Soil vs Coco vs Hydro Yield result

The results are in from the organic soil vs coco vs hydro chilli grow test and are very clear. The results are as follows:
Organic soil: 1.2Kg of plant, 599g of chillis
Coco: 3.2Kg of plant, 862g of chillis
Hydro: 5.4Kg of plant,949g of chillis
The soil used is certified organic soil with worm casings and rotted horse manure supplemented with feed from the BioBizz range
The Hydro was deep water culture system from Alien Hydroponics and with the Shogun fertiliser range for Hydro
The coco was in aeropots and fed with the Shogun fertiliser range for Coco.
Link to Shogun: www.shogunfertilisers.com/en/
The LED light used was the MIGRO ARAY 4 in 4ft x 2ft or 120cm x 60cm grow tents.
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[@thekrutchinator]

Good to see you taking one for the team with the taste test!

[@Arik302]

I wanna shake your hand one day sir. You have not only educated me but inspired me to keep thinking outside of that damn box. You are the OG of the light community. Please keep doing what YOU love and what we love!!!

[@mikebird8290]

Hi Shane IV been enjoying watching the results of this test.Amazed how different the results are. Thanks for OPENING OUR 👀👁️. TAKE CARE SIR

[@dgautreau86]

This was one of the best tests I’ve seen with plants, thanks Shane. This video was also super funny when you ate the pepper.

[@joeborovina4769]

Outstanding Professor thank you. ( thanks for the taste test and taking one for the team !)

[@ryanwilliams5705]

Great content and very thorough! Keep it up Shane, you are treasured among this community!

[@pedrocapelaa]

you took the words outta my mouth. This guy is a life savier, bringer of knowledge and honesty!😅 Thank you

[@WhiteHatzz]

Agreed both your comments..

[@stephenbovender4740]

Hey Shane, really appreciate the effort dedicated to doing this. Cheers man! Also, I am enjoying viewing all the different ways people are giving their input.

[@MIGROLIGHT]

Thanks

[@GMT439]

@@MIGROLIGHT Video for you to prove wrong with actual FACTS : kzbin.info/www/bejne/joCQmIRobKyElbs

[@stangmann1521]

Loyal to the soil 💯Living soil

[@BossTweed69]

You need to try hydro, it's 100% better and easier to right any wrongs.

[@gavincooke1982]

@@BossTweed69 You need to run soil, Quality over quantity each and every time. Ran hydro for over 9yrs and have ran soil side by side for last 2yrs now. Organics hands down. if yield is all you're after then fair enough hydro it is. but not if end product quality is your aim.

[@republicfryslan]

Ive grown weed in both and i can say is for quantity you take hydro for taste and quality you take soil

[@levis569]

​@@gavincooke1982what about coco?What soil do you use?

[@autismion]

@@gavincooke1982 Ever try compost tea hydro?

[@jradplowman]

Good on ya for biting into that chili! These videos are pure gold, next light I'll buy will definitely be migro, your work on this channel is bar none the best out there when it comes to lights and growing 😊

[@williamburns9622]

Thanks for the great content,the smile at the end also. Can’t wait for the co2 chill grow

[@dont-panic-its-organic]

Coco & organic dry amendments for me.. done both the yield is less organically but the taste is superior just my opinion.. thank for the test 👍

[@uncledunk5532]

You overwatered the soil one all the way through , purple stems couldn't uptake mag end of flower everyone does , you over vegged the hydro one too but you did well on the other variables. Good stuff 👏

[@Hansen710]

exacly soil grown likes to dry out.. and all that green have nothing to do with producing big yields of flower/fruit that have more to do with the vegetative phase, then it have to do with bud production

[@ewok7075]

@@Hansen710peppers do not have a flower a veg stage

[@PRAR1966]

Thank you Shane - it was yourself that got me to try coco and it's now my fave indoor medium.

[@clintwestwood1895]

Amazing testing ! a lot of information packed in Thank you for putting in all that work to make this video happen.

[@paulopoint0]

hello Shane, I just want to say thank you for your work, your sharing, your honesty and for the human being that you are! I imagine you already know that, so thank you, I've been following you for quite a while now, I also bought one of your Aray 8 lamps (which I find incredibly effective, I had excellent results, welldone sir) and I will surely take the last 5x5. Thanks again and ALL MY RESPECT!! sorry for my English I am Portuguese and live in Switzerland, but a "human being" above all.

[@Artful.Codger]

Great stuff. Thanks, Shane. I'd love to see a test with coco in all three tents, varying the fertigation frequencies.

[@jameswarfield6477]

Same here

[@erikfreezer6282]

With coco drain to waste is best.

[@Eric-dz1we]

Your efforts are much appreciated. I am looking forward to the co2 test. Thanks

[@camz1039]

Hydro will always provide the greatest return. Most people think it is more work, but i strongly disagree. Solid content. Thanks Shane!

[@cooller8888]

it requires more work initially and a lot of patience before you get into the topic and understand everything you need too (EC, pH, etc). BUT after you reach that level of knowledge you definitely have way less work and way fewer things to be stressed about.

[@stevep4236]

@@cooller8888 Same for coco....soil is more forgiving than the other 2

[@f_youtubecensorshipf_nazis]

it's less work and absolutely no fun

[@jeroid123]

i just switched from dwc to coco, i loved dwc it was super fun and i was doing really well with it but i was getting tired of hauling buckets of water around and realized how much i liked the feel of watering by hand, i def recommend DWC it was a great time. Remember tho Coco is hydro its just hydro that looks like your using soil

[@cooller8888]

@@f_youtubecensorshipf_nazis no fun? you can feed your plants exactly what you want, it's literally the best you can do for plant life and this ain't fun to you? :D

[@Adam-kf6lr]

Well, that was illuminating. Looking forward to the next, Thanks Shane

[@brianwilson8198]

Another great video, I loved the taste test brother!

[@matthewearl9824]

What is not being considered here is space management. From looking at this with the fruit production, hydro seems to make less fruit in ratio to veg matter. If we were dealing with cannabis, this would require intense defoliation, pest control, lst, water and nutes, and extra heat to manage plants this size. If it were to come to scaling, you can put in about 4 times the soil plants in the same space constraints of one huge hydro plant and produce more fruit in total. Less nutes, less watering frequency and less vegetable matter to deal with. Trust me I am an aeroponics guy, but when it comes to efficiency and fruit per sq/m, i think you can scrog a bunch of smaller soil pots and get more than 1 or 2 huge hydros. If you do a hybrid beneficial bacteria soil mix with perlite and coco, you can get more frequent feeds and get a good balance between coco and soil. Basically I do this now using hydro nutes but with blended compost teas. Amazing product.

[@noway8233]

Yeah yuo are ritgh , but its a very good experiment of how change the potencial grow just changing the media of the grow

[@AlJa-rb5hj]

Not really, as most of these differences can be affected by Crop Steering tech, using different EC, room and feed temps, night temps, you can make the plants grow how you want them. Google a few guides, it is a fascinating subject

[@user-nq1nh8xx1u]

Yeah but the weed can't produce the terps in soil compared to hydro

[@NotHumant8727]

Egh no lol. You yust flip them to flower earliear before they grow out of controll and minimising efficency. in that experiment plants were much to big for that tent and light to efficently produce more fruit.

[@kabn131]

​@@user-nq1nh8xx1u What do you mean exactly? Why should you get less of them in soil?

[@bemat5220]

Great Test Shane, I loved hydro but it can be finicky. I run pure COCO but feed like hydro Oxygenating your solution really helps.

[@TheSpeechkiss]

That was epic. Thank you very much Shane.

[@mr__daly]

You are a National Treasure, mate.

[@dubz7669]

Really enjoyed these videos/series. Look forward to your next series 👌👍

[@stevemuller82muller65]

Keep up the great work bro 😎🤙🇺🇲 much love from Pennsylvania 🥳

[@michaelgephart1515]

Thank you for sharing your results and comparison, Great video!

[@schwantzrossi1266]

ha ha ha the hiccups brilliant!!!!! Lots of love from Limerick lads! Love your lights and videos.

[@MIGROLIGHT]

Glad you like them!

[@jdawg1835]

Excellent side by side experiment, Shane. The taste test at the end was truly epic. Thanks for the education and the comedy.

[@andidelta9]

Very illustrative, and thanks for the testing in the end ;-))

[@DeathbyKillerBong]

good run, nice results, thanks for doing it.

[@cannabuds_za4096]

Well done Shanè both on the grow and trying to handle that chill 😂

[@gorillasinthemist2893]

I had plants in soil root as much as your hydro , the root system was that well developed that you could have removed it from the pot and used it to smash a double glazing window and no soil would have been left on the floor, type of soil and bacteria/ fungi is key with soil more than coco and hydro.

[@gasser5001]

If you’ve never grown hydro, I could see where you would think this. Hydro root masses are unmatched. Not just the density but their actual strength. I’ve been able to basically make ropes from some of the roots from my tomatoes.

[@briangonzalez1541]

I've been watching your content for a little bit, and first of all, I'd like to thank you for sharing your experiences and knowledge. You definitely earned my subscription after you ate that pepper 🌶 🤣 I'm new to gardening so my opinion on which is best doesn't hold any validity but I I'm really after quality as opposed to quantity. I guess I'll learn more as I go. Thank you!

[@MIGROLIGHT]

Thanks

[@davidleahy27]

Great work Shane as per usual, can I ask how often did you change the water in the dwc buckets .

[@grilledxcheeze]

Great ending. I just received my Uni-T meter and used it with the app for the first time yesterday. Let's just say I needed to make some changes to systems I've had in place for years. That tool is fantastic. Now I just need to complete my conversion to a hydro setup...

[@user-nx8qe3xk6d]

I just found this channel, I’m so glad I did! 😁

[@IAMGreenGiantns6fw]

Nice work Shane❤❤❤

[@icemage21k]

Loved the tasting at the end, a few more and Chili Klaus will be proud

[@campeon]

love it, going through the pain of eating the chillis .... Test from seed to tasting them

[@reyrox3274]

Another great one to add for the next run seeing how you are doing soil and coco is to do a 50/50 mix and treat it like soil but with none organic fertilizers.

[@craigdawson7632]

Good stuff, CO² will be interesting. I'm keen on living soil for: *The low environmental impact *Cheap as I can make most inputs & dont replace media *Time effective, water and a couple of top dresses Running those tests 4 times in the exact same media with fert you have made on site I think would have very different results.

[@TokamakPolywell]

Well done and much appreciated!

[@dazz318]

Love it nice work, Shane

[@MrJoecool9999]

I've just finished my most succesful grow yet in soil - using Plagron Batmix with Canna bio nutes with a little Guano top dressing 2/3 thru the grow....! Curious that the soil faired so poorly in the test - started off well...!

[@NotoriousPyro]

Best video proof I've seen that hydro outperforms the competition.

[@MarkusMh]

This is a fantastic channel and your objective and scientific approach to this entire thing is spot on. I wish more companies did business like you do, thanks for all the content.

[@MIGROLIGHT]

thanks for the feedback :)

[@smolpuff]

good lord, that hydro setup went crazy!

[@TheLittleSpoon1982]

I made the switch to hydro, not only is it super fun, but it’s a fraction of the work as soil. And my god, your plants just explode with growth

[@timturk1899]

I was watching an interview with the head of the "L.A. Cannabis Co", established in 2007, on FCP02(Future Cannabis Project - Channel 02). From a few weeks ago titled "The state of The Cannabis Industry in California", I believe. Around the 44:50 mark, he mentions changing the facility from Hydro, using Rockwool, to using Living Soil in 5 gallon fabric pots. They've completed about 30% of the conversion, and a primary reason for it was an increase of 30-40% at harvest for individual plants. It's near the end, at that time mark, above, when they finally get into changing the facility, and the differences are spoken about. A very interesting little 10-15 min talk on the differences they've found (starting around the 44:50 mark), right before the end. That's the most recent "research" I've heard on larger yields with Living Soil, and very interesting. Thanks again, Shane!👍💯🙏✌️

[@gavincooke1982]

Problem is most growers will try living soil for a couple of runs and compare it to hydro and give up. living soil just keeps getting better and better, with each harvest you see quality and quantity increases and after 4/5 runs it surpasses hydro. those just looking for a quick turn over and high yields just wont see the benefits instantly and won't stick with it, which is a shame because once soil is dialled in its effortless runs. I still run hydro but that yield makes it's way to others jar's, my organics stay with me.

[@khaitomretro]

​@@gavincooke1982Look at the yield of product here v useless leaf. He could have fitted 2 more plants in the soil tent and doubled the weight of chillis. That already beats the Coco and hydro crops that filled the tents with leaf.

[@ptowntravis]

Thank you so much for this!

[@Angusyoung994]

Thanks Shane!!!!

[@ME-vn2vd]

Great experiment. Would you consider a DWC vs Areoponic vs Fogponic grow? Thanks again for this.

[@mikeprater]

Excellent content! Can’t wait for Co2 tests. Do you know what the horses eat? As hay that’s fed to them can be full of pesticides stunting growth. Just a thought

[@ace2044]

shane you're the best!

[@Ripen3]

Hey Chili Klaus, good video👌

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

Great videos. Greenhouse Hydro taste is not really the same. I would like to know about total inputs used. Did the hydro take twice as many nutrients as the soil? Just looking at the data. Plant mass vs nutrient used. Too bad the soil couldn't double it's yield while keeping plant mass to fruit yield ratio. Wonder how my peat vermiculite would do?

[@dmu9736]

I have been fretting because I cannot garden as I do not get enough sun. I have been thinking to try hydroponics in my garage to supplement my food supply but had doubts as to the yield since this is for survival, not a hobby and I won't be bothering with lettuce or the other easy-to-grow tomatoes etc that most do. I am interested in growing root crops if possible using aeroponics and grow towers to get more crop space out of the garage footprint. Haha. I cannot handle those peppers raw like that. You are a brave soul and cute too!

[@jmorrison44601]

I think the reason Hydro wins over the coco is because the hydro system can grow much larger root mass, in the coca there is only so much room available for growth also the roots are getting oxygenated water and the coca isn't. I love growing in Hydro and if your goal is large yield and less pests hydro is the way to go

[@jwgrower81]

U should do a organic super soil mix instead of those junk organic bottles

[@und3rmind_]

100%

[@skoomo9721]

That hydro plant is very impressive when it comes to size. I'm surprised the light didn't burn the plant more that close to the light!In the end synthetics will always win in size.I've learned not to eat animals/food from most stores with all the synthetics crap added to them because it causes health issues so I wont use it in my plants, if I'm going to consume them. The taste test was the best part of the video I just wish you ate the other two.also chili peppers are probably hard to do a taste test with because of the heat that lingers in your mouth for so long. Thank you for taking your free time in doing these videos for us.

[@dozyproductionss]

Clackamoots living soil with a swick setup can get coco like results. The only evidence is go to the forums and see the results. Hydros will always be yield king but the others will be close. Not everyone has the time, space or money to do such expirements so good on you and thank you!

[@breath.l]

Really awesome video! Thank you for putting it together! I wonder if you put just one plant in your hydro(maybe you did) and then bent it side ways so each of the first branches becomes a stalk. Each stalk has branches would that allow the chillis to mature at the same rate as soil and coco. I am thinking at least some light on the chillis helps them to mature .. ?

[@reyrox3274]

Interesting to see yields vs plant matter weights. Go coco.

[@stevepretorius3329]

Thanks, great vid. The end though was a proper LOL...

[@barry_g8443]

Another excellent scientific investigation

[@jdl.1234]

Nice job

[@joophunt5569]

Super amazing video!

[@hazardouschurch1]

I primarily grow with coco on a flood and drain table. For the beginning of my grows fertigating once a day is enough. When they start reaching the walls, I double the fertigation amount. So instead of 2-3 times a day I do 4-6 times a day. This improved my yields. I don't have any proof other than my notes though. Not sure if you have done this but it was a significant improvement in my yields on coco.

[@UbiquitousRomp]

I view my coco as semi hydro and if moister is 1-5 I like to keep it above 2. Top water for the first 4 weeks on autos, then bottom feed for the remainder

[@green285]

I think you'll find better results with drain to waste, it's not much more water/nutrients usage. That way you always have the same strength solution each fertigation.

[@hazardouschurch1]

@green285 I would spend more time making nutrient solutions that way. I have done drain to waste in the past. While you can get it perfect with drain to waste, my plants don't seem to mind the variation of flood and drain. You can still apply the same principles to drain to waste, though. Although using double the nutrients used is double the work to make them. Having the ability to walk away from the tent for a week or two is my goal. I may revist drain to waste but would want a mixing robot for the nutes. It's getting built and programmed now but will take time. Im documenting my journey. I don't know when a video will be out for it. When I started hydroponics A and B nutrients were new. I'm probably just stuck in my own ways. I change my res every two weeks on a schedule. I also top off with fresh solution.

[@bemat5220]

@@hazardouschurch1 I mix nutes about every 3 days and drain to waste with about a 10% run off. Flush every 3rd feeding.

[@timpage5021]

@@hazardouschurch1 dos-a-tron for the delivery of nutrients but it can be pricey up front cost. But pays for itself in no time

[@sweetchilli6993]

this video is really insightfull for me, thanks for the effort

[@energyforever720]

thanks for the upload. it helps

[@normagee]

nice test , Im sure Biobizz & Ecothrive will be rather pissed about the results I use Ecothrive products & they are excellent so I dont think its a reflection of what they do . Results talk loud & nice one for doing this & enjoy your chillies 😎

[@astasna]

You rock!

[@simonstone3336]

Great work again mate 👍

[@MIGROLIGHT]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@koloski76]

Great comparison Shane, can you tell us how much nutrients/supplements did you use in each of the methods, it would be nice to know the cost of production for each, which was the most cost efficient method, money per gram?

[@MrFlexer911]

Thies ist exactly what i want to know, aswell. For this case we can calculate what we try Next year in our 2.5 ha greenhouses ;)

[@MIGROLIGHT]

Please watch previous episode where I went through the nutrient schedule. kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6HCoJtjjrhnqpI

[@superkoopatrooper4879]

Dam, hydroponics is beyond impressive.

[@superkoopatrooper4879]

In my experience, if you put peppers in smaller pots, they veg for a shorter amount of time and start producing fruits earlier and less of them. The entire plant kinda stays small. In larger pots, the plants veg longer and develop fruits later and ripen a lil later. That's just my experience with peppers in particular. Maybe the plant just has an easier time rooting out in coco and hydro, thus vegging longer?

[@cooller8888]

I knew hydro would win :D nice work Shane! beautiful plants

[@thomasobrien3303]

Thanks Shane

[@garysnow3428]

Awesome video thanks for that, so it seems clear to me that the coco is the way to go. Soil had a 49% yield when comparing fruit from plant mass so from a space point of view its a clear winner. Then the coco has a 26% yield when compared to plant mass needed to grow the chillies and they are the best ripened fruit. Compared to a significantly lower 17% yield for the hydro, and the fruit need a good bit longer to mature. So I can get better fruit in a shorter time and use less space if I go with coco. Thanks for helping me figure this out.

[@C-R420]

Awesome content ! Subed !

[@frankb5728]

I grow soil ( outdoors ) but then I'm not 100% organic. I'll amend the soil with slow release mostly organic fertilizer and at the peak of growth i'll supplement with Floranova grow/bloom. It's my unprofessional opinion that the organic soil grow could have had better results. I'm fully in agreement that hydro can't be beat as far as nutriment availability is concerned. You could probably make the mix a little hotter.

[@josephbrown1355]

how often was the coco watered? please and thank you

[@brettgallagher9924]

Did you use RO water on the coco plants aswell or just in the dwc?

[@MIGROLIGHT]

Yes, same for Coco and RDWC

[@stevedavis4692]

Awesome video. very informative and useful and well done. thank you for making the video!

[@MIGROLIGHT]

Glad you liked it :)

[@benharrup5797]

What a legend you are SHANE 🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙😍😍😍😍

[@jimd1617]

very cool!! thanks for sharing :)

[@Kainthereaper]

Solid content. I think the hydro probably needed another week or so for the fruit to finish up.

[@ayecab]

How long was the soil sitting after mixing/amending? Depending how that was handled, maybe the organics amendments hadn't broken down enough to be plant available optimally. I wonder how soil would fare with an immediately bioaviable organic fertilizer like Organics Alive.

[@joshcoyle6223]

What was the frequency of fertigation for the coco ?

[@shannonbaron7302]

It would be interesting to see a hydro only comparison, I have tried a DWC with natural fertilisers and it has been a slow and small grow. If it were what you were using it may have been different. May try some variations, RO v non RO, natural v chemical ar a mix of the two.

[@NameName-do9hj]

Unfortunately, there's no excellent so called Natural hydroponic nutrients on the market that would beat even a cheap well put together synthetic source

[@MichiganGrowMeno]

😂 it look like it punched you in the face with hotness great video can’t wait for the next episode

[@timsmyth7942]

lol that was awesome shane

[@ev25zv]

How often was the coco fertigated each day?

[@AussieJuz]

That's awesome 😎

[@xLazyalien626x1]

Great video and really detail. There only one thing i didnt agree with is the result. If you are doing a compar from soil, coco and hydro then you should use the same nutrients for all three madium to get the right end result.

[@MIGROLIGHT]

Did that the last test but this one was bout organic soil with organic nutrients vs hydro methods with synthetic. The point is to compare different inputs

[@contemplating1015]

Different nutrients on each tent...?

[@educaracas726]

Coco makes a grown man cry! As a pepper grower myself, I wonder how has the polination been done and rate of success for each. Thanks Shane for your work, sweat and tears! ;)

[@basilroland]

Comment right from the trenches.

[@MIGROLIGHT]

In shook each plant every other day to spread the pollen around but that was all. The majority of the flowers produced fruit.

[@coloradodirtbike5930]

Peppers are self pollinating I thought?

[@educaracas726]

@@coloradodirtbike5930 nope, they need a little push, wind or bees, indoor requires shaking, or swab intervention (IMHO this last one resulting in better results)

[@coloradodirtbike5930]

@@educaracas726 have you ever grown super hots indoors? I heard some people say it's a waste of time, just wondering if it's possible.

[@graemebuchan1919]

Pot size is more important in soil, especially the living variety, also needs more time in veg, Mr Canucks grow is a good resource, Also, i don't think anyone in the comments has said soil will beat coco or hydro, they just said that this soil based plant is not living up to its potential, Blumat digital moisture sensors are an incredibly useful tool to avoid under or over watering

[@notbeefyproductions7109]

Look at some of the best grows in the world,The large super massive plants are outside in soil..Hydro and coco just cannot replicate that.

[@graemebuchan1919]

@@notbeefyproductions7109 exactly, i spent many years around outdoor grows in Cambodia and have had many arm size buds that defy physics and taste like biting into a fresh mango

[@nate6748]

totes agree. those soil plants would have yielded waaaay more w/blumats, baby!

[@graemebuchan1919]

@@nate6748 i just started using the blumat digital sensor this week, it's so useful i can't imagine not having it already

[@smoothmove7566]

I had to give it a thumbs up just for that last 20 seconds. LOL

[@unnamedwood5978]

Awesome result! How do you think it is posible to transplant such tree from hydroponics to the outdoor for further growth?

[@MIGROLIGHT]

its definitely possible