Im trying to decide btwn dirt, and ebb and flow. My original plan was dirt, as i have some experience with it. But, ebb and flow seems like a nice simple concept. My plan with dirt was to have a 16 plant veg room, and 16 plant (in 5 gallon pots/under 3600watts) flower room. The plant totals are based on medical mj cards, which actually total 48, so i figure 32 total plants, w only 16 in flower at any given time, gives me a good position if i ever needed to account for my grow. That said, I'm wondering if my 32 total favors going dirt, or EnF in terms of total harvest potential. Thanks for any feedback.
wait... so you have enough cards as a caregiver to grow 48 total plants, but are only growing 32?? I'm somewhat confused by that. Why wouldn't you grow all 48? The provision for you to grow that many is in case part of your crop fails, you SHOULD still have some left over to supply your patients. Only growing 32 plants, if you lose half of them to spider mites or something, it's a good bet that half of your patients that you are a caregiver for will be without their medicine for a couple months unless they go buy it somewhere else. Oh well... On your question... Ebb and Flow systems require more attendance and maintenance. Making sure your nutes are right every day, making sure the pH is right all the time, temperature of the res has to be exact, etc... It WILL however produce - in most cases - more and higher quality buds than a similarly planted dirt setup. Dirt requires almost no maintenance, less tending, more "just leave it be", and a few days in the growth cycle when you need to add nutes... Of course, if you start it with the best soil in the first place (manure compost and worms) you won't have to add nutes anyway. If I might suggest a 3rd option... a DWC setup will give you yields like Ebb and Flow, with the maintenance schedule somewhere between E&F and Dirt... you can grow MONSTER sized plants in a DWC, and get amazing yields, and in my personal opinion, it's easier to SCROG a DWC because the roots have so much more room to grow in a bucket full of water, rather than in a bucket full of Hydroton or Dirt.
i guess i'll argue the dirt side Easier to maintain... better tasting final product... a good soil will can pretty much maintain pH on its own, feed your plants optimally, and if problems do arise, they're normally cured with a simple flush... it's a more natural medium, and more people use it, so when you have questions, you have a bigger target audience to field them... Even if other methods give more potent or bigger yields, the taste alone will keep me growing in soil... just nothing like some organic buds not that i disagree with anybody just giving perspective...
I love your perspective, AND your name... Organic IS better, 100% of the time, and that's why I suggested Manure Compost (from a certified organic Angus ranch) and worms... the worms will keep providing new nutes throughout your grow cycle, and you'll never have to add anything to the soil except more compost - either roughage or manure compost.
Hydro has daily checks-this is mostly true (but it's still less work than organics), but if you change your reservoir every few weeks and follow the directions on your nutes that shouldn't be a problem. You keep your eye on the ph-which will take you two seconds--ph up--ph down, (if needed) check your environment.. Bang--Done. No worry about feeding-that's automatic. It's very simple. It may be a little more expensive with electrical usage and start up costs (pumps for example). With a nice drip irrigation system and Ebb and Flow for flowering--and you are good to go. Either method--you still have to keep your eye on all the bouncing balls It really depends on your comfort level with the hydroponic method. You can spend as much or as little as you like on a system (either method takes a crap-load of homework). If you are mechanically inclined. You may enjoy the nature of ebb and flow, and then branch off to aeroponics, or bubbleponics...all kinds of things. Then you'll be designing your own systems soon enough. (out of every day items) I hope this doesn't seem condescending towards organic--they do their thing..and I love it. Its all about what suits your brain and how you look at things. Im not big on dirt..it's dirty (I hate it actually-I like my hands clean), no green thumb here--but I love science and mechanical tech. Hydro suits my way of thinking. I knew that from day one. How do you think Jolly? (Are you a techie; mechanic, or are you a gardner..outdoors type?) how you answer that question is probably the method best for you.
Thanks for the substantive replies. Regarding the cards. I have a card w a doc's rec for 24 plants. Basically its standard ops for those who plan to consume edible meds. I am caregiver for 1 person w same. So, thats 48. But, state law says 3 in veg, 3 in flower. (6/6 for two patients) The law does leave room for an "affimative defense" for more. We have an "affirmative defense" w the doc's rec, but 32 seems sufficient for our needs. And by growing 33% less than the doc's rec, I feel better about ever having to account for my grow. As to the grow style, Im still weighing the options, but its a big help to get your thoughts. Thanks again!