Choosing your first system

[lkdj2003]

Hydro vs. Organic

I have to respectfully disagree that hydroponics will yield higher than organics. There is a difference between growth rate and the yield. Because something grows faster does not mean it yields more in the same space. If you factor in time for veg growth, hydroponics will have the edge in yield. If you have a separate veg area, that timing issue is irrelevant.

Having greater aromatics is a matter of opinion and relative to growing skill and methods. When done correctly, organics (organic nutrients, soilless mixes) produce buds that smell just as strong as those grown hydroponically. I will concede that hydro-grown plants do have a slightly faster growth rate, but to solidly state that they yield more overall, I believe is misleading.

The reason that I switched to organics was because I didn't see enough difference in either growth or anything else to warrant the need for so much monitoring and expensive meters and nutrients. I think that the only provable plus to hydroponics is growth rate.Whereas the cons are chemical aftertaste in the flavour of buds, extreme susceptibility to over/under fertilization, very high initial investment, many things to break and clog, etc.

If grown in a nice airy organic soil mix and watered with good organic amendments, growth enhancers and beneficial fungi (mycorrhizae), you will easily compete with that of a hydroponic system. Your end result will be full flavored, non-chemical tasting buds. They can be arguably, slightly more potent due to the fact that, as of now, science cannot compete with Mother Nature and naturally occurring elements.

Bottom line - unless you are obsessed with fittings, toys and technology (and many are) organics can grow nearly as fast, just as big (if not bigger), better tasting and IMHO more potent buds. And they do this with very little initial investment, and are very forgiving of newbie mistakes.

[lkdj2003]

No, although it is useful for mother plant propagation, it is a waste of money for beginners.

Check out these articles frm Cannabis Culture Magazine:

http://www.cannabisculture.com/backi...phototron.html

http://www.cannabisculture.com/backi...1/letter2.html

[lkdj2003]

Pros:

More cost effective, forgiving and simple for inexperienced, smaller growers to manage.

Cons:

Difficult to ascertain and maintain consistent and optimum moisture, nutrient and ph levels.

[lkdj2003]

Pros:

Unsurpassed plant growth, resin, potency and yields with incredible aromatics and taste.

Cons:

Requires close monitoring of ph and ppm levels and total reliance on constant electricity.

[lkdj2003]

Pros:

Increased plant growth rates and yields with improved aromatics, potency and taste.

Cons:

Requires close monitoring of ph and ppm levels and total reliance on constant electricity.

[Ashtray]

i belive if you are only growing for personal use then hydro is a waste of your money and your weed, if your growing for yourself you will want to try and grow the finest quaility,smelling and tasting weed to do this you should deffinately be growing in soil.

[lala124]

Great thread lkdj. I think there are actually some somewhat cheap aeroponics systems out there that are supposed to work well. They might be worth a look into.

Lala

[Steptoe]

Hi All,

I am new to the forum, so am not sure if this is the place to post this or not? But before I start trying to run I’d better learn to walk.

I’ve never grown before but am considering the possibility of growing my own plant(s), where the emphasis will be on quality rather than quantity, if you know what I mean?

To start with I only have a small limited space in which to grow my plants, namely a small closet/cupboard 22” deep x 31” wide, height isn’t an really an issue as such as it goes to the ceiling (10ft approx). I would preferably like to grow smaller plants to try and eliminate the odour issue as much as possible, because it is in my sitting room.

The closet door has two air vents in (top and bottom), should I plug these with some type of carbon filter or leave them as they are? Obviously by leaving them as they are, I will no doubt require some sort of extraction unit to be installed to expel the scent of the plants!

I haven’t got a clue when it comes to what Lighting arrangements to have/use i.e. CFL, HPS or MH, obviously due to the size of the growing area heat could very well be a problem. Naturally I also wouldn’t want a lighting unit that would be too expensive to run either, so again any advice would be much appreciated here too.

I know that I will need a PH meter, Humidity meter/Thermometer to make regular checks and make sure everything is as it should be. But is there anything else like that, that I may need?

So, for the actual growing medium, I was thinking of using a mix of Worm Casts, Perlite & Vermiculite all of which I can have delivered and are fairly cheap to source, with nobody non-the-wiser. But as I am a complete novice I’m not too sure if this would be the right type of mix or not?

I have had a bit of a scout round the net looking at different seeds here and there and quite like the look of the Auto-flowering AK47 (but I think it might be a bit too smelly for what I want sadly), I have also looked at the Top 44 strain which is as I understand another fairly small plant (but again can be a bit smelly). So a bit more research is need there I think, to locate an easy to grow sweeter smelling strain possibly? Again any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Hope I haven’t bored you all too much. Naturally, I would like to try and understand what I am doing before I do it in order to avoid any costly mistakes/purchases. Well, I think that’s about it, but there may be something that I might have over-looked if so please feel free to let me know if you like.

Thank you for your time.

Regards,
Steptoe

[Already_Busted]

The debate between hydro and soil will probabley never be resolved in my opinoin. pretty typically everyone seems to champion their own craft of course.ldman:

[chris1985]

I have gone for the soil well coco pete as i have heard that coco pete is better as it has no neutrients in it at all so is balanced and also when you get it, it is sterile and jas not bugs oe insects in it!

Also with coc pete you can also re use it all you have to do is put it in the microwve for a short period of time and it will kill any little bugs that might be in it after use and also kill any bacteria etc in there as well so its like sterilisin it!