My biggest issue is stunting. Autos aren’t necessarily as potent as photos. Some of them are, but not nearly all of them. That said, I’ve always got autos running.
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I am running Dr Bugbee’s lab soil, version 1. 50% Peat,50% Vermiculite,Dolomitic Lime 40g per cubic foot Gypsum 10 grams per cubic foot. Amended with Granular Mycorrhizae. Water to run off with nutes daily.
Yea, that’s not a fun way to run, imo, without automation. I’d personally stick to regular soil, plastic pots, the largest you can fit. You won’t need to water daily depending on the size of the plant and pot.
Or maybe something like DWC?
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DWC is out cant afford the equiptment, Dirt has potential tho and I was planning on piecing together a soil grow here in a couple months or a coco and peat soil blend. Still in the research phase on that tho. Pure Hydo, I have done, and honestly didnt care for it, too touchy and too easy to have dead plants in 8 hours cause something went off while you were at work and you lost all your tomato plants… If that had been cannabis I would have been beyond pissed lol. I am also looking into a drip watering set up that will cut down on how much i have to be in the tent dramatically, its a future purchase for sure, its on the list already lol.
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The nice thing about soil is you can reuse it. Just add compost or ammendments, water it, let it sit for a month and then use it. I use my own compost, cow shit from down the road, and some Dr earth and mosquito bits. I use blumats for watering in flower and then it’s cruise control
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Well i can reuse my lab soil too. All i have to do is once i harvest, Run a few gallons of water through it to flush the excess nutes out of the media and boom neutral and ready to use again lol. But I do have a compost bin going right now making compost out of kitchen waste, bannana peels,egg shells, potato peels, etc using peat as the carbon source along with paper and cardboard.
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Yes but when you reuse what you have you’re back to watering daily.
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A digital timer is cheap. Hydro does not mean they die in 8 hours. Coco and peat hold a lot of water and are a great additive in hydro. In fact you can use most of the organic additives in hydro if you know what you are doing but it is not the cheapest way on the shorter term. On the long run it pays back since you recycle all the medium
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That is true lol cant argue there. Hence the investment in the drip watering system. But who knows, I may go soil.
I had a hydro set up, Lost 6 tomato plants in 8 hours cause the pH went off while I was at work, all the plants were dead by the time i got home. Maybe cannabis is less sensitive to pH swings? But you can very much lose tomatoes in 8hours if something goes off lol
Ph does not go off on its own. You probably had root rot which could severely mess with ph but the cause of death is the rot
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I dunno, it was a mess tho, and the water had totally slimed out in the 8 hours i was at work.
If it is dwc then you need a water chiller when it is hot plus water treatment and res changes. It is more prone to pythium. But hydro is not only dwc. I am now using microbes and beneficials in ebb and flow with no disinfectants or oxidants, along with the right mix of plant foods the control is superior to soil but it does require more knowledge.
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oh ya i cant afford the equiptment cost for all that, and those chillers are expensive lol. My peat mix “dirty hydro” seems to be working well enough for now, my try dirt later at some point.
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Cool so you are in soilless technically its hydro i suggest you start adding some biological elements like beneficial microbes
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I have Mycos in already anything else you suggest?
Humic fulvic acids, amino acids, maybe lactic acid if you know what youre doing
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I use Humic Acid at every watering. I use Vinegar as my pH down(tap water is about 7.7pH or so) I also Use black strap Molasses once a week to feed the mycos.
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Ya know, I don’t have anything super valuable to add here, as I’m a noob myself. But @Ace71975 I have read this entire thread, and on many levels, you and me are just on the same level, brother. 
I dig your adventurous spirit, I get the quest you’re on, and respect it, man.
Here is why I’m smiling and writing though, because: you and me are also COMPLETE opposites on our approaches to getting back into it! 
I am, almost to a fault, the most boring person when it comes to getting back into a hobby.
When I started growing a few years ago, I said to myself, “Okay, man, look: you’ve grown lots of stuff, so you won’t kill it. Also, people stupider than you have successfully grown weed, so again, props.” I was trying to fire myself up. BUT, I was also saying:
“this is just weed. a WEED.”
I started with a pot, some soil, and a clone. The simplest possible math. I watered it, I watched it, I read.
And for a long time, that’s all I did.
Watered, watched it, read.
Occasionally, I’d change something here or there. But I kept it STUPID simple for myself. And part of the reason was, I could do one thing at a time – make one change – and see what happened. I like being able to carefully tweak, iterate, re-do, learn, correct. And I have to be super precise about it in order to do it.
So I’m writing simply because I guess I’m reflecting on the different ways we all grow, AND the reasons we do it. Everybody’s different and that’s a good thing! But my brain sits here are pleads with you to simplify things for yourself.
I recognize (and respect, brother) that that is probably not you, and I then applaud you for staying true to yourself. Good luck my friend! Grow in peace!
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Im a science geek, I dive into the science head first, reading research studies, watching videos from medical hemp researchers, etc. Simple isnt really my strong suit lol
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