Which options are best for me?

[veed2point0]

I've been reading into the different systems, FAQ's, etc. etc. on the forum for a few days now, but I have a few opinion-based questions..

What type of growing system is best for me?
I really am only looking to grow 1-3, just as a personal hobby, but I am a perfectionist so I want a quality harvest, I'm not necessarily looking for a speedy growth, but that would be nice, and I am willing to buy all the necessities a good plant requires.

Is it possible to achieve a quality plant through simplicity? I'd like to stick to just one growing system, such as hydroponics or aeroponics. I'm going to be doing this indoors, and I'd like to be using a HPS bulb because that seems to be the best thing for the plant.

And lastly for now, can the different growing systems be used for each stage of the plant, or does say aeroponics work well only for rooting(propagation,) and badly for vegging/flowering?

I hope(and am pretty sure I do) have this in the right area, and I hope I'm not asking something that's been asked 1000x times, I really appreciate any help I get.

[Edit] Also, at first, without extensive knowledge or experience, I drifted away from soil because of the size of the pottery/bucket I'd need to house the plant, I was told its a 1/1 ratio gallon/feet of growth for the pottery/bucket size. True? False? More Information?

 

[Mother's Finest]

Hydro is more complicated than soil. If you're looking for simplicity, go with soil. An HPS is indeed going to be one of the best bulbs to use for flowering but fluorescents can work almost as well as an HPS for veg. Having HPS for flowering and floros for veg imo is best for a small grow.

You don't need any system for rooting clones or starting seeds, especially with such a small grow. Anything more than a humidity dome that you set up for 1-3 clones is overkill imo. Any process that grows plants well in veg will grow plants just as well in flowering when differences in nutritional requirements and sizes are taken into account.

Most plants can finish flowering in four gallons of soil when transplanted just before starting 12/12. A five gallon bucket can support 90 days of flowering and is commonly used. Plant height and pot size don't always go together. Flowering time and overall plant size both need to be considered to determine pot size. The roots can be pruned during the pre-flowering transplant to decrease pot size a little further.

 

[Japanfreak]

Hydro is not any more complicated than soil unless you want to make it more complicated.

For only a few plants I'd think soil, dwc or hempy buckets would work well for you.

 

[captbooyah]

Hi... before I give my opinion, there are a few questions I would like to first ask you. Do you already have a planned space? (Closet, cabinet, etc.) And how often are you able to be with your plants during the day/night? There are many factors to consider before starting a grow... And there are so many ways to go about things. You really have to find the type of grow that allows for your daily schedule, space needs and $$$. I have A LOT of these random topics going on in my first grow (link below) So many things people have said on there have really helped me out if you feel like looking through it (me being a bit of a newb myself) Also loads of money saving ideas. And yes... you did post in the right place! People on here are really willing to help as much as they can. Happy growing!

 

[veed2point0]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to everyone, with the Holidays and all.

Well, I can attend it quite often, I have a very flexible schedule due to my unique circumstance.
Some of you said that soil is easier than hydro, what about aeroponics?
From my impression of soil, there's quite a bit of plant food / enhancing chemicals to buy and it seems quite expensive, true? false? elaborate?

 

[Japanfreak]

hydro, what about aeroponics?

Aeroponics aren't anything special, they don't grow bigger plants, don't increase yield.

 

[Mother's Finest]

Soil doesn't use more food than any other process. I'd expect it to use a little less, actually, since fertilizers can usually sit longer in soil than in hydro and still be good. I would think that the need to change the reservoir solutions before they go bad would throw away nutrients that would still be used if they were sitting in soil. There are also micronute supplements often necessary in hydro that aren't always necessary in soil because of micronutrients already in the growing mediums & fertilizers. I don't have hard numbers for comparison, so these are just a few thoughts.

Aeroponics is actually one of the most complicated ways to grow. On top of all standard hydro concerns, you also have a pressurized system with pumps & jets to worry about. The jets need to be cleaned very regularly, more often the more ferts are in the liquid.

 

[Japanfreak]

Aeroponics is actually one of the most complicated ways to grow.

what's complicated about filling the rez and turning it on? I have 5 years experience in aero, I can tell you from experience there is nothing complicated about growing in it. In fact it's a lot less complicated then say dwc.

Aero is more or less a sprinkler system, you fill it up and it comes on in cycles. A monkey could run them. But they have built-in risks (every style has it's own pros/cons) and they don't offer much advantages over other systems so their set up costs aren't really worth it for most people.

 

[Tym]

DWC is real easy. And cheep to set up. Dirt has it's own problems, specially with watering, soil based infestations and nutrients..
DWC has none of these problems.

Whatever method you use, veg under a MH, flower under a HPS. Any magnetic HPS ballast will also run a MH.

 

[veed2point0]

I am not sure what DWC even is, or hempy buckets. I've never heard of them, so I will do some research, unless you'd care to elaborate?

 

[captbooyah]

Check out my thread... I cover a lot of this stuff... and I too am doing a small, personal grow! *click on 1st grow link below*

 

[Japanfreak]

There are links in my sig to threads for beginners on them.

If you are thinking of going hydro the first thing you should think about is heat. Heat can cause problems in DWC which can be dealt with by adding products to your rez to prevent pathogens from growing or by cooling your water with an aquarium chiller. They work great but cost money.

 

[veed2point0]

Check out my thread... I cover a lot of this stuff... and I too am doing a small, personal grow! *click on 1st grow link below*

There are links in my sig to threads for beginners on them.

If you are thinking of going hydro the first thing you should think about is heat. Heat can cause problems in DWC which can be dealt with by adding products to your rez to prevent pathogens from growing or by cooling your water with an aquarium chiller. They work great but cost money.

Alright, thanks! I'll look into both. I'll continue to post any questions I don't come across in this thread though, so please check back

DWC is real easy. And cheep to set up. Dirt has it's own problems, specially with watering, soil based infestations and nutrients..
DWC has none of these problems.

Whatever method you use, veg under a MH, flower under a HPS. Any magnetic HPS ballast will also run a MH.

Are you certain any magnetic ballast of correct wattage can take both MH and HPS?
Is there a 'preferred light-bulb' if I were going to only use 1 light-bulb for my first grow?

Also, someone mentioned cfl's are good for short veg cycles, a silly question but, does the plant decide when it's done flowering, or do you? Same question for flowering.