The Germinator
Well-Known Member
When it comes to indoor hydro gardening, most have to decide at some point what type of reservoir system to maintain: a sterile one, in which an anti-microbial, anti-bacterial solution is administered with regularity; or an alive system, in which beneficial bacteria and other microbes are regularly applied. Both methods have their benefits as well as drawbacks. In this month's Grow Tech, we will examine the various pros and cons of each method, providing tips and tricks along the way in the hopes that you will be able to identify your own gardening needs, and help in choosing the method that is most suitable for you.
The majority of hydroponic gardeners choose a synthetic or synthetically based nutrient program. The reason is simple; microbes don't generally thrive in some of the most widely used hydroponic mediums of today. With the exception of coco coir, microbes have a difficult time colonizing and thriving in the various inert hydroponic mediums. Expanded clay pellets, growstones, water cultures and even rockwool can be problematic in supporting robust populations of microbes. Furthermore, hydroponic gardening methods were first invented (and consequently excel in the space of) in order to provide large amounts of food in arid environments and where access to water was limited. Combining the unique, highly oxygenated rooting mediums with mineral-based synthetic nutrients allows uncommonly large production with very little water. Someone looking to employ organic farming techniques is likely to note the far superior mediums available for the microbes that will be responsible for feeding the plants using organic soil mixes and steer clear of hydroponic growing mediums as a result.
Why then EVER choose to run an alive system? Well, some don't. This is where the sterile nutrient application method comes from. One can asses the information and choose to rely on the mineral-based nutrient system to feed the plants and a sterilization agent to protect the plants from pathogenic infestation. In these gardens, products ranging from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to fungicides like Hydro Sparkle, to bleach and hydrochloric acid are used to battle harmful bacteria that would otherwise attack the plants. All of these products have the function of killing a very large spectrum of microbes without adversely affecting – and in some cases, adding benefit to – the plants' root systems. One of the benefits of running a sterile system is in its simplicity. Keep your rooms and practices strictly clean and reset the amount of microbiologicals in your system back to zero with regularity using one or a combination of the products mentioned and you can have a successful and rewarding garden. A healthy, strong plant will have its own integrated systemic autoimmune response mechanisms to assist in warding off pathogens and disease.
Where sterile systems can fail is over a longer time period. Keeping your systems, plants and tool in a sterile state at all times can be a challenge. While sterilizing agents will ward off and control the vast majority of harmful pathogens and bacteria that can have a damaging impact on a Cannabis garden, it's not a perfect solution. By stripping away ALL the bacteria in your system, sure, you eradicate the harmful stuff, but you also destroy all the helpful bacteria. In nature vs. nurture, nature always wins, and we can point to yet another example here. There are many forms of bacteria that H2O2 will not kill. For instance, cyanobacteria is not affected by the majority of sterilizing agents and can thrive in many a sterile hydro system creating brown root slime that can reduce yield, decrease aromas and resin content or even be terminal if not effectively treated and controlled. In addition, many pests are able to thrive in and populate a sterile root system with greater ease, achieving massive infestation pressure in very short periods of time without the natural controls that a population of bacteria and fungi provide.
Before jumping to actively inoculating a hydroponic system, many gardeners decide to support a mildly thriving population of microbes by simply excluding a sterilizing agent from their regular application schedule. In these systems, a small population of naturally occurring microbes will slowly develop. Provided the gardener takes simple steps such as balancing the nutrient system properly so that limited to no pH up or down is needed throughout the week's nutrient application schedule, these microbes will assist in protecting the plants before being wiped out during scheduled maintenance, cleanings and nutrient changes.
Lastly, one can choose to maintain an alive hydro system. While the drawbacks can be intimidating and the learning curve is steep, the benefits provide perhaps some of the most dependable, lowest maintenance, long-term results of all the methods described. Maintaining a bacterial population in a hydroponic system dense with synthetic nutrients is not an easy task. Essentially, you are playing a constant game of inoculating and then re-inoculating your plants to make up for the fact that the nutrients and medium provide little opportunity for the microbes to colonize on their own. Inside that effort however is ensuring that you don't add inoculates in such high concentration that the abundance of excessive bacteria and subsequent enzymes then becomes fodder for harmful bacteria, which can quickly take over a system. In a well-balanced system, the gardener provides only enough inoculate to fend off any harmful pathogens and pests, allowing excess to breakdown into beneficial enzymes for use by the plant's rhizosphere, and after that process is completed, re-inoculate.
Through trial and error that will vary based on your system, feeding style, cultivar and the like, a balance will begin to appear. I find the most successful way to establish this baseline is the same as with any nutrient or supplement. Start on the lightest end of the range and slowly increase the dosage until you no longer see improvement from the increased dosage or worse yet problems arise. The latter is usually a good indication that the mark was overstepped and slowing the increments of increase would like be an order.
Most healthy systems benefit from weekly inoculations with a possible boost at the halfway point in the week, especially as the plants mature and reach later into their term. A properly administered inoculation program in a hydroponic system ensures that harmful bacteria are kept at bay, preventing root rot and slime that can be so detrimental and difficult to eradicate. The microbes will also protect the root system from a wide variety of soft-tissue pests that can be difficult to impossible to detect until infestation pressure has reached levels that the plant is manifesting physical expression of the damage. Spores and other dangerous fungi are neutralized with an appropriate amount of microbes protecting the plant from powdery and downy mildew, grey mold and bud rot. Perhaps best of all, microbial teas are extremely inexpensive to make, have long shelf lives when properly stored and are easy to apply.
The various methods for raising healthy, safe and clean Cannabis span across a wide spectrum of methods and technologies. Finding the one that will be best for you largely depends on the type of interaction you are looking to cultivate with this plant in your garden. Working each method can have its ups and downs, but will always leave you with a larger breadth of knowledge about what works and what doesn't work for you in the garden.
[Disclaimer]
"I don't know everything. My opinion is just that. It's up to you to research the information offered by me or anyone else. It's not wise to act on the first opinion you get. "
My First DWC Grow - Unknown Strain
The majority of hydroponic gardeners choose a synthetic or synthetically based nutrient program. The reason is simple; microbes don't generally thrive in some of the most widely used hydroponic mediums of today. With the exception of coco coir, microbes have a difficult time colonizing and thriving in the various inert hydroponic mediums. Expanded clay pellets, growstones, water cultures and even rockwool can be problematic in supporting robust populations of microbes. Furthermore, hydroponic gardening methods were first invented (and consequently excel in the space of) in order to provide large amounts of food in arid environments and where access to water was limited. Combining the unique, highly oxygenated rooting mediums with mineral-based synthetic nutrients allows uncommonly large production with very little water. Someone looking to employ organic farming techniques is likely to note the far superior mediums available for the microbes that will be responsible for feeding the plants using organic soil mixes and steer clear of hydroponic growing mediums as a result.
Why then EVER choose to run an alive system? Well, some don't. This is where the sterile nutrient application method comes from. One can asses the information and choose to rely on the mineral-based nutrient system to feed the plants and a sterilization agent to protect the plants from pathogenic infestation. In these gardens, products ranging from hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to fungicides like Hydro Sparkle, to bleach and hydrochloric acid are used to battle harmful bacteria that would otherwise attack the plants. All of these products have the function of killing a very large spectrum of microbes without adversely affecting – and in some cases, adding benefit to – the plants' root systems. One of the benefits of running a sterile system is in its simplicity. Keep your rooms and practices strictly clean and reset the amount of microbiologicals in your system back to zero with regularity using one or a combination of the products mentioned and you can have a successful and rewarding garden. A healthy, strong plant will have its own integrated systemic autoimmune response mechanisms to assist in warding off pathogens and disease.
Where sterile systems can fail is over a longer time period. Keeping your systems, plants and tool in a sterile state at all times can be a challenge. While sterilizing agents will ward off and control the vast majority of harmful pathogens and bacteria that can have a damaging impact on a Cannabis garden, it's not a perfect solution. By stripping away ALL the bacteria in your system, sure, you eradicate the harmful stuff, but you also destroy all the helpful bacteria. In nature vs. nurture, nature always wins, and we can point to yet another example here. There are many forms of bacteria that H2O2 will not kill. For instance, cyanobacteria is not affected by the majority of sterilizing agents and can thrive in many a sterile hydro system creating brown root slime that can reduce yield, decrease aromas and resin content or even be terminal if not effectively treated and controlled. In addition, many pests are able to thrive in and populate a sterile root system with greater ease, achieving massive infestation pressure in very short periods of time without the natural controls that a population of bacteria and fungi provide.
Before jumping to actively inoculating a hydroponic system, many gardeners decide to support a mildly thriving population of microbes by simply excluding a sterilizing agent from their regular application schedule. In these systems, a small population of naturally occurring microbes will slowly develop. Provided the gardener takes simple steps such as balancing the nutrient system properly so that limited to no pH up or down is needed throughout the week's nutrient application schedule, these microbes will assist in protecting the plants before being wiped out during scheduled maintenance, cleanings and nutrient changes.
Lastly, one can choose to maintain an alive hydro system. While the drawbacks can be intimidating and the learning curve is steep, the benefits provide perhaps some of the most dependable, lowest maintenance, long-term results of all the methods described. Maintaining a bacterial population in a hydroponic system dense with synthetic nutrients is not an easy task. Essentially, you are playing a constant game of inoculating and then re-inoculating your plants to make up for the fact that the nutrients and medium provide little opportunity for the microbes to colonize on their own. Inside that effort however is ensuring that you don't add inoculates in such high concentration that the abundance of excessive bacteria and subsequent enzymes then becomes fodder for harmful bacteria, which can quickly take over a system. In a well-balanced system, the gardener provides only enough inoculate to fend off any harmful pathogens and pests, allowing excess to breakdown into beneficial enzymes for use by the plant's rhizosphere, and after that process is completed, re-inoculate.
Through trial and error that will vary based on your system, feeding style, cultivar and the like, a balance will begin to appear. I find the most successful way to establish this baseline is the same as with any nutrient or supplement. Start on the lightest end of the range and slowly increase the dosage until you no longer see improvement from the increased dosage or worse yet problems arise. The latter is usually a good indication that the mark was overstepped and slowing the increments of increase would like be an order.
Most healthy systems benefit from weekly inoculations with a possible boost at the halfway point in the week, especially as the plants mature and reach later into their term. A properly administered inoculation program in a hydroponic system ensures that harmful bacteria are kept at bay, preventing root rot and slime that can be so detrimental and difficult to eradicate. The microbes will also protect the root system from a wide variety of soft-tissue pests that can be difficult to impossible to detect until infestation pressure has reached levels that the plant is manifesting physical expression of the damage. Spores and other dangerous fungi are neutralized with an appropriate amount of microbes protecting the plant from powdery and downy mildew, grey mold and bud rot. Perhaps best of all, microbial teas are extremely inexpensive to make, have long shelf lives when properly stored and are easy to apply.
The various methods for raising healthy, safe and clean Cannabis span across a wide spectrum of methods and technologies. Finding the one that will be best for you largely depends on the type of interaction you are looking to cultivate with this plant in your garden. Working each method can have its ups and downs, but will always leave you with a larger breadth of knowledge about what works and what doesn't work for you in the garden.
[Disclaimer]
"I don't know everything. My opinion is just that. It's up to you to research the information offered by me or anyone else. It's not wise to act on the first opinion you get. "
My First DWC Grow - Unknown Strain
