HPS ?

[silent-toker]

Ive just switched to coco from soil. its simple and with a coco nute grows faster,healthier plants. Its a good intro to hydro imo

[SukonmiSkunk]

what ever you decide to grow in the light and room size is most important. for a cheaper grow, pots with potting mix is probably the go. if you sweat the potting mix this will kill the impurities and any bugs off... recommended.

get a HPS light, 400's are fairly cheap. Theres nothing wrong with buying second hand, lighting equipment is built to last.. just get a NEW globe, a son-t-agro is the go. 400's go for about $50-$100 a new globe might set ya back $70 or so, get the globe from an electrical wholesaler, like Laurance and hanson or rexel...a shit load cheaper than a hydro shop.

once you get a grow through then just upgrade.

hydro is the easiest way to grow, everything can be set up to grow automatically, but really its down to you and what you feel comfortable with. a 400 set up in a wardrobe will yield somewhere close to 10 ounces and is probably the cheapest way top set up... check out my wardrobe grow for some ideas... its in grow diaries section...

also check out the gro faq sect for my how to build a wardrobe guide...

[Gazza2001au]

i use to be affraid of coco growing haha one day i got over it now look ive gone from growing in hydro systems to coco/perlite filled pots very basic water every few days untill the water drips from the pot thats it all done i second that SS i buy second hand lights saves abit of $ if buying from a hydro shop most shops toss out shit lamps so the lamp u will get with the light should give you ur first harvest Edited July 15, 2006 by Gazza2001au

[HashMakerOilProducts]

I think there is a lot of good adivce from these people I personally don't grow however most growers I know do not like hydro. they prefer a soil such as promix hp. now forgive me for using the word soil but it is not really soil so to speak. this is a ph stable soil less mix it just looks like soil...I had one of my supplyers correct me. He said go to www.toronto420.com and look at the grow guide there. He informed me that that is the most widly used method in canada anyways cheers

[Luke Skywalker]

Unfortunately we're not in canada Hashmaker. And just about any potting mix you buy could be called soilless mix, as it's a mixture of bark, sand, manures and other organic amendments.

 

Don't get me wrong, soil growing has it's advantages, but in Australia hydro growing is generally seen as the more effective method of growing. There are benifits and disadvantages to all kinds of growing, be it outdoors in the garden bed, indoors in a pot of soil (potting mixture) or indoors in a hydro system. I, and many others, prefer the control that you have with hydroponic systems, which allow much finer tuning of nutrition than soil or soilless mixtures give.

 

pH balanced potting mixes are usually exactly that, pH correct. But you should always test it. As the plants take up nutrition and deplete the soil, and as you add chemical or organic fertilisers you will change the pH level. This should be tested and corrected before problems occur. In Australia the best bet is to get a potting mix which has the Quality Ticks, which show that it's pH balanced and has a proportion of slow release ferts which should last at least 6 months. (although in practice this is rarely the case, as temperature and plant requirements really determine this.).

[pipeman]

Luke did you even look at the link he provided? The stuff he is talking about is promix. its a mixture of perlite, vermiculite and peat moss. they call it a soilless mix but in Australia we'd call it hydroponic (like we tend to do with coco)

[Luke Skywalker]

I know what promix is. It's one of many mixtures of organic and inorganic mixes.

 

I'd still call it soilless. I certainly wouldn't call it hydroponics. Closer to cocoponics (which itself I wouldn't call hydroponics, but hey there's lotsa ways to do things and lotsa names too.) than anything, but peat moss isn't as good as coco and non-renewable.

[HashMakerOilProducts]

well like I said I make oil I don't grow. The only reason I am suggesting this is because of the cost of hydroponics. maybe it is cheaper in Australia I wouldn't know. I would rather buy a 400w or 600w HPS or HID bulb system then use a 200w bulb and a hydrotable. it would just seem more productive to me thats all. But who am I to say I'm just an oil maker thats all.

[Luke Skywalker]

Absolutely on the light thing. But the cost for the return with hydroponic systems is really quite small.

 

Sure, using a mix similar to promix and other potting mixes may give good results, but I've always found hydroponics to be superior.

 

There are more ways to grow than there are people who do it.

[SukonmiSkunk]

if youre using a soilless mix thinking its going to be better than hydro then youre dreaming.. IMO if you need to add ferts/nutes to your grow then you would better just growing hydroponically. There would be absolutley NO difference from a soilless medum like you describe and hydro...really.

people say soils are better for flavour and they dont have the so called hydro taste... but if you need to add ferts at anytime then youre just defeating the purpose of using soil.

I flush my hydro, I am not to sure about youre friends but my run off gets pretty close to the input.. meaning I will flush untill the ppm reading is about 50ppm, the rain water I use is at 30ppm. so its VERY clean when harvested.. for max taste..

this would argue that my hydro buds would have less residue than soil grown buds... but thats debatable... my heads always taste chioce with no hint of hydro at all.. I put it down to my flushing method... most growers dont bother to flush... then they just a grower in my eyes... and not much of a grower....

growers will just harvest for cash.... connissuers harvest for flavour...

 

with all that said.. I would love to try youre oil...