Hydroponics systems are confusing, so we’re going to talk about them in a series of articles. I recently saw a deep water culture (DWC) system that produce plants with massive root mass and tremendous buds, so I will start with deep water culture and load a lot of videos into this article because you have to see DWC in action to truly understand it. Words don’t do it justice.
Keep in mind that the foundation of DWC is your plants are growing in aerated, nutrient-enriched, temperature-controlled reverse osmosis water. That’s DWC, pure and simple.
What benefits do you get growing marijuana in DWC as compared to growing in soil, supersoil, rockwool, coco coir or similar materials? Here they are:
You don’t have to buy, carry, transport or dispose of materials such as coco coir, rockwool, or Pro-Mix. Water is what your roots grow in! DWC gives your hydroponics marijuana supercharged oxygenated water that delivers hydroponics nutrients more efficiently so you save money on nutrients. Your plants grow faster in veg phase. Your roots are massive, less prone to root diseases. Your plants finish earlier and put more of their energy into bud and THC production so you get bigger, faster, more potent hydroponics marijuana harvests.
What’s the downside of DWC? If you have a power failure or anything else that interrupts the provision of aerated water to your roots, your plants can die pretty quickly. You have to use reverse osmosis water and a chiller because you need pure water and tight temperature control. You have to be super-careful about mixing nutrients, measuring pH and ppm, and cleaning your DWC units. You can’t use cheap, inferior nutrients.
In short, DWC is for growers who love hydroponics and want to take the time to tune their system for maximum marijuana yield.
So let’s take a look at some cool deep water culture videos. This first one features an easygoing guy who shows you massive roots and provides lots of insider tips for DWC:
There are two general types of DWC: a stand-alone bucket that has its own aerator and pump, or a recirculating DWC that has multiple stations hooked up to a central reservoir. Now let’s view a video that shows you a recirculating DWC system…
One of the most impressive DWC manufacturers is Current Culture, whose Under Current system is recognized as a huge leap forward in DWC technology. Companies like Current Culture will walk you through the set-up and use of their system, which can be a huge benefit if you haven’t done DWC before…
Many marijuana growers are handy with tools and materials, and that’s why I’m including a DWC DIY video here. I’m not sure this one is big enough to grow anything other than clones and small plants, but you can get a good idea of how to design and make your own DWC…
Here’s how easy it is for someone to get a start in hydroponics marijuana growing with DWC. This new grower takes you through an entire grow history, and it’s fun to watch his subsequent videos because you can see how quickly he progresses as a grower. He uses Advanced Nutrients hydroponics ferts, which is crucial, because DWC only does well when you use premium nutrients designed specifically for marijuana. That means Advanced Nutrients, because no other hydroponics nutrients manufacturer tests and designs their nutrients for cannabis!
Here’s one of a series of videos showing a start-to-finish DWC grow that rocks. The grower is laid back and pleasant, and is really working hard to understand and maximize his deep water culture hydroponics. As with most DWC growers, he uses Advanced Nutrients:
So now you’ve been introduced to DWC. It’s interesting that DWC was the method used way back in the early 1900’s when early hydroponics pioneers first started modernizing agriculture by growing plants in water instead of soil. No matter if you use supersoil or any other solid root zone medium, you aren’t going to get the rapid growth, root health and Kind yields of primo marijuana that you get using DWC. Share with us your experiences with DWC, and stay tuned for more articles on hydroponics marijuana systems.
