Hydroponics

Marijuana Hydroponics

Background

There are different methods of growing plants. The process of growing marijuana without the use of soil but mineral nutrient solutions in a solvent is referred to as a hydroponic system. The plants’ nutrient requirements are met when water is mixed with the nutrient solution. Water, nutrients and air are introduced to the roots through the growing mediums. The good thing is that hydroponics bypasses the web of roots and the energy required for the plant to get nutrients. Hence, you are able to have plants that mature faster. In recent times, hydroponics have been preferred over the naturally grown plants because of the following:

Control of Nutrients-In this type of system, you are entirely responsible for the growth nutrient requirements of your herbs. Marijuana plants have different nutrient requirements during the various growth phases. For instance, our plants will need different nutrients during the flowering and vegetative phases. The hydroponic system allows you to have all the control between one nutrient to another. You can also simply correct excesses or deficiencies in your herbs, unlike in mediums such as soil. This enables you to have higher yields.

Optimization of the Grow Area-When one is using the hydroponic system, they are able to fully optimize the grow area. For instance, the system is set in a way that the plants are able to get all the nutrients they require in one area. Therefore, unlike soil systems, the roots will not spend lots of space trying to get all the nutrients.

Increasing Productivity-As we have seen, we are in total control of our herbs. We, therefore, are able to put all the required nutrients and the plants feed comfortably. At the end of the period, we will have a high yield. Using these systems, we are also able to observe even our roots’ colour and know if our plants are healthy. A healthy herb should have white roots. Another thing is that none of the nutrients given to the plants are lost.

Healthier Plants-Hydroponic plants are ever full of stamina. I would compare it to zero grazing. All a plant needs is readily available and hence no energy is lost. This enables the plant to grow efficiently giving rise to healthy crops. It is also rare to have your plants infected with rare diseases such as those from the soil. Apart from being healthy, this system is also cleaner as you do not have to separate plants or move them from one place to another. In the case where plants are grown in soil bags, one has to transfer his plants from one place to another making the process tedious and dirtier.

Limitations of Hydroponics

Initial Cost-When beginning to grow your marijuana crops hydroponically, the initial investment is very high. This is because you need to set up efficient materials such as lighting systems, air exchange systems and even the substrates. These could be a bit expensive. However, they are all worth it in the long run.

Costly Mistakes-Mistakes committed in the hydroponic systems can be very expensive. To make it worse, you could make mistakes and never realize it till it is very late. For instance, in soil, if you have an excess of a certain nutrient, it will always try and find a way to maintain the balance through the micro-organisms in it. Therefore, you may be able to have a certain level of yield. In the hydroponics case, one single mistake may be fatal destroying all your crops in a matter of hours.

Conclusion

We see that hydroponics are a better alternative to the natural growth of our marijuana. We are able to control everything and hence determine the level of yield we get at the end of the day. However, care must be taken so as not to commit irreversible mistakes.