When it comes to cultivating cannabis, there are plenty of ways to do so but hydroponics offers an interesting alternative to other popular methods.
How Does a Hydroponic System Work?
A hydroponic growing system allows you to grow plants in a soilless medium by adding nutrients, oxygen, and water.
With a hydroponic setup, you use less water than you normally would and can get double the yield of flower in the same amount of time. Your plants will mature faster since they’re directly exposed to all the water and nutrients they need and therefore save energy they’d normally expend to find these resources.
With the help of hydroponics, you can customize your setup to fit your individual plants’ needs. You can customize environmental factors such as temperature, pH balance, nutrients and water so you can get optimum results.
On the downside, if you’re new to hydroponics, it can be quite challenging to maintain. While it will be easier and give you great results in the long run, you need to make sure you can commit to it daily. If you forget to care for your plants, they might not survive since they are completely dependent on the setup. Any small mistake can have great consequences with a hydroponic system.
Deep Water Culture System
The deep water culture system is one of the easiest hydroponic systems. Plants are supported by a medium and their roots are submerged in nutrient-rich aerated water. It’s easy to assemble and you won’t need to spend much money on fancy equipment to get started. It’s also very low maintenance and suitable for beginners.
However, this kind of system isn’t ideal for slow growing plants such as cannabis and will take a while to get good results.
Sustainability
The Controlled Environment Agriculture Association is currently looking into hydroponic growing systems as an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional agricultural methods. As shown in the Agrilyst 2017 State of Indoor Farming report, hydroponic systems use far less water and land while still delivering high quality yields. Not only are hydroponic systems great for private cultivation, but could also be really beneficial when used on a larger scale to cultivate cannabis for the growing number of businesses in the industry.
Image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/yovhXPl8V1M
