hydroponics or soil?

A

abraham1493

Active Member
hey guys, Hooking up my indoor grow room, should I do hydro or soil? or maybe both? what would get more yield? what would grow faster?
 
Impossible to give a definitive answer without more information.

Hydro will generally grow faster in the same space, and it also lends itself to automated larger scale systems.

But hydro is also generally more complicated to set up, a little more expensive, and less forgiving of error than soil.

I'd say stick to soil until/unless you have a few grows under your belt for experience. Hydro just adds too many additional variables to the mix when you're starting out. You can always switch to hydro later in small part, or entirely if you like.
 
I suggest reading through some hydro threads. Absorb all the information you can.
Next, read through a bunch of soil and soil-less threads, including Organics. Absorb even MORE information.
Now, take all your new found knowledge and make an informed decision on what will fit YOUR particular wants and needs.
Then, when you eff up, read, read, and read some more to figure out just where you eff'd up.
Learn from the mistakes you are sure to make, and try not to repete them.
 
If this is your first time growing or you are a relatively new grower then stick to soil. It's a lot easier and plants are a lot more stable. Gives you a chance to lear the plants and nutrients. Hydro leaves very little room for error.
 
I'm actually quite interested in this too. I'm in week 4 of flower on my first grow and I'm thinking about how I want to do my next grow. Is there a difference in taste from Hydro to soil? Does one grow faster? Take to clones better? Yield more? Which costs more to have a perpetual grow?
 
Hydro is definitely more expensive. As far as taste goes...everyone has an opinion. I think if it is grown correctly and cured properly then they both taste the same. Hydro is faster and will give bigger yields per square foot but you can't grow big plants in hydro like you can in soil. Anything over 6' tall really needs to be in soil for stability and root development.
 
phillipchristian said:
Hydro is definitely more expensive. As far as taste goes...everyone has an opinion. I think if it is grown correctly and cured properly then they both taste the same. Hydro is faster and will give bigger yields per square foot but you can't grow big plants in hydro like you can in soil. Anything over 6' tall really needs to be in soil for stability and root development.
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Sweet man thanks! I think I'm gonna rig some fantasy land vertical soil grow!
 
Jogro said:
Impossible to give a definitive answer without more information.

Hydro will generally grow faster in the same space, and it also lends itself to automated larger scale systems.

But hydro is also generally more complicated to set up, a little more expensive, and less forgiving of error than soil.

I'd say stick to soil until/unless you have a few grows under your belt for experience. Hydro just adds too many additional variables to the mix when you're starting out. You can always switch to hydro later in small part, or entirely if you like.
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Well said. Do what he says:clap:
 
dabumps said:
Is there a difference in taste from Hydro to soil?
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That's actually a fairly contentious subject.
Some say organic tastes better.
Some say if you flush the hydro plants with water for 1-2 weeks before harvest you can't tell any difference.
I've never seen the results of any truly blinded taste test, but my FEELING is that the latter is probably true (negligible difference if you flush).
I can say for sure that hydro grown weed can taste excellent.


Does one grow faster? Take to clones better? Yield more? Which costs more to have a perpetual grow?
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You can grow as or nearly as fast in soil if you have a great mix, but in general hydro makes it easier to maximize growth rates.

A few other advantages to hydro are that its cleaner (ie no dirt), and it can let you grow the same size plants in a smaller footprint, if you like.

Clones will grow well in soil or hydro; I don't think that's a significant difference.

Yield is dependent on many things, but probably the single most important two are amount of light, and strain type. Again, hydro makes it easier to achieve maximum growth rates (and thus yields), but you can do just as well with soil.

As to which is more expensive, that depends on what exactly you're comparing. Growing outdoors in soil is pretty darn cheap! Growing indoors using premium organic soil and premium nutrients can be pretty expensive. Hydro has a pretty significant startup cost of medium and setup, but once its setup, maintenance cost is relatively low. Nutrient cost can vary widely depending on which nutes you are buying, but there are excellent and relatively inexpensive hydro nutrients out there to buy.

Also, if you're considering expense, you have to consider the value of your time, too. An automated hydro system may cost more to set up, and even to maintain, but if your time is scarce, it may well be worth the extra investment.
 
phillipchristian said:
H you can't grow big plants in hydro like you can in soil. Anything over 6' tall really needs to be in soil for stability and root development.
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You absolutely can grow huge plants in hydro, *IF* you want to build the appropriate setup to support them.

In practice most indoor growers don't want/need to grow 6'+ high plants, because yields are better with higher turnover of smaller plants, and because of space concerns, so this generally isn't done. But it definitely CAN be done, eg:

http://www.familyhomesecurity.com/biggest-weed-bust-tennessee-incredible-underground-marijuana-farm/

Mature-Plants.jpg
 
Jogro said:
You absolutely can grow huge plants in hydro, *IF* you want to build the appropriate setup to support them.

In practice most indoor growers don't want/need to grow 6'+ high plants, because yields are better with higher turnover of smaller plants, and because of space concerns, so this generally isn't done. But it definitely CAN be done, eg:

http://www.familyhomesecurity.com/biggest-weed-bust-tennessee-incredible-underground-marijuana-farm/

View attachment 2117344
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I'm still going to disagree with you. First off, in the article and in thise pics there aren't any plants over 6 feet tall. In the picture you posted those plants are 4-5' tall (you don't count the pot) and in the article it said that "some plants were as tall as 6 feet." I know you can grow 6'+ plants in hydro; i've seen guys doing it in UC systems. But the majority of large tree growers are all in dirt. There are plenty of guys growing 6'+ plants indoors; but considering the root mass and weight of the plant almost all of them are doing it in soil.

I challenge you to find me 3 pics in all of the web with a 6'+ hydro plant. There is a reason you don't see them.
 
if u have a good spot, good chunk of money and alotta time to spend with the plants go hydro! if not like me i see mine every other day and on a tight budget soil is the way to go either way u can get large and potent yields u just have to do it correct! good luck :leaf:
 
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