Easiest Way To Grow

[Camnibus]

Hydro's the easiest/cleanest way to go. No fuss, no muss.

[GanjaWarrior]

Does this thread need a definition of easy? im just wondering if some of you know what the word means.

[Hempcheff]

Here is easy for ya, 1 bucket. 1 airstone, 1 airline, 1 pump, 1 netbasket lid, hydroton balls.

(I use a 5 gal. bucket and 4 gal. water at a time) For veg, per gallon i use 8mil. flora micro, 16mil. flora bloom, and floralicious plus as indicated on label.

When i flip lights, i add Liquid koolbloom in increments till im at max suggested on label. I ph to 5.7 and thats about it.

 

 

I do a complete change every few days as or water level drops, it will get more frequent as she gets bigger, and i use the old nutes for other plants around the house and outside.

 

flush at end by changing water 2-3 times a day ( to rinse roots) for 2 days, and straight water for a few more.

You will get big plants, good medicine and great flavor.

 

Good luck, and have fun.

[pergamum362]

put it in a pot with sunshine mixe4 add nutes to water and water it..thats easy.

[purklize]

Problems will surface sooner or later in soil. If you haven't had them you're just lucky. And when they do they take 100x longer to deal with than in hydro... again, in hydro, you just dump the bucket and refill... try flushing soil with pH problems or nute lock... you will have back pain like you didn't know was possible...

[pergamum362]

I use a pump,55 gallon drum and hose to flush them.pick em up, move them to the drain.Its not that hard to fix stuff in a good "soilless" mix.If you flush and correct the soil ph while your flushing,just takes experience like anything else.Everyones bound to have problems somewhere..especially when learning.Some aspects are easier, both styles have advantages and disadvantages.

[Robman]

i agree both methods have there advantages and disadvantages, i usto always grow soil just started growing dwc bubblebuckets and i wont go back.

[+JuztBudz]

I grow in Fox Farm Ocean forest and Happy Frog mix. I have no pest issues. I have not used neem oil or any treatments for about 4 grows now. Keeping the room clean and plants 'in-house' is the trick.

 

DN

 

Same here DN, the only time I get pests is when I bring home "clean" plants from a friend. No more, seed only grows from this day forward. Cleaning up my space (i.e. tearing everything out, giving it a week or so, cleansing everything with clorox, X 2, then it's seed only grows from then on...using FFOF & HF mix. From then on, if I see the borg, it's only me to blame...

 

"resistance is futile"

 

j.b.

[pic book]

purklize, do u have any idea how you acquired root aphids? I don't think in 27 years of growing I have ever seen them in soil or hydro. Jorge Cervantes mentions aphids, but not root aphids.

[Medcnman]

purklize, do u have any idea how you acquired root aphids? I don't think in 27 years of growing I have ever seen them in soil or hydro. Jorge Cervantes mentions aphids, but not root aphids.

Pick up Ed Rosenthals books. They are alot easier to find references in than the Jorge Cervantes books. IMO. Medcnman.

[GanjaWarrior]

Problems will surface sooner or later in soil. If you haven't had them you're just lucky. And when they do they take 100x longer to deal with than in hydro... again, in hydro, you just dump the bucket and refill... try flushing soil with pH problems or nute lock... you will have back pain like you didn't know was possible...

 

 

Lol back problems? if i flush soil i move no more water than u dumping ur whole grow and refilling it all....problems in hydro can kill ur bunny muffin over night. go shut ur pumps off for a bit tell me how fast you can correct that problem. If you use soil properly u dont have those issues. I have yet to flush for anything other than harvest, but i dont dump a bunch of synthetic salts in my soil either.

[pergamum362]

I feed and feed and feed some more, never any issues.

[purklize]

When I change buckets, I just have to drag it 10ft from the sink to the garden after filling it with the RO filter. When I flush, I have to lean sideways from the toilet seat over the bathtub, and slowly pour water through the soil - I have to hold water in the air for extended periods of time, not just quickly slide it across the room. It takes forever and if the pH of the soil is off it's nearly impossible to fix. I know this as mine was too acidic (failed to add dolomite) and even slowly flushing 3 gallons of soil with over 20 gallons of pH 10 water failed to significantly move the pH. It might've gone from 5 to 5.5.

 

DWC so far has been a lot less work, and given me more of a better quality product. Switching was the best thing I ever did in the garden. Only wish I'd done so much sooner... I bought the inaccurate claim that soil is easier for beginners...

[pergamum362]

I never have ph issues but I have had them and for me anyway is pretty easy to fix it...if you dont mind me asking, what were u using?I use sunshine mix4, i dont add anything to the mix..and I never have issues.Things are as easy as you make them.I have a hose hooked to the slop sink, and a barrel of water with a 20 dollar pump in it and 25 feet of hose, im in the basement so for the flush I just move the plant to the drain.I do like dwc too but prefer ebb and flow, they both got thier ups and downs.

[raf]

soil is the easyest way to grow. it is also the most foregiving. the soil acts as a buffer for all nuts and in an organic grow will even buffer the ph. nutes in water water in soil every 3 to 4 days and 8 to 10 weeks harvest. thats easy! ask the experts thay all say the same thing. Ed Rosenthol is a hydro grower but will still tell you soil is the easyest.

[TheBeagle]

too much back and forth here flower it i will do one dirt and one hydro

[purklize]

Agree with you on the moving water thing.

 

The soil I was using was Happy Frog organic soil. The pH was screwy out of the bag.

 

It's just so much easier to set up a DWC bucket than I had thought. All I had to do is drill a hole in a net pot lid, drop in an air stone, and fill it with RO water. When I replace buckets with fresh ones with fresh nutes, I use exactly the same amount of nutes and pH up every time and the pH/ppm comes out dead on - no need to fiddle with a pH meter. Just gotta keep good notes on what ratios to use each time I'm shooting for a new ppm.

 

If moving buckets is hard, this makes it easy: http://www.amazon.com/Scooter-Board-12-Round-Handle/dp/B001GS032K

[Croppled1]

Agree with you on the moving water thing.

 

The soil I was using was Happy Frog organic soil. The pH was screwy out of the bag.

 

It's just so much easier to set up a DWC bucket than I had thought. All I had to do is drill a hole in a net pot lid, drop in an air stone, and fill it with RO water. When I replace buckets with fresh ones with fresh nutes, I use exactly the same amount of nutes and pH up every time and the pH/ppm comes out dead on - no need to fiddle with a pH meter. Just gotta keep good notes on what ratios to use each time I'm shooting for a new ppm.

 

If moving buckets is hard, this makes it easy: http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/B001GS032K

 

I have been looking at doing this . If you have a extra bucket with a air-stone mounted you can fill with fresh nutes set the PH and just move the lid with the plant from one whose water level and ph is off . . Then dump the old one out and set it up for the next . It is a little more work then some of the $500 systems out there but you can set it up for as little as $15 a bucket and each plant is isolated so disease doesn't spread through a whole system .

 

If your real ambitious you can set it up with a automatic level indicator as shown in the you tube bubble bucket video for about $3 in parts . I just always worry about leaks . I think drilling a extra 1/2 hole in the lid and using a long pipette to verify water level and take a water sample out may work . At least I am going to try it before I drill the water level indicator as I usually mess up stuff like that and do not want to risk leaks . If I have to top off before changes I will add nutes and Ph adjusted water so that should keep everything in balance . I do not change my water as often as many do though I plan on improving in that regard hoping i don't' catch a if it ain't broke why did you try to fix it scenario that kills a plant . My only fear with individual bubble buckets over a reservoir DWC system is how to maintainer water temp . Looking for a very inexpensive aquarium heater for a 5 gallon tank . Will raise the cost of growing but should be worth it . I have found if the solution is warm 75 degrees the air temp can be cooler with little effect but should be above 55 at all times . I know some like it warmer but my Afghani strains are alright like that obviously a African Sativa would probably not be . I like things simple the more moving parts or controllers with electronics the more problems . Dirt is a pain to lift buy and change for me but I haven't give up on it but I got to try these bubble buckets . I love my ebb and grow but its not compact enough for my area and volume needs at this stage in my health care .

[purklize]

That's actually pretty much what I do. I have the hole for the air line drilled thruogh the net pot lid though, so I don't need an extra air stone. I lift the plant+lid+airline+airstone and move it from the old bucket with depleted nutes to the fresh new one. Done. Much easier than flushing, even if you have a hose system as described earlier...

 

I wouldn't use the water level indicator, it's prone to getting gummed up with algae and really isn't necessary. I never adjust the pH of my buckets, and I've experimented with withholding water... I once left a large bushy plant for 10 days in DWC without giving it a drop of extra water, and it was unharmed...

 

The sensitivity of DWC to problems is greatly exaggerated. My water temps have ranged from 55 to 80 with no issues. Once - and the water was around 70-75 when this happened - I left the air pump off for almost 10 hours. The plant didn't even seem to notice. It was absolutely massive, too - took up over 9sq ft of space, 4ft tall, very dense and bushy.