FilthyFletch
Mr I Can Do That For Half
Marc are they in veg or flower?
Hydro Vs Soil?
- Thread starter marc88101
- Start date
FilthyFletch
Mr I Can Do That For Half
In veg you can super crop them which means you take thumb and forefinger grip top of the plant main stalk above top node and squeeze and roll a bit not to hard. The goal is to slightly break the fibers in that main stalk. It will heal just fine but it slows the growth and allows the other branches from lower or other plants to catch up. Do it maybe every 4 days once a week until it looks like the other caught up. This is known as super cropping and is done to get more top colas from lower branches. In flower I wouldnt do that asfter week one the latest I would put a screen on top of the taller ones to weigh it down or lst the tops down with string.
marc88101
Well-Known Member
Today is day 10 of flower, I think I may have put into 12/12 a bit late as I felt they could use a little longer veg time, I put them in at 22" and 10 days later 3 are at 36" and the rest at 30" I have read on super cropping and it looks like thats the route i will take on the next run. I didnt do any topping, super cropping or pruning of any kind. I wanted to get a feel for what I was doing and wanted to make sure I got the nutes and set up right first. Its Hindu Kush by the way...
FilthyFletch
Mr I Can Do That For Half
Lst is training the plant. Youll see people use it. I believ the full term is like Latticce System Training or something. Basically you use rope or wire to tie down branches. Some start right away and it pulls branches down or out to hold them down and let what would be lower growth get light and catch up. It can make a thin plant into a bush. It is a lot of work to do a bunch but the out come is really nice. Instead of 2 or 3 top colas you can get 50.
FilthyFletch
Mr I Can Do That For Half
silica if used right is real good it allows more nutrient uptake and usage to the plant. Always add it after nutes are mixed and ph as it can cause lock out as it changes the ph if overdone.I grow almost all indica strains as I prefer body buzz and medical strains for my back. Indicas double during flower but sativas will triple or quadruple once in flower so a 20 inch sativa heavy will be like 50 or more inches at finish and take about 2- 4 weeks longer to flower
marc88101
Well-Known Member
Great to know, thanks. So should I tie the 3 36" plants down to where they are even with the others at this point? Also do you think my plants will get over 4 ft...sorry for all the questions, But your one of the few that I fell really knows your doing!
FilthyFletch
Mr I Can Do That For Half
Do you know if its a sativa heavy strain or is it unknown bag seed?I wouldnt lst what I would do this time is put something under the pots of the shorter plants so they are same height and just let this round go as it will hopefully yoiu have the height there to get it done. I dont mind answering if I can help. I aksed tons of questions to learn what I could from whoever would share things.
marc88101
Well-Known Member
Its Hundu Kush a full indica strain...I got the clones from The only geneticly tested clone company in U.S called the Clone Queens in Southern California. www.cqdna.com
nuglets
New Member
i agree. for new growers soil is usually the route to go. not saying that hydro can't be done; just that it adds more moving parts when new guys are trying to learn nutrients and how to read their plants. both have their strong points. if they are grown, harvested, and cured correctly i think they pretty much taste the same. hydro is faster and will give bigger yields. soil is less maintenance and more forgiving. some purists say soil; especially organic; tastes better and has a smoother draw. i can't tell though.
marc88101
Well-Known Member
I cant lift the other plants, they are on a flood table in 4x4 RW bubes on cocomat. The roots are way intwined in the mat to move at all
merkstillgrows
Active Member
FilthyFletch
Mr I Can Do That For Half
you should be fine with that strain probably finish in the 40 inch range
cues
Well-Known Member
LST= Low Stress Training as far as I'm aware. Lattice system sounds more like a scrog.
smokinrav
Well-Known Member
Yeah, well, both of you heard wrong. Potency is genetic, it has nothing to do with the style of grow you have. You either grow a plant to its potential or you don't. That is the beginning and end of the story. Anyone who thinks they can 'dial in' a healthier environment than an organic one doesn't know much about organics, and thinks they know way more about hydro than they do.
Just because you invested a lot of money in a system does not mean it is better. That's what you tell yourself to justify the cash you have put into it.
nastynate420
Active Member
Just food for thought... When i go vending to the co-op in my area they always ask if its hydro. For some reason they DONT want hydro. Im not sure why. Ive heard in SF they are all over hydro tho. Personally I grow in soil but Im comptiplating doing a hydro set-up to see how it comes out. Ive never had hydro that was better than a soil grow (taste wise). maybe I jus havent found a good source for hydro yet!
cues
Well-Known Member
Well, I've never seen most soil-borne pests in Hydro. (Vine-weevil or root nematodes for instance)
I also know WAY more about soil than I do Hydro (I have a degree and 20 years experience in sports turf science)
Do I know much about hydro? No. I bought a set-up, followed the instructions, job done.
Could I match what I grow in Hydro in soil? No, not even with all my knowledge and training.
Why? Because even if I could produce a soil structure that aerates as well as (hydroton in my case), I would never be able to water it sufficiently/often enough. Roots need air, water and nutrients. Unfortunately, soil is inevitably a compromise of these three essentials, usually lacking in air.
Most modern golf greens are built to a specification called 'U.S.G.A spec'. It's the closest you will come to hydroponics on sports turf. It involves a very free draining, inert sand substrate, lots of irrigation and foliar feeding. They are widely recognised as the best greens. There are even bowling greens that are pure hydro, with re-circulating nutrient systems.
I'm not saying soil doesn't have it's place but, give me a 2 seeds, a pot of soil and a hydro kit and I know which would produce more by far. Now take into account that I spent 6 years learning about soil and about 2 hours learning about Hydro.
However, give me a field and $1000 and it would have to be soil. Simply because I couldn't afford to go hydro in such a large area.
To conclude, both have their advantages, but to say that a soil grow will beat a hydro grow is ridiculous. I would love to see a side-by-side grow using the same lighting/temps etc where it was done. If it ever happened, I would call the grower either a liar or an idiot.
If I were interested in growing commercially, I would take the time to master hydro for the increased growth rate. The 50% perlite 50% peat moss mix I'm using in 2 gallon smart pots is working out great though, and I like the convenience of being able to move pots around. I think that the key to a good yield is canopy management and strategic light placement.