Hydro vs Soil

Ok i've decided to venture into the hydro world, spend a good bit of money too.. but i need some feedback. For those of you out there that have done both or have some experience. What are the differences in the end product when using hydro vs soil grows? Quality?Quantity?Grow Time? Things like that.. Thanks.

? ? ? ? ? ?Anyone? ? ? ? ? ?

Dnizzle said:

? ? ? ? ? ?Anyone? ? ? ? ? ?

Click to expand...

I am doing 10 indoor Dutch Passion White Widows...rock wool in a 4x8 tray, 2x1000w. It's in the indoor section. I can tell you this, after three weeks my plants are huge compared to what other soil grows I've seen. I did a soil outdoor grow so I don't have a really good gauge on what would have happened with soil indoors but I'm very impressed with the growth of the Rock Wool. I'm not a big fan of the hydroton. It's easy to set up, that is for sure. But those fucking rocks suck.

Dont you need the rocks tho? Just to start in rockwool then transplant to the hydroton?

Dnizzle said:

Dont you need the rocks tho? Just to start in rockwool then transplant to the hydroton?

Click to expand...

They sell 10" x 36" slabs of Rockwool. Check this out...read from the beginning if you want the whole story. But this is just one of many ways to do rockwool.

https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/266213-green-crack-2x1000w-4x8-tray-6.html

Hydro grows faster, end result is same quality.

smppro said:

Hydro grows faster, end result is same quality.

Click to expand...

Hydro is more picky, soil is safer. I think rockwool is dangerous, esp in flood & drain. It's always drowning my girls! Drip maybe, flood stay away from big ass blocks of rockwool.

Someguy15 said:

Hydro is more picky, soil is safer. I think rockwool is dangerous, esp in flood & drain. It's always drowning my girls! Drip maybe, flood stay away from big ass blocks of rockwool.

Click to expand...

Yield fixes everything

hydro seems faster. soil better taste. imo

Organic soil has proven to be the best quality and taste. Hydroponics has proven to grow faster and bigger. I have used the ebb and grow before, had great results. Going the organic soil route this time. My plants seem to have been growing as fast as hydro in my system now. 2-3 inches of growth a day in veg. We'll see in flowering how it does.

You can have the best of both worlds with a couple of different set-ups.... Hempy buckets with organic nutes or even 75% perlite/25% coco with organic nutes. As long as you utilize beneficial fungi and bacteria with a good enzyme you can achieve the growth size and rate of hydro but also maintain the smell and taste of organic------"MEDRO-ORGANIC"...

Dr. VonDank said:

You can have the best of both worlds with a couple of different set-ups.... Hempy buckets with organic nutes or even 75% perlite/25% coco with organic nutes. As long as you utilize beneficial fungi and bacteria with a good enzyme you can achieve the growth size and rate of hydro but also maintain the smell and taste of organic------"MEDRO-ORGANIC"...

Click to expand...

I've been a long time strict organic gardener (regular plants), and have always loved good live soils. I'll second using organic hempy for MJ though, compost tea works great, much faster growth then just soil.

I'm currently trying Lucas Formula with a couple of 5 gallon DWC buckets. The natural aromas of the plant are not as strong but it's a lot easier to maintain and there's a definite non-stop explosive growth rate; I fully expect the end result won't be quite as tasty, but I'll get alot more medicine with less overhead so I'll win in the end.

billybob88 said:

Organic soil has proven to be the best quality and taste. Hydroponics has proven to grow faster and bigger. I have used the ebb and grow before, had great results. Going the organic soil route this time. My plants seem to have been growing as fast as hydro in my system now. 2-3 inches of growth a day in veg. We'll see in flowering how it does.

Click to expand...

Sorry this is absolutely wrong, nobody have ever proven that soil taste better than hydro, its like say organic taste better than synthetic, it is 100% opinion and has no scientific evidence to back it up . It all comes down to the person growing it, if somebody can produce better bud in soil than they can in hydro then they just dont know what they are doing in hydro.

i went from soil to hydro and probably will never look back... veg growth rate is definitely faster.. flowering is about the same.. maybe a little faster.. i noticed a bigger difference in my flowers overall (size and weight)... and they seemed to get much larger much faster... but finish time, again, was about the same... its worth the investment...

i have grown the same strains in soil and hydro soil tastes better hydro is faster all who have properly done both agree. personally i think doing soil right is harder than hydro. lately im doing hempy buckets best of both worlds i use some organics some non-organic ferts and beneficials works very well.

hydro=fast moneysoil=medical/personalIMO

I used to grow organic in soil. But it was WAY more of a pain in the ass. Now that I've grown hydro for the past few years I'll never go back.

The end result product is the same (none of CHRONIC pot smoking friends can tell the difference). There will be those that claim they can "taste the difference", but I can't and I smoke about an ounce a week and have for years. When you buy bud can you tell? Get the fuck outta here.

Soil was a pain in the ass when problems arise. It's hard to know exactly how much to feed and what's going on when something is wrong. Hydro is fairly simple once you get your "recipe for success" in place. It might take awhile to figure it all out, but then it runs like a MACHINE. Faster, more vigorous buds and larger yield ability.

On the taste issue: The bud in my avatar is DP WW grown in rockwool cubes (and then into hydroton) under a single 600w HPS light. Trust me, those buds tasted AMAZING. For those that claim they just don't want to grow 'dro because of the taste, I say "Eat spaghetti for taste, I smoke my bud to get high".

I don't know. I can sure as hell taste and see a difference with organic soil than synthetic hydro. Personally I'm just not a fan of smoking chemicals, even if you do flush well, it's basis of life were manmade chemicals. Every time I go to the dispensary to get my medicine, quite often, I always purchase organically grown medicine. But that's just me and everyone is entitled to their own views and opinions. I'm not one to flat out tell people they are wrong when the proof is in the pudding. But that's just me I guess. Never heard anyone say ever that chemical hydro is better than organic soil in quality and taste. I personally like to supply my patients with the best most natural medicine possible. But as again, that's just me.

I've grown the same strain in soil and hydro and you can't tell the difference! I can't and none of my pot smoking buddies can.

I admit there must be some difference, but I think it's all pretty silly. Organic, blah blah blah. I don't pay more for organic shit at the grocery store and I don't care about smoking organic bud. I've never heard of anyone dying or being harmed by consuming non-organic food. It's all a bunch of bullshit to get you to pay more for your shit.

I do know about the environmental impacts that non-organic fertilizers have on our planet and that the practices in the fields today are far less than responsible, but when it comes to growin' bud it's too much of a stretch for me. I'd rather have the bigger yield all day long. But then I don't sell my bud, I smoke it all up myself. So the more the merrier of course.

And I certainly wouldn't call bud grown with chem ferts "synthetic" it was grown from a plant. Using the same elements that organic growing derives naturally from it's sources. It's not chemically derived, the plant was fed with fertilizers that came in the form of salts, it's not bio-engineered shit here.

billybob88 said:

I don't know. I can sure as hell taste and see a difference with organic soil than synthetic hydro. Personally I'm just not a fan of smoking chemicals, even if you do flush well, it's basis of life were manmade chemicals. Every time I go to the dispensary to get my medicine, quite often, I always purchase organically grown medicine. But that's just me and everyone is entitled to their own views and opinions. I'm not one to flat out tell people they are wrong when the proof is in the pudding. But that's just me I guess. Never heard anyone say ever that chemical hydro is better than organic soil in quality and taste. I personally like to supply my patients with the best most natural medicine possible. But as again, that's just me.

Click to expand...

The reason you taste the difference is the grower. Hydro is harder, you have to supply every single nutrient, organic soil already has it all in place for you. They are using the same nutrients whether it is synthetic or organic, the plant doesnt know the difference and neither does the person. Fruits and vegetable grown with synthetic are still grade "A" products, organic isnt any healthier than synthetic, usually synthetic provides healthier food because they can provide exactly what is required for the plant and person consuming it. The only requirement for organic is the source, not the content.