whats the benefit of growing in coco vs soil?

hey guys. i see a lot of people on here growing in "soiless" or coco setups. I was just curious as to what the real benefit of this is? Wouldn't it make more sense to run a straight up DWC system??

FRICKITYFRICKTYFRESH said:

hey guys. i see a lot of people on here growing in "soiless" or coco setups. I was just curious as to what the real benefit of this is? Wouldn't it make more sense to run a straight up DWC system??

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everything has its pro's and con's

im not sure what they are with cocoa...i know that you treat it like hydro with PH and such and you can control the nutrients more than soil..

tbh i think you may be right, a simple DWC setup would prob be more efficient especially if you already have the equipment..I personallt like DWC though am still a little noobish to it. only on my second grow now but things seem to be going well. I used to like soil and found that it can be a pain in the ass, bugs and watering every 2-3 days is definatly a pain. then you have the buying soil aspect which gets pricy...

with DWC once you have all your equip the only overhead you have is seeds and nutrients. which you have to buy with soil as well...

cocoa is another thing you have to continue replacing the medium? i believe unless you want to wash it out but i would think thats more hassle than its worth...cocoa you have to flush a few times per grow because it collects salt buildup (at least thats what i have read) it also dries out quick so you are always watering...

a simple DWC setup can cost less than 5 bucks for a decent 4-6 site setup DIY style..meters and nutes another 100 bucks, tent and lights 300 bucks, and other misc supplies and seeds another 200 bucks.

so for around 650 bucks out of poscket you can be setup for a nice little 4 site DWC setup that has no overhead, can be reused time and time again and the only thing you will have to buy again is seeds and nutes (also any equipment that shits the bed)

Yea im growing in Fox farms soil right now, but i dont water nowhere close to 2-3 days. I water and feed once a week, maby twice if needed, but if there is moisture to my soil i'll let it go. Letting the soil dry out instead of being damp all the time also reduces bugs and pests ive noticed. I just cant see the real benefit to growing with coco. it just seems like more work than its worth, but im defiantly gonna start with a DWC system for my next grow. I want to run one tent soil and one tent hydro.

FRICKITYFRICKTYFRESH said:

Yea im growing in Fox farms soil right now, but i dont water nowhere close to 2-3 days. I water and feed once a week, maby twice if needed, but if there is moisture to my soil i'll let it go. Letting the soil dry out instead of being damp all the time also reduces bugs and pests ive noticed. I just cant see the real benefit to growing with coco. it just seems like more work than its worth, but im defiantly gonna start with a DWC system for my next grow. I want to run one tent soil and one tent hydro.

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yeah well depending on how big your containers are you dont have to water every 2-3 days..i found myself watering about 2x a week during late flower in 5 gal buckets. When i used 3 gal fabric pots i watered so much more...IMO fabric pots are junk just because they dry in a friggin day after about week 3 veg.

DWC is so easy man, just make sure you get your PPM and PH meters and the solutuions to calibrate. building buckets is easy as hell too but i do suggest spending the 3 bucks ea on the net pots that are designed to fit on a 5 gal bucket so much easier than trying to cut holes and by the time you buy lids and shit your spending 3 bucks anyways.

also get some dutch master zone...shit is the bee's knees. i only started using it about a month ago but there is ZERO slime in my rez (just changed it tonight) roots are nice and white and the plant is just exploding with growth every day.

seriously though im not sure how much you read up on making a DWC bucket but all that shit is is bucket filled 1/2 way up and a fkin airstone in it. so easy to make. and you can get a decent air pump that will last forever and feed up to 12 buckets.

once you buy a pump and a few lids making one costs as much as a 5 gal bucket.

if you want i can put together a pretty decent list of stuff you will need to get started. I am using Dyna grow nutes and they seem to be working well and they are dirt cheap..20 bucks will buy you a bottle of bloom and grow and thats all you need. I am getting a bottle of micro soon just because will add a little of that for good measure but the bottle claims to have all minute elements in it so probs dont need the micro...i just like buying stuff lol

i normally use a coco blend but this time around im using peat in place of the coco
pro's
control ... control ... control .....

no moving parts
its easier IMO to keep up with compared to DWC plants can be checked every couple of days instead of daily or multiple times a day
con's
you have to feed them