As a soil grower I really figured I’d have a hard time getting through a five hundred page book about hydroponic growing. I was right. I found myself taking notes, reading and re-reading entire chapters and day-dreaming about potential setups for my very first hydroponic adventure. I had to remind myself that I won’t be running hydro in the near future and that reading this book for review purposes was my objective.
A “Bookumentary” set atop London University, the book delivers raw and fundamental data that can only be gained through experience in an actual hydroponic grow. Absolutely thorough in every respect, this book explains everything from Electrical conductivity to Co2 in a way that anyone can understand, contains over 55,000 transcribed words, 70,000 written words and 650 images. Some of it is redundant, and I only wished some of the photography was kept out as it repeats itself quite a bit. The book was originally a video documentary which, due to legal reasons, was never allowed into production as a motion picture, and was subsequently converted to book form. Once you get past the oddness of reading what someone has said, rather than what they’ve written, the literature is quite satisfying with regard to information. Over the course of 254 pages, coverage of four DVDs is transcribed and includes step by step instruction and description of all stages of indoor hydroponically grown Cannabis.
DVD 1 is a must read for anyone new to hydroponic horticulture. This section can be used as a reliable guide from preparation of your area to setup of your system, germination and finally planting.
DVD 2 takes the reader through a recap of part one, then goes on to address PH stabilization, vegetative growth and lighting. Temperature and Co2 are addressed, as well as their relationship to one another, and on into flowering to include sexing plants. Information on pinching, topping, cutting etc. as a means of height control can also be found in this chapter.
Height control is addressed again in DVD 3, and then on to the bloom phase where feeding adjustments and recommendations for flowering plants is observed. Genetic diversification is discussed at length, and finally moves into the maturation of the plant.
DVD 4 goes into manicuring briefly, then straight to flushing and finishing the product, and finally harvesting, drying and curing.
All this in such a high quality and well manufactured book, and that’s only half of it. For your reading pleasure and educational purposes, the author has provided quite the epilogue that features an incredible amount of information. Facts and history of Marijuana are discussed in depth in this section including but not limited to: Medical, Industrial and Spiritual uses of Cannabis, Hemp etc.
Further, the last sixty pages or so are filled with every useful measurement, conversion table and chart a grower could possibly use. Explanation of such things as light leakage formulas is a bit above my current understanding, but with this book I’ll surely learn.
What I particularly like about this book is that its not a watered down version of someone’s grow, wherein the reader is never exposed to the real issues experienced by growers. Rather, it gives detailed account of problems he encountered such as temperature excess, height control, spider mites and botrytis. Then, the reader is shown how to deal with such issues. Easy peazy. If one were to follow this book exactly, one would grow excellent Cannabis. You’d be hard pressed to find another single book that so completely explains this many aspects of Hydroponically Grown Cannabis, and is a perfect choice for those new to hydroponics but could absolutely teach current hydroponic growers a thing or two as well. The second half of the book is more factually pleasing than the first in my opinion, simply because I am a dirt lover, but all in all the book as a whole just contains so much useful, helpful and thorough information that I have to call it a gem.
Would I recommend this book to a friend? Yes.
Would I read this book again? Yes.
Would I pay the cover price for this book? No, but then again you can find this book on Amazon for almost half, and THAT I would pay.
Long story short, I’m truly pleased with this read!
