What are the most important factors in growing the highest quality product (i.e. potency, taste, aroma, etc) in hydro? Obviously I'm not looking for an entire grow tutorial, but more along the lines of once you have your basic grow technique down what are some of the key points to start focusing on to improve quality?
-Lighting -genetics -I use Snow Storm Ultra as foliar feed and it kicks ass -professional CO2 only after everything else is dialed in Other than that it's about drying and curing properly. Not rocket science here... just growing weeds. You can't change a dandelion into a rose no matter what kind of environment/nutes you have. That is why many breeders have a strain that has been crossed with the chemdawg or other legendary strain. Also why there has been millions of dollars and research in to corn hybrids as well because genetics really are that important. Would you want to try to grow feed corn and claim by giving it certain nutes/conditions that you could make it tastes as good as sweet corn and also change the color too? Don't believe the myths about flavoring weed as it just is that, a myth. Once weed is legal mythbusters should have their hands full with a full season of weed growing myths to bust
Genetics EXPERIENCE the want to Some of the darkest shit I've grown came from a 5gallon bucket of miracle grow ad hose water! Wouldn't do that now.. Just an example. Dont need all the bells and whistles to grow top notch smoke. But it helps
Yeah, that makes sense, genetics is obviously paramount. A bomb plant grown on an average diet is probably every bit as good if not better than a perfectly grown, but inferior plant. Any tips for how to take care of those precious mothers once you have a few really good strains going?
I like smart pots. They will allow for loooooong periods of time without rootbinding or circling. Some like em, some don't. Keeping mothers around requires space. Which is a premium for a grower. Instead of bothering with mothers, I just take 2 clones 1 week of introducing the bloom period. That gives me the space to run more plants while keeping my hands on a particular strain or pheno. Some will say degradation will take place after so many rounds of cloning. But I have yet to see it and have had some of my strains going for 18 months+
The thing that I found that affected the quality the most was the temperature of the nutes. The addition of a chiller just made a big difference.
What medium are you using with your smart pots? I've got two mothers in soil sitting next to my table absorbing some spare light but I have another space I can build out and keep 4-5 plants under flourescent tubes. I'd just like a low maintenance solution that will allow me to keep my 4-5 favorite strains. I'm not worried about genetic degradation - unless proven otherwise it's my understanding that this only occurs when inbreeding/crossbreeding, not from cloning (assuming all the specimens are healthy to begin with). I do like the idea of getting a rotation going with the best strains too, so if I taking cuttings during the late veg cycle I wouldn't need a mother for that strain, giving me more variety in my mother room. So if I stick these under some tubes on 18/6 and keep the soil moist they should be good? Please keep in mind that I do hydro because I've failed miserably with soil in the past...
Really? This is a detail I've been overlooking. My reservoir is 37 gallons, aerated, and circulates 6x/day and stays pretty cool, although I haven't actually measured the water temp. It's winter now, summer it may be more of an issue. What temp do you like to keep your water at? I've heard the colder the better but I'm having trouble understanding why this would be good and not shocking to the plant.
I posted this link before: Simply Hydroponics - Nutrient Temp Get a pool thermometer (they are very cheap). I run a 25 gallon RDWC and the "soup" circulates about 6 times an hour.
Yeah, I guess a thermometer should be next on the list and I'll reassess from there. So far my environment has been pretty stable but I'm sure heat will be an issue in the warmer months. I wonder if getting an insulated reservior would be sufficient? Those recirculating aquarium chillers are awfully pricey and the best DIY option would probably involve a modified standalone AC unit... how do AC units impact my humidity though?
I run my soup @ 61 deg F with a rise of 3 deg before the chiller turns on. I would like to run lower, but if I do I hit the dew point and puddles form under the plumbing.
I prefer 68F Its the lowest setting on typical aquarium heaters (which I use) and it seems to be the ideal temp to NOT cause root rot, maintain a well aerated solution and encourages the plants to metabolize nutrients quickly. Any colder than 65 and I wouldnt be thrilled. Thats just not the temp these plants would receive where they come from
So I guess Jorge C. is wrong when his book POINTS OUT and in several places the OPTIMUM temp for hydro reservoirs is between 60 -65 deg F. On top of all the other research done that confirms lower temps hold more oxygen (for metabolizing the nutes). Read the posted link if you care to.
the extra 3 degrees doesnt make a huge difference. It just happens to be the lowest setting on an aquarium heater which is a NEED in colder climate such as mine. Plus the ammount of oxygen needed is very small compared to what we're pumping into our res' 24/7. I would NEVER dissagree with Mr Cervantes (big fan). In my case, the automatic heater negates the very small change in oxygen levels. The heater in the water also helps keep the room warmer at night when the lights arent creating heat causing a smaller temperature drift. I read your stuff already
Just so I understand this, you operate at 3 degrees above the optimum high temp, and you state it doesn't matter. You are actually 8 degrees higher then the low and 3 degrees "out of range". Try growing at the minimum or within the optimum range and see what you get. Just because you don't get root rot, doesn't mean you are at the optimum temp. Retention of oxygen is the goal. You can pump all day into any solution and it will only retain so much (saturation level) at a given temp. The colder the better, to a point.
Jolly. Im not saying you are wrong. And I HAVE grown at your beloved 61F but I didnt seed ANY difference. If anything, I fealt I gain a little bit because the warmer solution increased the metabolism of the plants. A small gain if any at all. Either way, the retention of oxygen isnt so much so as to have any signifigant impact on my grows whereas an automatic heater is used. I didnt say not getting root rot means optimal temp btw. maybe youre misunderstanding my point so ill make it again. The benefit of using an automatic submersible aquarium heater, outways the minor(if at all) unhappiness of having a 68F solution
The soup temp does not set the metabolic rate of the plant, (it does if you go extreme and rot or freeze) if you stay within the optimum range. Oxygen, light, nutes and air temp set the metabolic rate.
