I don’t know what else to title this; I don’t have the terminology.
I’ve been wanting to make a choice for a while now of a growing method. I’m weighing the pros and cons of rdwc versus some type of substrate/media - either rockwool, coco, or maybe perlite/vermiculite.
What I’m trying to figure out is which of these two methods lends itself to having feedback and (precise) controls of the growing “medium” (soilless substrate or water) the best and for the lowest cost (of equipment/gear; I’m talking sensors here for the most part)?
When I think about rdwc (and doing it “right”), I think plumbing parts/work, lots of water volume, water chiller(s) needed, nutrient doser not (optional), ph doser (optional), etc. Not to mention related stuff like rdwc setups aren’t usually mobile; you can’t move the plants etc.
When I think about methods using a substrate/medium (and doing it “right”), “crop steering” lets say, I think about Metergroup/Aroya and Growlink type devices, the sensors for reading the medium (how many needed, per garden, I duno), the diaphragm/jet pump and/or tank, poly line and drip emitters (if irrigating that way…), any other sensors or parts that might be needed.
Does anyone have real experience with the “crop steering” side of things? Anyone who’s using a medium/substrate and is providing irrigations based on something other than “timed” irrigations or similar, please share anything you think might be helpful?
I guess it’s worth mentioning potential setups, because that would affect the choice of method in many ways (plumbing more or less plants, or having more or less meda sensors). Two areas, one 8x4, one a bit less - maybe 6x4. I could do any amount of plants though, within reason, 4, 6, 14, 20, whatever.
Side note:
Poops420, a “moderator” of the old gmlshow podcast had been working on a system that used shipping scales to do irrigations based on the weight of the plant/water content. That sounded like a great idea. I duno where he got with it, but I know he got quite deep into it.
Anyway. I just want to grow better quality medicine and I think that having these feedbacks and controls could help with that, and also allow me to have a bit more time on hand. I’ve looked a little bit into crop steering for a while and I’m at a fork now. I’m not happy with the result of DTW rockwool, and just guessing at when to water, and how much to water, etc.
I read a couple posts, and then the thread of @eskobar and another on another forum too, looking for insight.
Lastly, rockwool aint cheap and is getting more expensive, perlite/vermiculite are relatively cheap and available (I hate perlite though, and it’s dust), coco…well it comes with bugs (which I also hate) most of the time - but that might just be part of the deal.