When I grew in soil-
After spending a little time in the grow room I would get dirt all over my clothes and on my hands, everything I touched got dirty which leaves a little more evidence than I need. I had a much bigger problem with gnats, fruit flies and spiders when I grew in soil, which meant more money I needed to put into it. When I grew in soil i made a lot of mistakes, one of them being overwatering and when U over water in soil it turns into mud, and if the mud dries out it will turn into a brick! Then U gotta spend even more money on the other ingredients U need for a good soil mix. I had a much bigger problem making sure the roots were getting oxygen, bcuz the soil could choke out the roots when it dries out during flowering bcuz the plants are drinking more.
When I grew in soiless mixes (Peat moss, perlite)-
Everything stay much cleaner even tho the problem with the fruit flies still continued. It dried out much quicker than the soil which meant more frequent watering. Whenever I would overwater in the peat moss it would drain much faster, making flushing easier and getting rid of more build up. The plants grew much faster in the soilless mix allowing them to get bigger in a shorter period of time, so i could harvest earlier. Potency was still comparable to soil.
Now Im growing in hydro-
To start off I had to cough up about $90 up front for some of the basic supplies I needed to start, including a pump, res, pots, nutes, ph tester. now I find out I need to cough up another $100 for a tds meter. I have noticed that the plants are loving the rockwool cubes. From pre-soaking in a cup to germination, my seeds sprouted in a total of 48hrs and was ready to go under the light. I've only had my plants in the cubes for a week and already they are working on their second nodes. The speed of growth is amazingly different from what Im used to seeing. I believe that by next week my seedling will be working on its 9th or 10th node at this rate. The whole hydro setup pretty much runs itself. Everything is controlled by timers and pumps, as long as U monitor your levels of everything and keep the res clean and at a cooler temp u will be fine. Hopefully U have proper ventilation or else the heat from ur lights may cause ur roots to rot, which isnt a problem Ive had to deal with until I switched to hydro.
I havent harvested any homegrown hydro but if U've ever bought some U would know the high is pretty good.
IMO the soiless is the best option
Soiless is easier, cleaner, better aerated, and has the advantages of both hydro and soil.
As far as price initially the soil is more inexpensive than hydro, but if U want a quality product, then hydro is the way to go..
