Kratky or DWC? What's your experience and preference?

I'd do one of each. That way you can determine which method suits your environment/ability.
I tried Kratky, DWC, soil, and Dutch buckets. I'm a mechanical engineer so like fiddling with all the pumps, plumbing, and controls that Dutch bucket systems can include.
Just be careful, growing peppers can be addictive ;)
Best of luck whichever method you choose.
:cheers:
 
I'm just now starting to dabble into hydroponics. My first attempt is Kratky. I've got 4 plants going indoors. Two are red 7 pot primo's and two are BBM's. I've got one of each in potting soil and one of each in a small Kratky set up. Now I'm obviously no expert but the two plants in the Kratky setups are miles ahead in growth the the two in potting mix. I should also note that they were all started at the exact same time and are all under the same grow light.
 
I do DWC for everything, including lettuce..  For my small countertop grows I use cheap aquarium pumps.
Far larger grows I use a 35 watt air pump with a manifold.
 
For seedlings and greens I just use cheap shop lights.  For fruiting plants I have a 600 W HID.
No I don't grow pot.
 
 
 

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A neighbor sold me this entire, never-used system for $100.  And it's the expanded system with 12 buckets.
Included at least $150 worth of nutes, all the grow media, pumps, timers, EVERYTHING.
 
https://www.htgsupply.com/products/big-boy-ebb-flow-hydroponic-system
 
I don't even know what I'm going to do with it yet but I couldn't pass it up.
 
My garage definitely gets too cold in the Winter, and I no longer have a basement.
Last Winter (which was really harsh for NC) the GFI in my garage popped for some reason.
By the time I realized it my 27-gallon hydro vessels were frozen solid.  When they thawed out, the lettuce continued growing like nothing happened.
 
FITN said:
I'm just now starting to dabble into hydroponics. My first attempt is Kratky. I've got 4 plants going indoors.
Click to expand...
 
You can definitely grow lettuce, kale, pak choy with Kratky.  But if you harvest with the cut-and-come-again method you can keep the plants going much longer with DWC.
 
mitchNC said:
 
You can definitely grow lettuce, kale, pak choy with Kratky.  But if you harvest with the cut-and-come-again method you can keep the plants going much longer with DWC.
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That's good to know, thanks. I primarily grow peppers but my wife focuses of growing everything else. That might be a great way to have fresh salad greens through the cold winter months.
 
Let me first preface.this by saying, this is my first year growing anything, so my knowledge and experience is extremely limited. I have a kratky Bhut Jolokia and kratky jalapeno that grow and flower like crazy. I bet there are 70 or so flowers on my Bhut Jolokia that I received damaged and is about 7in tall and 21in across. That being said, 20 or so flowers a day drop and I have only 2 fruits that are very small. This may just be something that I am or am not doing but I have not had the production I had hoped.

The jalapeno has fewer flowers (maybe 25 or so) but they all drop also.
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My understanding is that Kratky is meant for plants that mature in the time it takes for the solution level to drop.

So if you're growing peppers that means
you're topping off the solution?

Are you measuring pH and ppm?
 
mitchNC said:
My understanding is that Kratky is meant for plants that mature in the time it takes for the solution level to drop.

So if you're growing peppers that means
you're topping off the solution?

Are you measuring pH and ppm?
Click to expand...
I believe you are correct to an extent. After watching some of Peter Stanley's YouTube videos, I am going to attempt to transfer the plants into larger containers once they have depleted the nutes in the small containers and see how well they do. I'm also going to try to replicate a grow he did in a 35 gallon trash can. I can get 55 gallon, food grade, plastic drums for cheap and next spring I'm going to try to setup a couple as Kratky or dwc and see how big the plants get.

As for ppm and pH, I don't have a way to check ppm and the nutrients I am using has a pH buffer in it so I didn't even check what level it is. My plants are doing great though.
 
This shows the difference in size when they are grown in a Kratky setup vs soil.

P.S. apologies for the sideways pictures
 

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I top of the nutes throughout the week and do a complete change each weekend.
mitchNC said:
My understanding is that Kratky is meant for plants that mature in the time it takes for the solution level to drop.

So if you're growing peppers that means
you're topping off the solution?

Are you measuring pH and ppm?
Click to expand...
Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk
 
A ppm meter is only $15 and it's a really important tool. Peppers want about 1000 ppm. Once they start to fruit they feed heavily.

Blossom drop could be due to different deficiencies.

I was taught that once roots are exposed to air they convert to air roots, and that topping off the water will drown them. I've never been sure if it's true.

But in DWC the solution is always oxygenated by the bubbles so roots are always getting air and water at the same time.
 
mitchNC said:
A ppm meter is only $15 and it's a really important tool. Peppers want about 1000 ppm. Once they start to fruit they feed heavily.

Blossom drop could be due to different deficiencies.

I was taught that once roots are exposed to air they convert to air roots, and that topping off the water will drown them. I've never been sure if it's true.

But in DWC the solution is always oxygenated by the bubbles so roots are always getting air and water at the same time.
Click to expand...
Ya, I have a PPM meter, I have just been mixing the masterblend nutes according to directions without checking PPM but that it is a great suggestion. I will check it going forward. Thanks.

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Always learning new things and adding to my mental and physical tool bag. Thanks for the info. This is only my second year growing anything so I've got a long way to go and I appreciate an and all help I get along the way.
 
Also, to the OP, check out Peter Stanley's YouTube channel. He has done a lot of videos on all different methods of hydroponics. I've learned a lot from him.
 
mitchNC said:
I was taught that once roots are exposed to air they convert to air roots, and that topping off the water will drown them. I've never been sure if it's true.
 
Click to expand...
 
That may be, but I can tell you that they don't convert to air roots overnight. I had a Yellow Moruga growing in a 5 gallon Kratky bucket for about 2 years. I marked a fill line in the bucket that allowed a gap between the bottom of the net cup and the nutrient solution for air roots. When the solution started to get low I would dump it out and refill the bucket to the fill line with fresh solution. That method worked fine for me. The roots that had been exposed to air for a bit didn't drown or anything when I refilled the bucket. 
 
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