Notice to new growers, please read

[Filthy Phil]

So this message is for beginner growers who want to start up their setup. This message might be a little rude, but its for your own good....seriously.

I dont know how many times I see requests for help like this "so my plants are dying. They turned yellow, got all crispy, and died in a few days. Why is this happening? Im new to this" Or "my plants are dying, please help, im new to this." When you look at their pictures you see explanded clay pebbles, ebb and flow systems, deep water culture, yadda yadda ya. 1/10th of the problem photos are in soil/soiless...

What Im saying is...why would you EVER use these systems for your first time growing. I am certain people advized you against it. You probably thought to yourself, "Im good at things though, I'll make it work." Or "if I dont do something complicated my weed wont turn out good or I wont harveat enough!" This is NOT true.

Growing good bud is hard enough without adding more issues that complicated setups bring. LEARN HOW TO GROW FIRST! If you are not an experienced grower who can read leafs and know the strains they will grow with personal experience, then PLEASE dont use these systems. Stick to a soil/soilless mixture. You can still set up reservoirs and feeding systems if youre worried about working too hard.

Dont allow your arrogance to make you waste time and money. Sure, the guy at the hydro store is going to recommend it because it makes him the most money.

Just take my advice: DONT GROW DEEP WATER CULTURE, EBB AND GROW, EBB AND FLOW, AIROPONICS, BUBBLEPONICS, YOUR FIRST COUPLE TIMES. in fact...wait a few years.

 

[skunkd0c]

I started with NFT i would recommend it to any new grower, it is more simple than soil, and inexpressive
most of the problems i see on this forum with newbies involve soil growing , if only these newbies had my luck and started with NFT
they could of enjoyed years of problem free grows like i have
soil growing has more variables , when to water, when to feed etc etc
most nobs start with soil because they wrongly think it is easier and because of the cost is cheaper to start with soil .. i see it as a shame
all these folk with sick plants

 

[Quitekeen]

So this message is for beginner growers who want to start up their setup. This message might be a little rude, but its for your own good....seriously.

I dont know how many times I see requests for help like this "so my plants are dying. They turned yellow, got all crispy, and died in a few days. Why is this happening? Im new to this" Or "my plants are dying, please help, im new to this." When you look at their pictures you see explanded clay pebbles, ebb and flow systems, deep water culture, yadda yadda ya. 1/10th of the problem photos are in soil/soiless...

What Im saying is...why would you EVER use these systems for your first time growing. I am certain people advized you against it. You probably thought to yourself, "Im good at things though, I'll make it work." Or "if I dont do something complicated my weed wont turn out good or I wont harveat enough!" This is NOT true.

Growing good bud is hard enough without adding more issues that complicated setups bring. LEARN HOW TO GROW FIRST! If you are not an experienced grower who can read leafs and know the strains they will grow with personal experience, then PLEASE dont use these systems. Stick to a soil/soilless mixture. You can still set up reservoirs and feeding systems if youre worried about working too hard.

Dont allow your arrogance to make you waste time and money. Sure, the guy at the hydro store is going to recommend it because it makes him the most money.

Just take my advice: DONT GROW DEEP WATER CULTURE, EBB AND GROW, EBB AND FLOW, AIROPONICS, BUBBLEPONICS, YOUR FIRST COUPLE TIMES. in fact...wait a few years.

I'm sorry, I thought this forum room was intended to be educational and supportive to new growers, I guessed I clicked on the 'rant and rave' forum, my mistake.

 

[Filthy Phil]

I'm sorry, I thought this forum room was intended to be educational and supportive to new growers, I guessed I clicked on the 'rant and rave' forum, my mistake.

I guess we have different perspectives on what we would term educational and supportive. I feel that there is much for new growers to know and this is one of them imo. Also, you dont think its supportive to try to direct peoyle toward a path they will most likely be successful in? I know people who spent thousands more dollars on a setup that led them to failure than if tjey had just gone more simple. Additionally they werent even able to make up some of their losses with the clubs because their shit fried.

I dont see how this only equates to a rant to you. Im trying to help people avoid common mistakes, help them actually harvest some bud, not waste thousands of dollars and months worth of opportunity.

I see you have 7 posts....comb through peoples problem pages and you'll see what I mean

 

[hiluxphantom]

poor phil all u haters hatin on him cuz u dont want to be wrong. its cool and actually my hydrostore told me not to do hydro because its FUCKING difficult! and sensitive as hell ur whole crop can die within hours with hydro soil usually lets u have more time atlest a day although my second grow is gonna be an aeroflo2 60 thats cuz I'm also buying a expensive combo meter probably blue lab , plus I'm a genius
my only problem i had was with a poor choice of soil mixture, occasional light burn (1000watts will do that) and meally bugs on some plants other than that my buds are frosty as hell


or if you do decide to go hydro get a good ph meter and learn how to use it.

 

[sworth]

Soil-hydro; what's gained on the swings is lost on the roundabout.. No system is really any easier than any other really, even for a newb. We herbalists are intelligent enough to make our own minds up, and to get it together.

 

[Nusky]

I grew soil, killed the plants. Grew DWC, harvested first time. DWC just makes more sense and is more straight forward to me.

 

[welshsmoker]

im with filthy on this one, happened exactly has he said to me. the kiss method. keep it simple stupid.

 

[skunkd0c]

poor phil all u haters hatin on him cuz u dont want to be wrong. its cool and actually my hydrostore told me not to do hydro because its FUCKING difficult! and sensitive as hell ur whole crop can die within hours with hydro soil usually lets u have more time atlest a day although my second grow is gonna be an aeroflo2 60 thats cuz I'm also buying a expensive combo meter probably blue lab , plus I'm a genius
my only problem i had was with a poor choice of soil mixture, occasional light burn (1000watts will do that) and meally bugs on some plants other than that my buds are frosty as hell


or if you do decide to go hydro get a good ph meter and learn how to use it.

your comment is absolute nonsense .. hydro can be very simple, i could train a nob like you to grow beautiful weed in an hour or two .. if you were smart possibly 30 minutes

top tip > do not ever believe what the guy at the hydro shop tells you .. they are for the most part clueless idiots

live n learn

 

[BigBuddahCheese]

I started with StinkBud.. super easy and stable. if you can read and proportion your nutes correctly per SB system you are gold.

 

[Anjinsan]

Soil is easy. I too would recommend it.

 

[BigBuddahCheese]

Soil is easy. I too would recommend it.

Look at all the newb questions in this forum alone, the first 5 I clicked on were soil and all having tons of issues. So.. I think its user dependent and conditions. Sure its easy but it depends on a lot of other variables besides how easy it is to grow, the OP should have stated that since his is partially correct or wrong depending how you look at it.

 

[burrr]

Don't fear the hydro, just come into the hobby with ppm meter, ph meter, and all the necessary stuff. Just don't half ass it. my first grow was hydro, in a water farm , and was awesome. I didn't fuck things up until I started reading stuff online about running 1300 ppm, and tried that for a couple rounds.
rule #1 for hydro--- less is more

 

[boneheadbob]

coke or pepsi
mayo or MW
vanila or chocolate

but im a soilman

 

[BigBuddahCheese]

The best advice bar none is don't rush into a particular medium that you will be growing. Read, ask questions and watch videos on the method you want to tackle and see if its right for YOU! There is NO set easiest method, everyone has problems with every method and some rock at them too. Its all about what fits your environment, yield requirements and what your comfortable tackling.

Most people who try hydro and struggle do it not having the right tools, water is the life line and if you are going to keep that life line in check with no ph meter and no ppm meter then you are going to have problems, same with soil or any medium for that matter. Also the different feeding amounts schedule etc.. people take hydro/aero and try to apply soil or another medium feeding schedule in there and fail.

To discourage anyone from any method of growing is wrong, just take your time, weigh all your options, difficulty and environment issues and go from there. Simple.

Most people who have problems with any type of growing is that they rush in, are not patient and don't research what they are doing. They jump on the internet, sign up for RIU and run down to their local hydro store and start thinking well others are doing it must be easy. Well it is for the most part if you do your research and have common sense and some type of logical thinking ability.

Peace.

 

[zvuv]

I don't want to get into the soil vs hydro bitch fight but I think Phil makes a very important point. Too often newbies go for a really ambitious setup which only increases the level of difficulty they face on their first grow. On top of that they max out their capacity so that the grow cab is jam packed with growing plants and there is no room to manouver and no flexibility to accomodate mistakes or contingencies.

There really is a lot to learn about growing MJ, especially indoors. Staying on top of everything and reading the plants needs can be overwhelming the first time. I try to persuade newbies to go for a very simple setup with just a couple three plants, do one grow and then make some improvements. By slowly refining your setup over successive grows you dont stretch yourself too far and you end up with a better grow cab, one that is based on real growing experience rather than the ambitious design of a newbie who has never grown MJ, or often, has never grown anything.

Personaly, I do think soil is a good choice for newbies. I am not going to say it's the only good choice but it's the one I favor. It's simple, familiar and fairly forgiving. With hydro you can kill all you plants in an hour. Harder to do with soil. Also, the investment is modest and there is no obstacle to switching to hydro later.

 

[Filthy Phil]

It seems that there is some disagreement on how to start...whi,h is cool. There doesnt seem to be however much disagreement on not rushing in to a grow. I just think about my first time. All I had to guide me was what I had read, which was a lot, but there is only so much you can put in a book. I think without someone to show me, something I didnt have, I would have surely failed at something more complex. As it is I half failed anyways...my bud was ok, but if I harvested that NOW, I would call it a failure.

Perhaps it just has to do with when I wrote this I had just written answers on 3 different threads in a row where the people had problems and their plants were sitting in expanded clay. Obviously they dont have anyone there to show them or they wouldnt be asking us at RIU. And if you have no one to show you....you're just waiting for problems.

Now, I dont assume that more complex setups are impossible to be successful at, but you do need someone to show you. Its the difference between trying to learn a language with or without a teacher. I guess my point is...if you dont have anyone to show you, dont become over.ambitious. Play it safe. Shoot, just learning how much to feed and when takes time and experience, let alone other things. Just trying to be of help...

 

[HiIGrow]

Soil is more forgiving. Regadless people will fuck up both. Read books!

 

[canefan]

Soil is without the most forgiving medium to grow in. The biggest problem IMHO no matter whether ebb/flow, hydro or soil or any of this other new stuff is that if you have never grown a plant MJ or other you are prone to mistakes. Growing MJ is simple but if you want the best genetics of the plant can offer it takes time, patience, and learning from mistakes and not saying all the hours reading and applying that to different plants in your grows.
If you look at the problem most noobies in soil have is overwatering and over fertilization, followed closely by chopping early. Of course always have been a soilman and always will it is where the flavor is.
good luck

 

[zvuv]

Look at all the newb questions in this forum alone, the first 5 I clicked on were soil and all having tons of issues. So.. I think its user dependent and conditions. Sure its easy but it depends on a lot of other variables besides how easy it is to grow, the OP should have stated that since his is partially correct or wrong depending how you look at it.

There is plenty that can go wrong with soil too. No argument. People will find a way to fuck up anything.

You cant really draw a conclusion from that sample of problem posts without knowing the ratio of noobie soil growers vs hydro. If hydro grows are as common among noobies as soil, then yes it does say something, but if they are comparatively rare then you would expect far fewer problem posts from the hydro crowd.

As a noobie you have to make a choice about lights when you may have no concept of what a spectrum is. You have to learn the plant's life cycle which is unusual and rather complex. You have to decide on a grow medium and which ever way you go there's alot to learn there. Together with the medium you have to choose nutes (try reading a nutes thread to get a clear answer). And finally you have to select a strain..

Bear in mind there's a wide range of people growing. Some of them are not comfortable reading or learning from texts. Most of them know nothing about growing anything at all.

When you do start, you start at the most difficult part of the cycle, germination and seedling when the plant is most fragile.

I am not trying to resolve the question of soil vs hydro. What I do think is that we would be of more service to the newbies if we urged them to keep their first grow simple and small and wait on the more advanced stuff.