simple question. which method of growing yields more? hydro or soil? & about how long does each method take? sorry if this is a similar thread.... im new to the forum and just lookin for some help.
^Yes, but...I assume he's asking all other things being equal? Hydro should grow a little bigger and a little faster, all other things being equal. But they aren't equal, so you can get a bigger crop in soil depending on all the circumstances. Hydro can be more finicky, so even equal genetics you'll do better in a soil grow with no problems than in a hydro grow that isn't dialed in. Most of the factors are in your control, not in your soil vs. hydro choice. Choose that on personal pref, philosophy, knowledge, and your own past experiences.
There's about 15,237 tips. Give or take. If you know which strain you're growing, see how others have done it. Some respond well to low stress training and ScroGs some do better in SoGs, some require you to pinch the top bud before flowering to get maximum yields. Some make you do this twice. Some do fine by tucking large fan leaves back to expose undergrowth, some require you to trim some fan leaves to increase yield. Most enjoy heavy phosphorous and potassium during flowering, phosphorous being responsible for overall girth of the bud. Using light reflectors or white coloring on your walls, adding supplemental under-growth or side lighting. Supplementing oxygen/CO2 in the room. Superoxygenating your water/soil. Lolipopping to maintain a good top canopy. Welcome to the city.
I'm a beginner but from my research hydro finishes 2-3 weeks earlier and will yield slightly larger buds on avg. in the long run,proper lighting plays a much more important part.
Soils definitely the best way to start out, and gain growing experience. There's a lot that can go wrong when growing, and it will be easier figuring out what the problems are with soil, as usually only one thing go's wrong at a time. Its a lot easier for multiple things to go wrong at once with hydro, and if your inexperienced with it, it will be harder to diagnose and fix these problems. The longer you Veg your plant before switching it to flowering, the larger the yield will be. its as simple as that.
I think soil growers will say soil does better and hydro guys will say it does better... much better if you have your own opinion... lurk the grow journals... advanced is hydro... youll see with your own eyes and make your own determination... Ive seen many times they say start with soil to learn then go to hydro... I dont agree with this... whatever method you are going to grow start there and stay there. soil holds allot of nutrients and is much more forgiving then hydro.. Good luck on the decision buddy... welcome to the city
Again, I"m a beginner and havn't experienced anything yet, but a friend of mine had a basic hydro setup he bought offline. Hes getting about 2oz a plant. But heres the think, he left for a month. All he had somebody do was add water, not check anything else. I could be wrong, but thats not capable with soil am I right? He had somebody once a week, add water to top the system off.
you will eventually need to flush the reservoir, add nutes, etc. im doing my first grow with hydro and it seems pretty low matenience for me. i ran into minor problems, but had them fixed. everyone will run into problems, thats how you learn from it and if you dont get something just ask. im sure people will help out.
you dont need experience to read here.. or to look at pics... look at the journals.. yuoll see what they yeilded and what set up they are using.. This way you can be more specific with questions on thier set up.. 2 oz a plant in hydro is easliy done... but the enviorment plays a role also... I have reached 7.5 oz off 1 plpant in hydro in a 23" height restriction situation... all though it took time to reach that and I scrog.. I had plenty of light and air movement. I cant speak for the soil side because i have never grown in soil but ... there are many here ..... With the right soil mix that is very feasable...BTW....
im going to grow with soil. i want to grow 12 plants. what is the best soil and nutrients to buy? also, what type of lighting? (i want to get like 4-6oz. per plant)
I grow in soil.Making a stong mix of soil that would need nothing but water to finish.Is done everyday it's called growing 100% organic.Takes a bit to get it dialed in then you got it.Soil is much better for beginners less worries and much more simple!WB
Fox Farm Ocean Forest is a popular pre-mixed soil for our needs. There are others, or you can make your own. A good recipe: 4 parts 100% organic potting soil 3 parts sphagnum moss 2 parts worm castings 1 or more parts perlite 1 or more parts clean sand Make sure none of the ingredients have time-released ferts (Miracle Gro adds them to their moss and perlite so watch out). 12 plants you'll want at least 1kw lighting, a pair of 600w HPS/MH lamps would be excellent.
welcome to GC ajs420,i highly recomend u check out,jbyrds 3200watt perpetual organic growlots of good info &people there....good luck
If you have never grown, 4-6 oz per plant is going to be an undertaking and 12 plants to boot. Start small and try to keep a plant alive and finish it properly. You will need lots of lighting to pull that off also. You want 120-180gr per plant x12 is 1440-2180gr total. A gram a watt is doing pretty good, so you would need at least 2 1KW lights if not 4x600W to get a better coverage. It can be done, but if its your first time you are going to find it a bit costly and challenging to hit that goal.
I would say all things being able to be perfect, a very light (near-hydro, basically) soil with a thriving microorganism system would be the absolute best. Hydro can beat out soil at everything except the beneficial microorganisms... but you can use light soils that basically work like hydro.