Cannabis farmlands can be expensive, while city lots are too small to do anything meaningful. Fortunately, modern science is solving this problem through hydroponics. You don’t need expensive farmlands or soil to benefit from this cannabis cultivation. Initially, the very thought of growing cannabis using hydroponics might sound intimidating and complicated. The good news is that, with proper instructions and practice, you can master this growing technique.
So, is hydroponics the future of indoor cannabis growing? How is that future, and how can you get your fair share of it if it is? Keep reading to learn more.
The Challenges Facing Cannabis Growing
Cannabis legalization brought a wave of interest in everything—growing, breeding, and consumption. Let’s take California as the leading example of the challenges facing cannabis growth and how hydroponics comes in handy. Legalization didn’t find the ground ready with everything necessary for promoting cannabis growth. For instance, the Cannabis Business Times says that since California opened the market for regulated cannabis, the supply of high-quality sinsemilla flowers dropped significantly.
Remember that California is one of the leading US cannabis producers. This state experiences this challenge in summer when the locality faces wildfires. These wildfires taint cannabis flowers due for harvest in autumn because they grow outdoors.
How Does Hydroponic Cannabis Solve the Problem?
We have examined one of the top challenges facing outdoor cannabis cultivation. But how does hydroponics come into the picture? Hydroponics allows you to grow cannabis without soil. This method isn’t all that new but has only become more technologically advanced today.
Did you know that the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were an early hydroponic form? The Babylonians created these gardens by diverting river water into various channels in which plants grew. Get more information about hydroponics at https://askgrowers.com/cannabis-growing-guide/hydroponics.
Plant roots dip into the water in this cultivation setting and absorb it. Plants get all their nutrients from the solution. This growing arrangement saves roots the stress of digging into the soil to get nutrients because they are easily available. Therefore, your crops enjoy sufficient and easily available nutrients throughout their growth stages.
Cannabis hydroponic nutrients should be in the correct blend and strength to suit your plants’ growth phase. In some cases, nutrient solutions fizzle with air bubbles from air hoses or stones to prevent root rot. Other hydroponic methods, like Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), allow nutrients to trickle over a fabric mat through which the roots grow. The material is exposed to the air, allowing roots to access oxygen.
You should also play your role to make your hydroponic project succeed. Remember to take care of its lighting, temperature, and pH levels. These elements must be in the correct ratios. Besides, regulate water and nutrient provisions to get healthy plants.
The Pros and Cons of Cultivating Cannabis Using Hydroponics
Now, let’s turn to our story’s most important side to help you make an informed choice—the pros and cons. We want you to understand this system’s benefits and shortcomings fully. This balanced view prepares you to handle the two sides of the coin.
Pros
- Better nutrition control. Nutrition control, and not just availability, is critical to your plants’ healthy growth. Growing cannabis in other mediums like soil can shortchange your plants because nutrients can get diluted. Fortunately, with hydroponics, you can check your marijuana’s nutrient needs at every stage and prepare them beforehand. Nutrient administration is easy; you can store the mix in tanks, wasting nothing.
- Higher yields. Hydroponics also produces bigger buds. The system allows cannabis’s root system to receive all the vital nutrients easily and directly. Plants don’t waste energy looking for nutrients, as in soil settings. This way, they can use their energy to concentrate on development, boosting their strength and speed.
- Accurate pH levels. In hydroponic settings, everything cannabis needs is in the water. Thus, you can adjust and monitor the pH level more accurately and faster. Remember, a proper pH level is essential for optimal nutrient uptake. Unlike soil readings, which can sometimes produce inaccurate results, you don’t do guesswork with pH levels in hydroponic settings.
- Easy root access. Usually, root systems display distress or nutrient deficiency signs faster than their above-ground parts. Exposing roots lets you quickly identify any potential problems. Healthy roots should always be white, while darker ones indicate the opposite.
- Fast-growing plants. Hydroponic marijuana grows faster because it easily accesses nutrients. It also enjoys accurate pH monitoring and a constant oxygenated water supply. You only need to guarantee enough lighting and temperature control to hasten your crops’ growth.
- Reduced pest and disease infestation. Unless treated well, soil can harbor disease-causing microorganisms. Removing soil from the growing process eliminates this risk. Pets and weeds also grow in the soil, exposing plants to more dangers. Managing your hydroponic setup well saves you from all these possible risks.
- Easier water and nutrition administration. Administering water and nutrients to cannabis is easier and safer. You can measure the exact nutrient amounts your crops need.
Cons
- Costly initial setup. Initial cost implications are some of the biggest cons of hydroponics, especially for small-scale growers. You need more capital input in the form of money, pumps, tubing, and electricity to set up a hydroponic system. Things get more complicated if you intend to sell your cannabis because you must justify the added costs. Therefore, this method suits long-term investors with huge amounts of money.
- It requires experience. This method isn’t for rookies because making mistakes can be costlier than making them in a natural soil setup. You must know what to look for in your setting and manage it successfully because a small blunder can kill an entire crop.
- Rectifying blunders is harder. Nutrient uptake is so direct that any blunders could kill all your plants. In soil, you have an advantage because soil dilutes the nutrient balance, reducing the damage if you err in the balance. Unfortunately, hydroponics has no such buffer for errors; you must pay for your goofs. Additionally, rectifying mistakes is harder unless you are highly experienced with your cannabis strain’s nutrient quantities needs.
- Prepare for more commitment. Choosing hydroponics means embracing more responsibility. Naturally, cannabis is hardy and can survive and flourish even in the wild. However, hydroponics requires additional time and attention to feed and monitor your plants’ development more frequently.
- Possible disastrous power outages. Your cannabis’s lifeline depends on pumps and electricity. The pumps supply oxygen, water, and nutrients, without which your plants could die in a few hours. A power outage without a reliable backup also exposes your crops to the same risk.
- Possible electrical disasters. While this risk is preventable, it could and does happen. Your hydroponic system comprises an electrical pump that provides oxygenated water. Besides, it depends on artificial electrical lighting, whose wiring system could cause a disaster should spillages or leaks occur. Be extra careful to avoid disasters, for instance, by installing electrical devices above the waistline.
Bottom Line
Hydroponics is fast gaining popularity as an indoor growing method. Its adoption and benefits are worth trying out, despite its few shortcomings. Use this information to try it out and book your place in the future of indoor cannabis growing.
The author of this article is Lana Braslavska, an expert in cannabis growing and a full-time blogger at AskGrowers. She shares her expertise and cultivation hacks with current and aspiring growers to help everyone get a fair share of top-quality home-grown weed. Lana is always on the lookout for new cannabis products and brands that can change American consumers’ lives for the better.
