Hydro VS Dirt the final show down

mexsin13

mexsin13

Active Member
Hello I was wondering what people really think. What grow type is better. I have been growing in dirt for quite a few years now. And i am real skeptical about going to hydro. I have 3 rooms at the moment. 2 for bud and 1 for veg. In my 2 flowering rooms I use twenty 1000 Watt Hortilux Super Blue bulbs under Premium SunSystem Harvest Pro ballasts. I do not use a co2 burner or co2 tanks. I keep it old school if i need co2 i use sugar and yeast in my rooms, only if needed. I live in a very secluded location so i do not use any type of filter. Besides i love the smell. My rooms have plenty of ventilation. And i keep my room at a temp between 75-79 never under never over. My rooms are on a very strict time schedule. 2 water 1 fertilizer every 2 days or so. I have a moisture meter that i use to make sure i never over water and i test the ph balance and the ppm daily. To make sure my baby's are the best they can be. I also rotate my plants a quarter turn every other day. My grow rooms are all in old concrete and brick buildings behind my house. I use 7 gallon containers and i also use 2x4x8 and ply wood to keep the roots off the cold floor. I usually get between 6 to 7 ounces a plant dry. I am disabled so i have all the time in the world because i do not work. I know the old saying is if it's not broke do not try to fix it. But when i am told i could do better with hydro i am inclined to at least get some feed back. I have the time i have the money and i have the space. I have 8 different strains that i have had for over 5 years. Three of them take in top dollar and the dispensary i supply to. But im not sure how they would do in a hydro set up. So any hydro guys out there let me know Hydro or dirt????
 
DDub

DDub

Well-Known Member
nickfury510 said:
ive done dirt for years...doing my first hydro right now and i dont think im going back to soil.....
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This says it all....I did my first Hydro DWC about a year ago, I will never go back to dirt. You have a godly like power of control with Hydro that is nearly impossible to achieve in dirt.
 
mexsin13

mexsin13

Active Member
How is that way to broad of a question. I can get 6 to 7 ounces dry from what i do in dirt. What variables are needing to be considered??
 
DDub

DDub

Well-Known Member
mexsin13 said:
How is that way to broad of a question. I can get 6 to 7 ounces dry from what i do in dirt. What variables are needing to be considered??
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Lighting, Veg Time, Setup Style (SOG, Scrogg), Strain, Experience.....
 
mexsin13

mexsin13

Active Member
If the variables of hydro change that much maybe i am better off with sticking to dirt. I understand the variable of the persons experience and the Strain... But once you have your system in place and your routine down and the strains that you want the out come should be pretty much the same. Unless you go off the deep end and find your self experimenting every time you decide to grow. And if thats the case I was hoping for some feed back from a few guys who have a good hydro setup that they have stuck with for more than a year.
 
D

DaGambler

Well-Known Member
you've got two flower rooms... perhaps your veg could be split as well so that you can try one hydro while keeping the other dirt.

i'm a little bit shocked at hearing that you use 20 1k lights and (apparently) water each plant by hand? not even using drippers? i guess if its only like 300 plants... it wouldn't be that bad.

"to each his own" ... so i don't think you'll ever really know for sure until you have personally tried both. i went hempy bucket this time because i'm tired of hauling dirt... and i wasn't sure if my structure would even support the weight along with the water in the soil :D ... so if i don't like how it goes - i'll deffinitely be moving on to some type of hydro setup. whether it be drip, ebb, dwc, nft, aero, fog, who knows...
 
mexsin13

mexsin13

Active Member
I have a pump that is hooked up to a hose for watering. When its time to water all i do is plug it in and drop the pump in to what ever reservoir I'm using that day. So its not like i use a water bucket that would be way to hard. But i guess your right the only real way to know for sure is to try one for my self
 
LightFusion

LightFusion

Well-Known Member
ya i started 4 plants off in soil and they sprouted 5 days before the ones in hyrdo and after 2 weeks the hydro plants are twice as big as the plants in soil
 
itzCESAR*

itzCESAR*

Well-Known Member
mexsin13 said:
I have a pump that is hooked up to a hose for watering. When its time to water all i do is plug it in and drop the pump in to what ever reservoir I'm using that day. So its not like i use a water bucket that would be way to hard. But i guess your right the only real way to know for sure is to try one for my self
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Just curious... How many plant's do you usually have around at any given time? Don't include seedlings or clones. I'm envious of your setup. If I were you, and I was getting top dollar at the despensaries I wouldn't change a thing. I could see your interest though. Take care man, good luck and +rep
 
mexsin13

mexsin13

Active Member
I have 140 plants in bud at a time in my 2 flowering rooms. I usually keep 7 plants per light. any more than that and some of the plants will not get enough light. In Washington Oregon and California where medical marijuana is legal dirt is 100 times more desirable than hydro for some reason. The co-op that i am a part of has set ups in all 3 states.
 
Jointsmith

Jointsmith

Well-Known Member
I just had my first Harvet in Hempy style Hydro after growing only in Dirt for a year.

I'm never going back to soil for an indoor grow.

Your plants grow bigger and faster and it means no more soil and muck in the house.
 
chicoles

chicoles

Well-Known Member
mexsin13 said:
I have a pump that is hooked up to a hose for watering. When its time to water all i do is plug it in and drop the pump in to what ever reservoir I'm using that day. So its not like i use a water bucket that would be way to hard. But i guess your right the only real way to know for sure is to try one for my self
Click to expand...
If you are getting those kind of yields consistantly you are a master grower. Take a look at StinkBuds thread and then look at MrHowardMarks soil setup. Two brilliant growers who have takena diff. paths, both with impressive results
 
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