If you’re entering 2017 in a position where you can legally grow your own cannabis, chances are you will be doing exactly that. After all, why wouldn’t you? The thing is though, evidence seems to suggest that the vast majority of home growers cultivating cannabis at a modest level continue to stick with traditional soil growing as their preferred method of choice. Mention the idea of hydroponics to most and they will probably confirm their lack of interest, having written it off as too difficult and too expensive.
The truth is though, setting up and operating an outstanding hydroponics system at home can actually be incredibly simple, affordable and effective. What’s more, just as soon as you’ve experienced the difference personally, there is absolutely no going back. Suffice to say therefore, if you’re looking to step things up in 2017, making the switch to hydroponics represents a great place to start for a number of reasons.
Control
For example, the most immediate benefit that comes with switching to hydroponics is the way in which you immediately and permanently find yourself with so much more control over what happens to your plants. You control every key growing condition including light, temperature, humidity and so on, along with the supply of oxygen and key nutrients that make it to the roots of the plants. You basically get to take over from nature and do a better job than nature in every way.
Faster Results
Regardless of the type of cannabis you choose to grow, one thing you can be sure of with hydroponics is the fastest possible results. Of course, exactly how long it takes for your plants to reach fruition will be determined largely by the type of cannabis you grow and how long you keep the plants in their vegetative stage. Nevertheless, you’ll have so much more control over the speed your plants grow and will be able to produce much quicker results, should you choose to do so.
Bigger Yields
Growing with Hydroponics can create bigger yields
The same also goes for the size and quality of the yields you can expect, which will most likely be unlike anything you have ever experienced before. This again comes down to the way in which you are able to provide your plants with absolutely everything they need to reach their maximum potential, while at the same time taking control of vegetative and flowering times, should you wish to do so. Whatever your priorities, you will no doubt find switching to hydroponics makes it significantly easier to exceed even your own expectations.
Weeding
Another enormous advantage of making the switch to a hydroponic setup is the way in which you eliminate the soil. And in doing so, you eliminate the possibility of weeds and unwelcome extras growing in and around your plants. Weeding doesn’t tend to be the kind of thing most growers are particularly fond of, which is precisely why it makes perfect sense to consider switching to hydroponics.
Pests
The same also goes for pest control as it tends to be significantly easier to prevent and eliminate pest problems with hydroponics setups than traditional soil growing. This is particularly the case if you are currently growing outdoors, which for obvious reasons exposes your plants to a wide variety of potential pest problems. Bringing things indoors and working with a highly controlled hydroponics system in a carefully managed environment means significantly reducing the likelihood of pests causing you problems.
Year-Round Growing
To get things set up properly with a hydroponics system is to enjoy the prospect of growing outstanding plants and achieving incredible yields throughout the entire year. The seasons and the weather outside have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on what takes place indoors, allowing you to cultivate crops and get throughout all four seasons. And of course, there’s always the option of shifting your plants outdoors during the warmer months of the year, should you live in the region blessed with reliable and appropriate weather.
Space
Hydroponics doesn’t need too much space
Another unique benefit of modern hydroponic systems is the way in which they allow you to make the very best use of all space available to you. If you are working with particularly limited space, trying to get the job done with traditional soil growing can be both challenging and messy to say the least. By contrast, hydroponic systems can be uniquely compact and perfect for squeezing into even the smallest of spaces. And of course, if you are lucky enough to have plenty of space available, you might just be surprised how enormous your cannabis plantation could be.
Simplicity
Contrary to popular belief, advanced hydroponics systems are actually all about simplifying the cultivation process, as opposed to making it more complicated than it needs to be. Once everything is set up, it is comparatively difficult to go wrong. That is of course, assuming you are willing to invest in decent equipment in the first place. Unlike with soil gardening, the vast majority of key processes when it comes to hydroponics can be automated. You set up the equipment, install the required timers and controllers and simply ensure that the nutrient solution is topped up as and when required. Other than this, the system pretty much takes care of everything on your behalf.
Efficiency
Hydroponic systems also have the potential to be uniquely efficient, recycling and reusing nutrient solution rather than letting it go to waste. This is beneficial not only for environmental reasons, but also the way in which you will need to purchase and use considerably less nutrient solution than you otherwise might. Efficiency will always be determined by the type and quality of the hydroponics system you set up, but generally speaking hydroponic growing is significantly more efficient than traditional soil growing.
Pure Enjoyment
Last but not least, there’s no overlooking the way in which getting started and working with hydroponics systems has the potential to be nothing but a joy from start to finish. This is particularly so for anyone with an interest in technology and gadgets, given the way in which there is an endless arsenal of equipment out there just waiting to be played with. But even if you prefer to keep things simple, you’ll probably find hydroponic cultivation so much more enjoyable than anything you’ve experienced to date. Which of course counts double when the time comes to harvest!
