Pro Mix and hydroponics?

[Mr. Beanz]

I've been interested for a long time with doing hydro. So ,much so that i've already experimented with flood and drain, DWC and 'hempy' buckets. It all seems interesting and the rewards seem well worth the extra effort. I know that anything that can be done in soil can be reproduced in hydro but I still wan't to use my ProMix HP. What I was wondering was if I could incorporate promix into a hydroponics system, and what makes hydro, hydro? Is it the medium? Or the way you water? Cause I was gonna do automated waterings, but idk if that alone is considered hydro.
I need help thinking up my next setup. I wanna use promix hp as a base in a soil-less mix;

ProMix HP - base (bale)
Jersey Greensand - slow release potassium and trace elements
Earthworm Castings - nitrogen
Rock Phosphate - vegan alternative to bone meal
Kelp Meal - vitamins & minerals
Dolomite Lime or sulfate of sulfur depending - pH buffering
Alfalfa Meal - N source; animal-free alternative to blood meal
Diotomaceous Earth - bug and larva control
Epsom Salt - Mag source
Espoma Soil Perfecter - pretty good product and reusable. after I tried it I liked it
Perlite

But I want to do hydroponics too. Is that impossible or can you use Promix in a hydroponic setup?

 

[mg75]

pro-mix is a hydroponic medium. it is considered soilless. once you add stuff to it, you change it into something else. if you want to keep it hydro, better leave it alone.
promix in an ebb&flo table using smart pots can grow amazing plants. you can use dtw drip irrigation as well.
why not leave at alone and feed it some organic (or chem) liquid fertilizers. that way, flushing and/or correcting issues is much easier. i find it difficult to flush amended "soils."

 

[paladin420]

pro-mix is a hydroponic medium. it is considered soilless. once you add stuff to it, you change it into something else. if you want to keep it hydro, better leave it alone.
promix in an ebb&flo table using smart pots can grow amazing plants. you can use dtw drip irrigation as well.
why not leave at alone and feed it some organic (or chem) liquid fertilizers. that way, flushing and/or correcting issues is much easier. i find it difficult to flush amended "soils."

Exellent answer. I get my bigger clones from a guy who uses smarts n ebb. I can pop m right in my Hydroton ebb pots thru flower. Fuckin outstandin little gurls.. good luck

 

[Mr. Beanz]

You are so totally right, I didn't even think about that.
Me adding stuff to the promix is the soil grower in me trying to keep it familiar. I forgot that hydroponic mediums are usually inert.
Great!
Do you guys mind answering some noobish questions to get me on my feet. I don't know much about hydro so I kinda need some hand-holding.
Since I'd just use plain promix, does that mean I could safely collect the water in a reservoir and use it in a recirculating system ie ebb and flow?
And my whole idea behind using promix is that I could get that same taste I get with soil grown bud. Is that true or does that depend more on the organic stuff that's usually in soil? Does weed grown in promix taste better than weed grown in other rockwool/hydroton etc.?

 

[paladin420]

You are so totally right, I didn't even think about that.
Me adding stuff to the promix is the soil grower in me trying to keep it familiar. I forgot that hydroponic mediums are usually inert.
Great!
Do you guys mind answering some noobish questions to get me on my feet. I don't know much about hydro so I kinda need some hand-holding.
Since I'd just use plain promix, does that mean I could safely collect the water in a reservoir and use it in a recirculating system ie ebb and flow?
And my whole idea behind using promix is that I could get that same taste I get with soil grown bud. Is that true or does that depend more on the organic stuff that's usually in soil? Does weed grown in promix taste better than weed grown in other rockwool/hydroton etc.?

Ask any Question of me you would like public or PM.
yes to the recirc system. Smart pots act as a partical filter. Keep your tray clean and no prob.
Taste? Nope ain't gonna kick that door open - 'subjective'
IMHO any soilless mix will flush cleaner than a soil with nutes.
So far in blind taste tests here my hydroton is smoother than promix and ammended soil. 9 out of 10 times. Really hot on the House & Garden Drip Clean. 3 days flush as smooth as 10 or more days again IMHO and the lucky testers..

 

[RubeGoldberg]

in ebb and flow I'd probably augment the promix with somewhere around 25% perlite and 25% coco for some really nice drainage

 

[Mr. Beanz]

Ask any Question of me you would like public or PM.
yes to the recirc system. Smart pots act as a partical filter. Keep your tray clean and no prob.
Taste? Nope ain't gonna kick that door open - 'subjective'
IMHO any soilless mix will flush cleaner than a soil with nutes.
So far in blind taste tests here my hydroton is smoother than promix and ammended soil. 9 out of 10 times. Really hot on the House & Garden Drip Clean. 3 days flush as smooth as 10 or more days again IMHO and the lucky testers..

You did an actual taste test and hydroton was better 9/10 times?!
Wow.
Where would say that flavor comes from for the most part? Is it the genetics? OR is there something you add in your nute regiment? Cause I use H&G nutes too and I love them, but I thought it was the soil giving the bud that good taste.

If I were to use promix anyways, how often do you think I would have to water a 2 gallon pot lets say? I'd think you couldn't water the promix as miuch as hydroton.
And for that matter, how ofter would you water hydroton? Thanks for all the help alos, and sorry for such basic questions. You must think I'm a tard

 

[mg75]

don't get hung on taste/flavor comparisons. i have smoked some kushage that tasted like soap in promix and i also tried nycd grown in the same garden... it tasted like ruby red grapefruits and was amazing.
i have found that its better to master one medium, nutrient line, and genetic at a time. squeeze the best buds you can out of it, and then try something new. growers give up on a specific growing method too soon. there is no better/worse... only what's good for you and your patients. promix works and so does hydrton, etc.

if you have the time and space, dedicate a small area in your garden using a 400w hps and grow about 12 different plants in small 6 inch containers. you can try soil, soilless, perlite, and all the amendments you mentioned. this way you are not messing with your bread and butter crop. when you find a winning method that fits your growing "lifestyle", then go ahead and implement that in your bigger garden. it literally takes years to find yourself in terms of growing.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

don't get hung on taste/flavor comparisons. i have smoked some kushage that tasted like soap in promix and i also tried nycd grown in the same garden... it tasted like ruby red grapefruits and was amazing.
i have found that its better to master one medium, nutrient line, and genetic at a time. squeeze the best buds you can out of it, and then try something new. growers give up on a specific growing method too soon. there is no better/worse... only what's good for you and your patients. promix works and so does hydrton, etc.

if you have the time and space, dedicate a small area in your garden using a 400w hps and grow about 12 different plants in small 6 inch containers. you can try soil, soilless, perlite, and all the amendments you mentioned. this way you are not messing with your bread and butter crop. when you find a winning method that fits your growing "lifestyle", then go ahead and implement that in your bigger garden. it literally takes years to find yourself in terms of growing.

Solid advice man. I feel that I have gotten the best I can out of soil which is why I want to try hydroponics. I haven't grown weed forever but I've been working in the family garden for the past 15 years+. I've wanted to get into hydro for a while so I'm just getting as much info as possible before I jump in.

 

[RubeGoldberg]

You did an actual taste test and hydroton was better 9/10 times?!
Wow.
Where would say that flavor comes from for the most part? Is it the genetics? OR is there something you add in your nute regiment? Cause I use H&G nutes too and I love them, but I thought it was the soil giving the bud that good taste.

If I were to use promix anyways, how often do you think I would have to water a 2 gallon pot lets say? I'd think you couldn't water the promix as miuch as hydroton.
And for that matter, how ofter would you water hydroton? Thanks for all the help alos, and sorry for such basic questions. You must think I'm a tard

You wanna let the pro-mix dry out somewhat between waterings, thats why i'd probably recommend adding perlite or even coco to give more drainage and allow for more feedings.
Otherwise if the pots are properly sized for your plants you'll be waiting about 3 days between waterings.


Hydroton is subjective, it really depends on your rootmass etc. 6 times a day for a reasonable amount of time per flooding is reasonable though.
Best bet is to find an ebb and flow schedule on these forums that somebody seems to have good results with and then customize it from there based on your plant's uptake.
Its a good bet though to get as sensitive of a timer as possible so you can get creative as you want.

 

[Mr. Beanz]

You wanna let the pro-mix dry out somewhat between waterings, thats why i'd probably recommend adding perlite or even coco to give more drainage and allow for more feedings.
Otherwise if the pots are properly sized for your plants you'll be waiting about 3 days between waterings.


Hydroton is subjective, it really depends on your rootmass etc. 6 times a day for a reasonable amount of time per flooding is reasonable though.
Best bet is to find an ebb and flow schedule on these forums that somebody seems to have good results with and then customize it from there based on your plant's uptake.
Its a good bet though to get as sensitive of a timer as possible so you can get creative as you want.

Wow 6 times a day. I thought it was closer to two or three times a day, but I've seen how fast hydroton dries out too so that makes sense. I guess that would be hydroponics is so much faster then huh? Do you think plants grow faster in hydroton as opposed to soil-less mixes like sunshine and promix? Cause that's kinda what I'm looking for, speed and yeild. Purely for commercial purposes.

 

[MIway]

Cause that's kinda what I'm looking for, speed and yeild. Purely for commercial purposes.

Awwww shit... was about to post some advice... :-(

 

[Mr. Beanz]

Awwww shit... was about to post some advice... :-(

Awe don't tease me, I need all the help I can get. I have two gardens btw, one for head and one for the streets.
None of my decisions are set in stone either. I got a month before the next grow so I have time to find a good method and get all the ideas I can.....c'mon...?

 

[RubeGoldberg]

Wow 6 times a day. I thought it was closer to two or three times a day, but I've seen how fast hydroton dries out too so that makes sense. I guess that would be hydroponics is so much faster then huh? Do you think plants grow faster in hydroton as opposed to soil-less mixes like sunshine and promix? Cause that's kinda what I'm looking for, speed and yeild. Purely for commercial purposes.

If you're commercial then use a medium that is forgiving and has a bit of a material buffer like soilless sphagnum mixes or coco.

There aren't really any advantages to running hydroton or any water dominant hydro system commercially considering you have so many extra factors that can completely fuck up your investment.

Also if you're commercial just run a drip or something to the promix, no point really fucking around with trying to ebb and flow it

 

[MIway]

Awe don't tease me, I need all the help I can get. I have two gardens btw, one for head and one for the streets.
None of my decisions are set in stone either. I got a month before the next grow so I have time to find a good method and get all the ideas I can.....c'mon...?

All I can suggest is don't grow with commercial goals in mind... grow with purely heady as the goal. And then grow as much as you can while maintaining that level of quality.

Overall, you yields will be lower, but the bags will be superbly superior to everyone else... and the 'problem' you will have is never having enough, which is a nice problem to be blessed with. You will be better able to sift through & cherry pick the quality people to work with, which will be safer & healthier over time.

The price points you will maintain will support everything you will need & you will be netting the community an overall positive gain by upping the quality standards.

I only grow what I will smoke & will only smoke a clean, unadulterated product... use this as your mantra.