The post February 2018 Hydro Report appeared first on High Times.
Growing crops using hydroponic growing methods is not a new concept by any stretch of the imagination. The origins of “urban farming” that we hear of today have long and deep-reaching roots emerging from as far back as the ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the pre-Columbian Aztec empire.
Cannabis plants can thrive in hydroponics (Greek for “growing with water”). Most cannabis strains take to water-based growing systems like a duck does to water. Marijuana plants are heavier-feeding plants from both a water and nutrient perspective, so the more water and nutrients they take up in a healthy growing environment, the bigger, heavier and stickier they can get.
Optimal Root Environment
Most of the root growth and nutrient-solution absorption by cannabis plants occur directly in the aerated nutrient solution rather than in the medium or substrate. A nutrient solution, in hydroponic terms, is composed of clean or filtered water that has exacting ratios of the elements required by plants for a given growth phase that is maintained at the correct temperature and pH level (the balance of acidity to alkalinity).
Get in Touch With the Dark Side
Erik Biksa
On the flipside, think about the aerial environment of plants at the canopy level. When temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and air exchange are met at optimal levels, buds grow big and healthy faster. Plants live in two very different worlds at the same time: the aerial environment and the root environment. Growers have a tendency to think mostly about what they can see, but it’s important to think about and understand what’s going on down below in the root zone.
Supercharged Growth Rates
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