Hey Steemit!!

OGANIC? HYDROPONIC? Which is Cleaner?

This has been a controversial subject since I began growing cannabis 15+ years ago. There are many opinions on the subject and very few lab tests that have been done. Regardless, I'm interested in honest opinions with explanations as to why.

To help out, I've posted a bit of the information about cannabis I've found in the last 8 years of chasing 'Superior Quality' cannabis. ;) In the interest of science, please point out anywhere I may have missed something or understand something incorrectly, I'm looking for the absolute cleanest cannabis possible. Thank You! :D

Are You Aware?

75% of the winning entries at the last Cannabis Cup in Denver were grown hydroponically.
The majority of cannabis consumers have experienced very poorly grown, hydroponic cannabis.
The DEA, and other organizations, have actively spread mis/dis-information in the areas people look for cultivation info.
Cannabis is a dynamic accumulator, capable of extracting toxic levels of cadmium from "Cadmium Safe" soils.
Cannabis is a dynamic accumulator, capable of packing away any excess nutrition into new growth that will never flush/fade out.
Cannabis absorbs a surprising number of elements it has zero need for, simply packing the excess absorbed material into new growth.
Cannabis grows very sticky trichomes, capable of trapping mold spores and dirt particles.
Cannabis absorbs flavors through its roots, which can and will taint pure cannabis flavors.

My Opinion

In my experience, properly grown hydroponic cannabis is capable of being significantly cleaner than organic cannabis. The reason people prefer "All Organic" is due to their experiences with hydro being so poor. Only a tiny portion of the population has ever experienced truly clean hydro cannabis. I will also say, only a tiny portion of the growing community has the information on how to properly grow clean cannabis in hydroponics. No wonder so few have experienced it, eh?

My Hydro Cannabis

What is the most common response, when people sample my hydroponic cannabis? "Wow, that's the cleanest, smoothest, most awesome smelling and tasting organic cannabis I've ever had." Yes, the reaction when people find out it's "hydro" is a good one. ;) Super crisp, complex flavors and aromas without a single hint of "earthy" muting or overpowering them.

Do I grow the best? Certainly not, I'm not ignorant enough to believe I grow better than anyone, I already did that once. 8 years ago, practical experience told me my cannabis was better than any other source I'd been exposed to. I was under the impression that my cannabis was awesome. In 2008 I found out it was 'decent' lol, being exposed to vastly superior quality popped that bubble in a heartbeat.

I've spent the last 8 years looking in to why there was such a quality difference. Now I know quite a few reasons and my quality is vastly superior to what I used to grow. :) Just read the description of what it's like to smoke some, near the bottom of this post. :)

Earthy?

Grab a big handful of rich organic soil and smell it. Smell that rich 'earthy' smell? That's mold and other fungi you're smelling. Don't believe me? Kill the mold and fungi in an oven and the earthy smell goes away, the rich earth smells like not much at all now. When the mold and fungi are dead and the spores are all destroyed, there are no odors/flavors left to detect.

Walk into an organic soil grow and what do you smell? Mold spores, spreading through the room and being trapped by trichomes. This adds an earthy flavor to the cannabis. Having that many spores in the air also makes it difficult to dry cannabis properly, without any of those spores germinating and growing mold/fungi in the cannabis flowers as they dry.

Synthetic Nutrients?

Many organic growers are under the impression that hydroponics is "synthetic" and that's actually a bit inaccurate. Most professional hydroponic nutrients have only one synthetic element in them, nitrogen. The remaining micro and macro elements are all derived from refined salts. Minerals mined from the earth and purified to be 99.9% free of contaminants.

Hobby Nutrients, which covers the vast majority of hydro nutrients sold to the cannabis community, are not pharmaceutical grade and do not always limit themselves to synthetic nitrogen. Many use synthetic B vitamins and other 'supposed' booster chemicals.

Cannabis has no need of these extras and, more often than not, they end up as contaminants in the end cannabis.

Dynamic Accumulator?

Dynamic accumulator plants are capable of absorbing excess elements (whether needed for growth or not) and packing away that excess into plant growth. The plant is capable of doing this while still looking 'just fine' to the human eye. This explains why you can overfeed cannabis and all it does it get a bit darker, seriously overfeeding will slow and eventually stop growth. FYI, the majority of plants I see online are much too dark green to be growing cleanly.

Cannabis absorbs elements it does not need. This is very beneficial in vegetative stages where elements like silicon can be added to greatly improve the strength of the plant. This is difficult to deal with in flower, for the same reasons. Cannabis has zero use for silicon in flower, making for hotter burning, harsher feeling, tough to break up flowers.

Contrary to popular belief and most information sources, cannabis does not 'selectively' absorb only what it needs for growth. Unlike a cucumber, when excess nitrogen is used in the nutrient mix that excess shows up as a darker, heavier ash. You won't be able to taste that excess in a cucumber. Throw cannabis into a very hotly amended organic soil and it will absorb enough nutrients to kill itself. Does that sound selective?

Even a Tiny Excess Makes a Huge Difference

I've grown hydroponically for 15+ years and always used a syringe to measure liquid nutrients, right down to 1ml/cc accuracy. I recently completed a flowering run where I used a tablespoon measure, instead of a syringe. The results were shocking on the quality, even though I was only a few cc's off in strength.

I use a nutrient mix that's balanced for cannabis. Balanced for a full pH swing in the root zone as well. This allows me to feed the plant just what it needs, without exceeding the natural ability of the plant to store reserves of each element. Once the reserve capacity for an element is exceeded, the plant packs it away into new growth, much the same way you would use up extra paint on a wall.

Can You See Why Now?

Cannabis is not a cucumber. Cannabis is extremely sensitive to excess and is definitely not selective about what it absorbs. Can you see why people would be turned off of cannabis grown with improper nutrient profiles, insufficient pH swing and a misunderstanding of the cannabis plant itself? I can. lol I've had my share of cannabis grown hydroponically with the "General Information" on hydro available in the cannabis community.

Pure Clean Ash

Two signs of cleanly grown cannabis can be seen in the ash. Number one, the remaining ash will be 1/3rd the volume or less of the original, unburned cannabis. Any excess elements absorbed during flowering will contribute to a heavier ash with more volume. Ever smoke cannabis that turns to charcoal and becomes a hot coal that stays hot? Excess nutrients.

The second sign is the color of the ash. Clean cannabis burns to a slightly off-white ash. Excess calcium can produce a bright white ash, and the ash will be heavier and have more volume. The ash of clean cannabis does not 'stick' to the side of the bowl, when it's finished. You can gently blow on the ash of clean cannabis and it will blow out of the bowl. A gentle tap will also cause the ash to easily fall out.
Here's a photo of "Twista" in a bowl

That bowl is packed tight, tight, tight. Even though it's packed tight, it still draws well. Another sign of well grown cannabis. ;)

Here's the same bowl almost cashed. You can see how fluffy the ash is and the clean, off-white color of it. :)

What is Clean Hydroponic Cannabis REALLY Like?

When cannabis is grown cleanly, all resources are used toward producing flowers, terpenes, cannabinoids and flavinoids. Opening a jar of clean, hydroponic cannabis is like getting hit in the nose with a wiffle bat made of aroma. A very pleasant experience, unless the cannabis is a variety with a not so pleasant smell. lol

You pull out a nug and accidentally drop it on your rolling tray where it gives a satisfying "thunk." You pick it up and gently crush it against the side of your clean glass bowl. The bud fragments into a thousand tiny, frosty, bits of cannabis and you gently push it into the bowl. You grab the single stem, twist it and gently slide it out, as you press the remaining cannabis into the bowl.

You take a small toke, the flavors and aromas are massive and you can feel the resin in the smoke. The smoke is soft, cool and free of any 'harsh' feelings. It slides down into your lungs as if it were simply clean air, so soft, so cool. It's difficult to actually 'feel' that you're getting a hit, but you definitely are. The smoke sits in your lungs without irritation and within moments, the combined effects of the cannabinoids and terpenes hit your brain and you exhale.

As you exhale, you notice the flavor and aroma of the smoke is almost the same as the bud it came from, with only the slightest trace of 'burnt' to it. You find yourself chomping the smoke as you exhale, it's that delicious. Each hit continues like the first, flavorful and aromatic, right down to the last hit in the bowl.

You turn the bowl over and gently tap the ashtray. The slightly off-white, fluffy ash drops out.

This is what everyone's cannabis should be like. This is the experience of truly clean cannabis. :) This is what I will help bring to the world. :D