What medium or system is best for a first time grower
Choosing the correct system or medium for a new grower is a bit of a minefield. They all have pros and cons and all can suit different growing styles and needs. I'll try to cover the different options and my thoughts on each.
We will start with what the main types of growing mediums or styles are. There are many variants of each but as this is aimed at people just getting into growing I'll stick to the main uses for each. Soil, coco, and hydroponic.
I'm going to cover the basic principles behind the 3 main Growing methods below that effect a grower based on experience. Each is worthy of its own far more detailed article which I will cover soon.
Soil
Soil is what 90% of new growers will look at when getting into growing. A lot of people will not know of other options when first thinking about growing their own cannabis. For many it's the natural option as many people will have at least attempted to grow something before in pots or a garden. Soil is a very good medium to grow cannabis in. It's cheap to set up and it's what plants naturally grow in. With most soils/composts you can pop a seed in it and you are good to go. This is where the false sense of security comes into play and is the reason I won't be recommending soil as a good medium for new growers to grow in.
Soil comes with everything you need to get a plant started. The soil itself will contain enough food for a few weeks for your young plants. The issue is that you don't know how long the food available in the soil will last and this will differ from batch to batch of soil, even the same brand. Once this food starts to run out you will need to supplement the food within the soil using nutrients. Cannabis nutrients come in a wide variety of options which can further confuse matters. To be able to grow in soil you will need to be able to read a plant and adjust your feed to suit the plant's needs. This will differ from strain to strain to. So you have a substrate that's not the same each time you use it, a range of nutrients that will need adjusting to suit your plant and plants that will require different levels of feed.... Add in the fact that issues can take a while to show in soil and longer to treat and you have a recipe for a very complicated grow. I've often said a consistent soil grower is the best grower of the lot.
The puzzle with soil is that its alive itself and needs to be healthy in order to keep your plants healthy. This is a art in itself and can complicate the process of getting know your plants and reading them which is really what growing cannabis is all about.
Pros:
Cheap to set up.
Requires very little kit.
Readily available.
Cons:
Not much control.
Harder to treat issues.
Coco
Coco coir is the next step up into hydroponics from growing in soil. It is a hydroponic substrate in the fact it's a dead, inert medium to grow in. This means that coco isn't like soil, it's not alive and doesn't need to be kept a certain way to keep it feeding your plants. From day 1 you will need feed to feed your plants everything they need to survive. This is more work than soil but gives you more control.
The ideas behind hydroponic growing is that you are in control, you can adjust the feed quickly and see these adjustments at work faster. This can also work against you, while you can make changes and have your plants respond faster than in soil things can also go wrong faster. Coco is a happy middle ground between soil and full hydro as you can treat issues faster while having some buffer there as your roots are not sat in purely a nutrient solution.
As you are growing in what is a hydroponic set up, you will need more kit than growing in soil and it will take a little more effort to do so. As there is nothing in the medium itself to keep your plant alive. You will need to add feed daily once the plant is established.
Pros:
Much more control than soil.
Faster and more vigorous growth than soil.
Cons
More effort needed on a daily basis.
More kit and nutrients needed than growing in soil.
Full hydroponic
Full hydroponics growing is in a league of its own in several areas. Growth rate is much faster than the above 2 options and you have complete control over the feed your plants are receiving.
The main point to hydroponic growing in its many varieties is that you are putting your plants roots in direct contact with the nutrient solution they need. This solution can be tailored to different stages of growth very quickly and exactly how you want it. The downside to hydroponic growing is while you can change the feed and the plants response to it very quickly this also applies if things going wrong. If your pH is out, or feed is not right, your plant has zero buffer between its roots and the feed. This can cause problems very quickly and sometimes the damage is done before you have time to rectify it.
Growing in a full hydroponic system also requires a lot of kit and needs to be done properly. This growing style is more suited to experienced growers in my opinion and you need to be able to read your plants well.
Pros:
Fast vigorous growth.
Complete control over what feed your plants are receiving.
Cons:
A lot of kit is needed to do this properly.
Issues can appear fast and affect plants fast.
Conclusion
While the above descriptions are a basic outline of the different mediums and systems to grow your own cannabis they do define the basic principles of each and the pros and cons for what you need to know about each as a new cannabis grower.
Soil while seeming to be the easiest option is actually the medium that needs the most experienced eye when it comes to reading your plants. Things take longer to show and longer to fix and often issues will not display as what they are, more a combination of a few problems. A happy soil plant is as much about happy soil as it is a happy plant. A good consistent soil grower is the best of the lot.
Hydroponic growing is king of the 3 types of growing I've mentioned. Incredibly fast growth, 100% complete control. The issue with Hydroponic growing is you need all the correct kit and even then you can hit issues and fast.
Coco is a happy medium between the 3. While you do need more kit than soil its not as much as you need in Hydroponic growing. You have control of your feed with fast growth and issues are quicker to fix and diagnose. It's almost soil growing without needing to keep the coco happy, and almost Hydroponic growing but with a buffer between your roots and the feed.
Skills learnt growing in coco can be taken to any other medium or system and most importantly there is no better medium to learn to read your plants. Reading your plant's is the key to becoming a consistent and self sufficient grower.
A massive thank you to Momma B for her art work and time doing so. I've nicknamed this one "little man" and he will be used in lots of guides
I did one in soil and now onto hydro.
If you aren’t learning then what’s the point!?
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