I'm a beginner first grow..really interested in a grow box is it better to buy if so whats a good brand or company? Or should i build one if so where do i begin to get the best system without breaking the bank? should i go soil or hydro? All my friends have built their systems and go soil I have limited space and want something compact I can put in the garage. I'm leaning towards hydro just from what I've read. Is soil that much easier? Or is hydro worth the investment? Please help. I want to get started ASAP I have the best opportunity for clones of some great strands now! Thanks look forward to your replies
A lot of new members have to have a few posts under their belt in order to post in some sections. I think this might be one of the only sections where you don't so they post where they can in hopes they will get the answer they want. I'm sure a mod will either lock this or move it to a more appropriate section if asked nicely .
I suggest soil to start with. Hydro can go wrong very fast if you dont know what youre doing. Building a box is cheaper. I would read through some journals on here and see what you think would fit your needs.
I would recommend soil as hydro can have a steep learning curve. If you do go hydro flood & drain is pretty simple. I prefer and recommend a recirculating drip system in soil. As a hybrid system it seems to get the best of both worlds. I don't see it very often but it works amazing. Basically you have a raised tray system with a reservoir below like a flood drain but rather then flood the tray you use drip lines into the soil filled pots. Once the pots are fully saturated the excess water flows into a drain in the tray and back into the reservoir. My main concern when first starting out with this system was over watering but it's almost impossible when you are in flower. As long as your plant is well rooted in it's pot you can run 10-20 gph for 30 min 2 times a day. I run 6 gallon pots in flower with pretty large plants and have three 5gph drippers in each pot watering twice a day for 30 min. First thing when the lights come on and just before the go off again. I also only clean out the reservoir once per cycle around week 3-4 and aside from that just top off with nutrient and water as needed. Generally I run as high as 1800-2000ppm during peak flower and have recently started adding an organic tea that I top feed the plants every 3-4 days during weeks 3-7 that has pushed my ppm up into the 2400ppm range as the nutrients flush through and into the system and the plants love it. Those numbers will depend on your nutrient system though. Very easy to leave the system for the weekend without any issues as long as you have a large enough reservoir and a PH balanced nutrient system. With veg and or sick plants I always prefer to run the drip system as needed or hand water to have closer control.
Originally I ran sunshine #4 with good results but then switched to Botanicare aeration soil-less mix to give the plants more air to the roots as water retention in the soil is not an issue when fully flushing the plants through 2 times a day. I would say the plants are happier but they were happy before as well.