Thoughts As I Near the End Of First DWC Grow

 First Hydroponics works to make big plants. But there are a few "Buts". Biggest is Root Rot if you are doing DWC. With DWC the plant's roots are always in water which works great unless they develop root rot. There are ways to prevent root rot such as using hydrogen peroxide or bleach to sterilize the water or adding "good" bugs like HydroGuard to fight the bad ones but I expect the only real way is with a water chiller or go to a system that is hydroponic but allows the roots to dry like a "Flood and Drain" system.  

One question not answered with this first venture into hydroponics is even though the plants grow bigger and faster than in soil or Coco Coir are they as, less, or more potent. In other words will a hydroponic plant make as much or more THC as a soil grown plant. I have grown GG4 Auto in soil and it tested on average low to mid 20's percent THC. This grow, even in Coco Coir, the GG4 Auto so far has not tested above the high teens for THC. The THC question is still a question. Is it the cultivar, this set of seeds, or is the low THC content because of hydroponics and the hydroponic feed (Ventana Plant Science) and schedule. The one thing I know is most of the low THC from some of the plants is because of root rot in the latter stages of growth and stunted finishing.

The answer for the next grow is still hydroponics but I will go to a RDWC v. DWC and adding a water chiller to the system. Because a RDWC system uses a central feed a water chiller should keep the roots cool enough to prevent root rot. If a cooler doesn't help with root rot and THC levels I might go to a flood and drain system and if that doesn't work then back to soil.

BTW, this grow started out as a test of hydroponics. The original plan was to grow four plants in a DWC system and four in Coco Coir and after harvest compare product. That got thrown out the window when the seeds didn't "pop" on schedule or make it past the seedling stage, in fact I needed 20 seeds to get 8 plants and ended up with only one of those in Coco Coir.