Should I switch to dirt (non-hydro)

Ok, I'm fried... 3 hours a weekend, 20 min+ every day to babysit my hydro babies and I've had enough. Too much work.

I grow indoors, basement and have had good success other than a bad case
of root rot that almost killed me. I use the full line of GH nutes and just made a trip to LA and talked to some folks... Sounds like non-hydro (soil, dirt, whatever organic stuff is out there to use) is a lot less work and gives better tasting organics.... is this true?

Here are the questions:

1) How much easier is it than Hydro?
2) What is the veg/flower times for non-hydro (same indoor conditions)
3) What advice would you give me... (should I switch or not?)

I have to wait till my one in flower is harvested, and my other 4 will have to be run through hydro till they flower... so I can't really start dirt for another 16 weeks minimum... but want to start all my new clones in dirt... I've got some ready to go... dirt or hydro, dirt or hydro?

AM I CRAZY or LAZY?
PLEASE ADVISE

Thanks

i use to grow dirt but now on my first hydro grow. anyways i can tell you why i switched to hydro. i hate having to mix a lot of expensive dirt then have to worry about getting rid of it after my harvest. also i have very nasty hard water and when i do any kind of flushes i have to flush with RO water at 15 gallons per pot(have lots of pots too which makes it a bitch), flushing hydro is easier cause you just fill rez with ph water. i dont have to mix nutrients or bend down to feed the plants every 3 days, with hydro all i do is a ph check it bi-weekly and watch my continuous ph/ec monitor and make minor adjustments. but ya soil organics will tastes and smell better but i have smelled and tasted hydro bud that is close to comparison. also soil is cheaper on the electricity. you dont get as high of humidity in your grow op so you dont have to use dehumidifiers or AC all the time.

hey why dont you do a grow log and just do both and see your results. you can do half/half and see which suits you

Yes, I've thought about that but hesitate to create more work than I have now. One thing I didn't know about was flushing your soil... or the costs. I have been told that soil is much much less and easier on time.

I spend a lot of time balancing just PH daily, changing ice bottles (keeping water cool this way saves big on air conditioning) water levels, bugs, bending, clearing, cleaning... it takes time every day because it's like having a 100 gallon fish tank running with bubblers constantly.... messy and salty.

Nute changes are weekly and a pain in the ass. To minimize disease I completely scrub out each bucket with bleach, then flush the roots and clean the underside of the covers with clean water attached to a hose. WHY? Because if I don't the well-water microbes create root rot that's killed too many of my mature plants. Sterilized entire room, started with Hygrozime and all has been better than ever. No Root Rot... And no Osmosis stuff... not in the budget.

Cost is a nightmare... $40 - $80 a gallon... It costs me about $200 from clone to harvest for 2 plants and thats before electricity. I use GH. And the worst part is nobody agrees on anything on hydro. Hydro stores all counterdict manufacturers suggested dosages and vice versa. Everyone gives a different story on nutes, water, watertype, waterhardness, yadda, yadda, yadda. A lot of advice I have gotten has killed plants for me. I've learned to find what I call the Thread of Truth in all advice and follow that. Other than PH and Temp, it's a damn bowl of alphabet soup for advice out there.

It's great to hear from someone going the opposite direction... Good luck to you my friend and I wish you all the best in your grows. There is not doubt hydro kicks ass... (my ass) LOL

Later

to answer your question, yeah..i would switch to soil if thats how your feeling about your hydro. i went into it with little gardening knowledge. between books and websites you can learn a hell of a lot. i'm on my 5th grow and every grow is better than the last..a little trial and error in the beginning, but thats expected. its all about your conditions and having a nice workable area. i'm pretty sure i will never switch to hydro. i hope i inspired you a little. good luck.

I do both soil and hydro ... for a 'connoisseur grow', (for pure taste, and aroma), I go with soil ... for fast growth and yields, I prefer hydroponics ... :smokin:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GodofGraphics

Cost is a nightmare... $40 - $80 a gallon... It costs me about $200 from clone to harvest for 2 plants and thats before electricity. I use GH. And the worst part is nobody agrees on anything on hydro. Hydro stores all counterdict manufacturers suggested dosages and vice versa. Everyone gives a different story on nutes, water, watertype, waterhardness, yadda, yadda, yadda. A lot of advice I have gotten has killed plants for me. I've learned to find what I call the Thread of Truth in all advice and follow that. Other than PH and Temp, it's a damn bowl of alphabet soup for advice out there.

Later

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what makes you think that if you switch to soil that there won't be 1001 opinions as well?

there is no one "golden post" that will show you the way. you are going to have many similar questions about water, nutes, soil etc etc. and everyone with their own opinion. you know, kinda like "is it easier to do graphics on a mac or pc? what software should i use? is it compatible across all platforms?" etc, etc.

perhaps it's not hydro that's the problem, but the type of hydro that you are running. do some research oh hempy buckets. look for a post by killa12345. there are many other methods for growing hydroponically....more than likely there is one that will fit your requirements.

either way, it's going to be work.


-shake

Hey, thanks and you are right... it's work no matter how you do it. I've been researching and finding the same range of answers and ideas. I've just crossed the first hurtle with hydro, had my first harvest, all went well. Lost some plants, learned a lot and now have a georgeous SOG in it's 3rd week of flowering with nearly 80 tops in a 3x3 cube shape... shit, I think I finally figured out a small part of it (maybe), but I do know my lessons have not been cheap and they aint done yet... and it seems foolish to give up this early in the learning curve... I haven't even scratched the surface.

Thanks for the advice, best wishes on your harvest.
Later