I'm curious about hydro systems, why grow in hydro in the first place? seems more expensive&complicated then soil to me, what you guys think, whats better soil or hydro and why?

i think there are lot of variables when it comes down to it, organic soil, regular potting soil, organic hydro, chemical nutrient hydro, etc. i don't have the experience to really know which one is better, they both have positives and negatives. i think the mods here may have the best experience.

It's really just a preference of choice. They both have their ups and downs. with soil or soil based mediums you are gonna eventually need to buy more soil and soil components and mix and fill your pots ect. With Hydro systems its just water in a reservoir with nutrients added to the water. Soil mediums are easier to maintain because the soil acts as a buffer for nutrients, where with hydro you have to make sure the solution is mixed correctly using EC (electric current) to measure the dissolved salts in water, and the PH (acid to alkaline balance) is correct. Hydro systems need to be checked frequently to make sure pumps are working, the tubing has not clogs, ect. With hydo you can potentially get bigger yields and plants can grow faster and larger, but depends on what your growing for, personal or to sell and make money. So its all really just preference, what is good for your situation and the amount of time and work you want to put in. And you don't need to spend a ton of money on expensive hydro systems with a little knowledge and some basic supplies you can build your own system.

Why is that? what about finished product quality, is there any difference in potency or in the high type if I would to grow the same genetics in the two different mediums?

the reason you can get bigger yields is that the nutrients are applied directly to the roots via tubing or in aeroponics the roots are misted with the nutrient solution. You can push the plant by increasing the nutrient levels because there is no buffer you can push them, with soil the roots are gonna suck up what they need, some of the nutrients will just flow out the soil. But its kind of an art with hydoponics, you push too hard with the nutrients and it will have the opposite effect and cause root burn and slow growth and can even potentially kill the plants.

There is no difference in Potency, Potency is dependent on your genetics and when you harvest the buds.

Thanks for some great info man .

i love organic soil, if i was outside and could really enjoy it. inside id have to go with hydro do to room and i think slightly quicker growth.

Well explained PotHead well explained, Now from my point of view growing herb organicaly or hydroponically both have their advantages and disadvantages. For example, if you grow hydroponically you can control how long you want to veg your plants and when you want to flower yout plants allowing you to have several harvests a year instead of just one. It is also much more discreet and eliminates several outdoor pests and insects including scavangers, as well as evading detection from police helicopters. However organicly grown herb is far superior in taste and quality especially when grown in grade-A soil or even better in a rich, forest or tropical environment...Even with today's hi-tech lighting, environmental controling and hydroponic technology it does not compare to naturally grown organic bud, it simply tastes much more richer and flavorable holding on to it's distinct sugars and flavors that are lost in hydroponic growing. Organic bud also smells better, smokes much better, lasts longer and delivers a cleaner, purer high which in most cases surpass hydroponic weed. Believe me coming from southern California where a little more than half the bud is hydroponic I can definately tell if the bud is some outdoor organic, It tells me from the smell all the way to the high It's just much more better in quality. There is just something from the natural earth, wind, rain, climate changes, weather that just makes cannabis a far purer, tastier and more potent. Peace

I agree buddah, my question was coming from pure curiosity, in my personal opinion nothing could ever be better then outdoors organic cannabis and I will never use chems on my herb, I'd rather not smoke at all then smoking all those nasty chems but my question was really aiming solely at the medium itself and not indoors\outdoors or chemical\organic, theoretically you could grow outdoor hydro no? I assume it would be far from convenient but it could work no? also I believe its possible to grow organic hydro isn't it?

I see what your saying, and yes you could grow hydroponically outdoors or organically indoors but I was talking about 100% naturally organically grown outdoor cannabis, and yes you can grow organic bud hydroponically, many people think that hydroponic growing cannot be organic but this is not true. Water is organic and there are also 100% organic nutrients and fertilizers that can be used instead of chemically altered nutrients therefore organic/hydroponic gardening is feasible. I actually think it would be interesting to grow some herb hydroponically in the outdoors, what would the results be growing some weed in a top notch hydroponic system right under the real hot sun which is much more powerful than any hps or metal halide lamp. But yeah I understand your curiosity, shit if I had the time and the money I would experiment all types of ways and combination's to grow the plant just to see and of course smoke the results...Peace