One of the best ways for cannabis growers to increase yield, without compromising on quality, is to employ hydroponic gardening techniques and cultivate in fabric pots at the same time. Make no mistake that growing hydroponic weed is something that both large-scale growers and enthusiastic beginners, who want to grow cannabis at home, can do. Success depends for the most part on the preparation, so be a stickler for details and you should have fast growing, healthy plants in no time.

Sterilizing tanks and equipment

Before you start growing hydroponic weed, you must make sure that the equipment and tanks you plan to use have been sterilized. A quick wash so that it all looks clean to the human eye isn’t going to cut it for hydroponic weed cultivation. Equipment that hasn’t been thoroughly cleaned could end up infecting your plants with pathogens, particularly root rots. We suggest buying a few bottles of isopropyl alcohol and hydrogen peroxide to always have on hand and to use these solutions to disinfect your equipment with each new harvest.

Cultivate your plants in spring pots

One of the most important aspects of hydroponic gardening is the water drainage. Your plants should never be sat in pools of stagnant water. Your equipment should be appropriately set up to keep the water moving at all times and it’s important that your plants are housed in containers that allow the water to drain away easily, like the fabric pots we manufacture at Spring Pot. Our fabric pots are made from a material that’s similar to landscaping fabric. This means that not only does the breathable fabric allow water to drain away through the sides and bottom of the pots, but it’s also naturally resistant to mold and fungus. This is why it’s the perfect material to use in hydroponic cannabis cultivation.

Keep the water moving

Three of the most basic pieces of equipment needed to grow hydroponic weed are a reservoir, a grow table, and a water pump. A simple, large, plastic container works perfectly as a reservoir. The water pump transfers water from the reservoir to the grow table and the plants are placed on the grow table in their fabric pots. Grow tables should have a low point where all the excess water can drain off to, and a drain through which all the excess water can then flow back into the reservoir. It’s important to check the flow of the water before placing the plants on the grow table, as it should be constantly on the move. Stagnant water will kill your plants. Once you’re happy with the water flow, then it’s time to turn your attention to other growing conditions…

Water type and temperatures

Make every effort to work with neutral water, at a pH of 7, when growing weed hydroponically. Do what’s necessary to keep the water at around 65 F (18 C), as this will facilitate optimum nutrient absorption and prevent possible buildups of algae. The air temperature of your grow room can be a little warmer, at around 75 F (24 C). The cosier and more snug your cannabis plants feel, the faster and stronger they will grow.

What about humidity?

When it comes to humidity, cannabis plants need varying levels at different stages of their development. Young cannabis plants thrive in high humidity conditions. Somewhere between the 60% to 70% range is what you should be aiming for. However, once they start to bloom, it’s best to keep humidity levels to about 40%. The most effective way of controlling humidity levels is to use both a humidifier and a dehumidifier accordingly. You’ll need to monitor the humidity as much as possible to keep it at the right level. Without constant supervision, your plants might not receive the conditions they need in order to grow correctly.

Get your grow lights right…

Cannabis growers are spoiled for choice when it comes to grow lights. It’s difficult to recommend a best-brand-that-fits-all solution, because it really does depend on the kind of space you’ve got, the number of plants you’re cultivating, the distance you create between your lights and your plants, how much money you have to spend, and a whole bunch of other unique factors pertaining to your particular grow. Having said that, we can say that High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights work best in large grow rooms with good airflow and ventilation, and Compact Fluorescent lights (CFL) provide some of the best solutions for smaller rooms. It’s also a good idea to invest in a basic light meter, particularly if you’re new to indoor cannabis growing, as it will help determine whether your plants are getting enough light or not.

And finally… get good at keeping records

Hydroponic cannabis growing is both a science and an art. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut feeling about a harvest, making changes to your plants’ environment because it just seems like that’s what your grow needs. Having said that, whatever you do in your grow room, whatever slight change you make, you should always keep a record of what you did. Keep notes on temperatures, planting dates, the pH levels of your water, humidity, the strain you planted, the seed supplier you used, and the list goes on and on and on. If you do manage to grow some of the most amazing cannabis you’ve ever seen in your grow room, you’ll want to know how to grow harvest number two. Without proper notes to guide you, consistency will be impossible.