Lilac Diesel photo by Kyle LeGrow @ legrowcreative taken for High Voltage Extracts by Dan Vaillancourt photos by Kyle LeGrow
“ You have control of your growroom , now take control of your roots .”
There is nothing wrong with growing in soil , but if you really want to accelerate root development and plant growth it might be time to consider hydroponics . Hydro proponent Dan Vaillancourt explains some options for your growroom .
Growing in soil is inexpensive and easy to get started in , making this a great starting block for many beginners growing cannabis . The downside to this style of growing includes bringing soil into your clean indoor grow environment , which is an invitation for bugs and molds among other things . Soil will restrict the speed of your root growth and slow crop turnover time . The reason soil restricts the root-growth speed boils down to the resistance the roots push through . The less resistance your root system must push through , the faster it will grow . Growing hydroponically will give you more control , as well as faster , cleaner growth . Depending on the hydroponic system , there is minimal to no area for salts ( nutrients ) to build up and cause problems . Flushing and cleaning your system is much easier , leaving a healthier plant with no toxicities under the right low-feeding program .
Hydroponics is a method of growing in anything other than soil . This leaves a wide range of systems , both custom and mainstream , to choose from which can make picking a system seem daunting at times . In this article , I hope to shed some light on this as there is a hydroponic method that suits every budget , skill level , and production license or style . Growing hydroponically is truly the only way to have complete control over your plant ’ s root system and what it needs , offering the largest , healthiest , and most boutique-quality yields . I will go over the top five hydroponic methods for growing cannabis from easiest ( and best ones to jump into from soil ) to the most difficult and high maintenance .
Stonewool Drain-To-Waste ( DTW )
In this method , the plants commonly sit on benches or grow tables in stonewool cubes and slabs that come in various sizes . The nutrient solution is delivered to each plant and the runoff drains away . This hydroponic system is the easiest and best for people switching from soil . That ’ s because this is not a recirculating hydroponics system — being a drainto-waste style growing system it is the most like soil growing and therefore easiest . The growing properties are the same , and you will check and adjust pH and PPM levels accordingly in your tank and feed to the plants . You will not need to maintain your pH levels as they will not fluctuate like they would in other more advanced hydroponic systems . This is because the nutrients do not recirculate throughout the growing system . This growing style requires a higher plant count at roughly 32 plants per 4x8-foot growing table , and because of this , it is best suited for high plant count ACMPR license holders , micro-cultivators , or licensed producers . You will see stonewool drain-to-waste systems in many large-scale grow operations as well as ACMPR license holders with high plant counts looking to automate things . It is an inexpensive way to get started , easily scalable , and great for people coming from soil . Stonewool drain-to-waste is best suited for plants growing two to three feet in height with above-lighting focusing on top flowers . This system can have compact vegetative growrooms because the cubes aren ’ t in fixed systems like other styles . The mother plants you will need for this system will make up for space you saved with the vegetative room because you will need to keep many large mother plants on hand and cloning will be fairly regular depending on the size of the operation .
Maximum Yield 29