodbye chop.

But passive hydro like a soil-less grow takes away some of the margins, for example with any active hydro system you are going to want to be test the PPM, PH and temp of the water constantly, to make sure everything is alright, and while they do not take long to do, they must be done, especially when you are just getting firmilar with your new system.

With soil-less you check you ph and feed your plants, or have a dripper feed your plants, because the buffers in your nutes will keep your ph stable, but as soon as you start reciruclating your nutes, your PH will slowly change, usually slowly climbing up.

With the right soil-less mix you can almost set and forget it for a minute. You can have your soil-less plants sitting in a small res and just fill the res. The vermiculite will wick up the water and nutes to feed the roots, while the perlite will create large pockets of air in the vermiculite so that the roots get a large amount of oxygen. What this mean is that with the correct soil-less mix it is virtually impossible to over water your plants or under feed because they are sitting in the nute solution in a highly aerated medium.

Trust me most people are very pleasantly surprised at the growth rates they achieve from a simple soil-less garden. Passive hydro can grow at similar rates to other active hydroponics, because they are getting everything that active systems provide, such as a constant supply of nutes and major amounts of air.

Okay, makes sense!

Any suggestions for a soil-less grow system? Id rather not have to build one, im not lazy, but i prefer to buy it in a system. Contains most of everything i need to set it up?!?!

Thanks Mass!

Nova

 

[Nova]

Is this more of what you were talking about Mass?

http://tinyurl.com/3962ut

I think i would have to supply my own pump and reservoir but that can be easily done?

I know you were talking soilless but the only way i seet it right now to work is if i leave it in the soil and setup this drip system, or if i move all the way over to a hydro system. Unless they make a soil-less system with around 24 sites...i grow more than just MJ in my greenhouse!

I will still be having soil grows this season, its the nature man in me, and i have a very small watering system setup that works off my sprinkler system, but it wouldnt be adequate for 24 sites.

Id really like to find a semi-cheap way of going soil-less, i mean i am prepared to spend some money on it, but lets not get ahead of ourselves! Money doesn't grow on trees, or does it? :hubba: JK

Just lookin for a new challenge! I went ahead and tried a winter grow that went horrible, so im hopin and praying this endeavour goes better! LOL!

Nova

 

[Nova]

The only other option i see is this....

http://tinyurl.com/2uc5n7

An aeroponic system, as i dont see how it consistently uses the same nute solution over and over again.

im seriously not worried about it being totally maintenance free, i just want something thats a little more self-sustaining, sometimes i cant remember when the last time i gave the plants nutes or not, just tedious to come home for the day and have to woonder if i watered the plants last time or if i gave them nutes last time!

So i think its either the Ebb and Flo route or the Aeroponic route!

My one question with aeroponic route is, how does the plant stay up right, they have an option for 5"inch wide cups, but i fail to see how that would support a 5-6ft plant heavy with flower!

Thanks again everyone, im learning alot about hydro, kinda cool!

Nova

 

[Cook_]

http://www.stealthhydroponics.com/product.php?xProd=9&xSec=19 check that out nova it sounds interesting enough i might just try it this year

 

[Nova]

http://www.stealthhydroponics.com/product.php?xProd=9&xSec=19 check that out nova it sounds interesting enough i might just try it this year

Too easy bro! I want something to atleast validate my abilities in growing, hahaha!

:afroweed::joint::goodposting:

 

[Cook_]

haha you know gotta mix the soil thats about the hardest thing haha

 

[KADE]

hydro... just add water =) like bens instant rice.... not quite as fast... but it'll do...
if you have any quesitons lemme know via PM