Hydro vs. Soil

Like many a novice grower, you may have heard some amazing things about Hydro vs. Soil based growing and you may be tempted to try it out. Hydroponic growing can be an expensive endeavor, though, so before you dive into it, here are some of the most important factors to consider:

• How much time and money are prepared to invest in your marijuana grow? This is an enormously important factor to consider when choosing between traditional soil based growing and hydroponic growing. Soil based growing is more forgiving to the beginner, and you don’t necessarily have to check your plants every single day, but when you get into hydroponics you really have to stay with your plants and monitor them daily.
• How skilled are you as a grower? If you’ve never grown before, then jumping head first into hydroponics is likely to cost you quite a bit of money and leave you profoundly disappointed. This isn’t to say that you can’t be successful on your first grow, but it’s hard, and without some experience you are likely to run into frustrating issues.
• Setup costs are a huge factor for the average grower. While you can do your own hydroponic setup for a fairly affordable price if you have decent DIY skills, it takes time, energy and knowledge that you may not have or may not wish to expend. Pre-designed hydroponic kits can get expensive, and in a business where you truly get what you pay for, you can’t afford to be too cheap. High quality nutrients for hydro can also add up.

Hydro vs soil: Which do you prefer?

Another factor to take into consideration is the flavor of the bud. While this is hugely open to personal preference, there are a number of patients and growers who are adamant about growing in soil. Many patients have reported being able to taste the difference in cannabis grown hydroponically vs. organically in soil.

Plenty of patients and growers seem to have no problem with hydroponic growing, though, and indeed many of them enthusiastically extol the virtues of hydro vs. soil growth. If you’re seriously considering a hydroponic set-up, consider carrying out a comparative taste test.

When possible, try several strains of soil grown cannabis and try several strains of hydroponically grown cannabis. You should be able to tell pretty quickly if you have a preference for cannabis grown in one medium or the other. Once you know what you prefer, and assuming you’re growing for yourself, you’ll know which growing method to focus on.