Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Tap water, or Reverse osmosis water?

People who use tap water enjoy benefits of water coming straight from the drain, having a slight ppm level in the water, and enjoy saving money on water filtering systems.  I have seen incredible yields with tap water and I have seen that tap water works incredibly great.  I have never seen one time an instance where something was caused due to tap water.  In fact, I believe that the plants adapt rather quickly to tap water even if there is something in the system that may not be liked at first.  To have 250-300PPM in your water and then want to remove it, it almost sounds as ludicrous as removing nutrients from a soil base.  Oh wait, they did that, and its called Coco, and the nutrient companies thrive on the fact that people have to buy more nutrients to put into their medium because there are no base nutrients anymore!  Tap water is the way to go.


Ah, another added product of the industry.  With no proof that filtered water actually helps plants grow better, it is funny how everyone and seemingly their mom typically speaks of the necessity of a RO system.   I think they are a waste of money as I have experienced no difference in terms of yield, taste, or smell of a product.  Either in coco or soil, either or works.  Try not to give into spending money and time filtering your water, plants are stronger than you think, and the water is better than you think.




Sunday, December 16, 2012

Soil or Coco? The end old debate.

If you have started growing, then you have probably been wondering which medium you should use.  The two options generally to choose from are soil and coco mediums.  I have personally tried both mediums myself and they both have their pros and cons.  Lets start with coco.


Coco is relatively new to the industry and part of the cool and sophisticated fad associated with Hydroponic growing.  It has been known to have the ability to breathe better and allow more oxygen intake by the roots, which leads to faster and larger yields.  Although personally, I have not found any difference in speed of growth with growing with coco as compared with soil, and neither have my successful Humboldt grower friends.  Another downside to coco is that the medium contains no nutrients.  With no existing base nutrients in a medium, experiencing problems during your growing cycle is much more likely to happen, as every strain is different and some can be very delicate to nutrient feeding.  Ultimately, a small slip up in the nutrient feeding could shock plants, stunt plants, or even kill them.  Let's talk about soil now.


Ahh, soil....so simple, so beautiful.  Soil has a perfect N-P-K base, so accidental nutrient underfeeds do not create as much of a crisis in the grow cycle.  I think the moral of the story is keep it simple.  Grow with soil and avoid trying to have complex and advanced growing methods.  With more complex strategies comes more problems and expenses.  Try not to listen and buy into what we in Humboldt call the "Hydroponic Hype."  Soil is the way to go 100%.  It's even cheaper too.

Click here to see an incredible nutrient for growing