Ya dont know til ya know bro. You may forsee the negatives, but until you have tried and succeeded with hydro, you will never be abke to weigh the negatives vs positives.
This post is soil vs. Hydro, therfore no matter your stance, your opinion is only half valid.
I dont think you have any hydro zealots on your back, just people that are in awe someone is arguing woth them aboit a subject they are not versed in.
For me it all comes down to time. If i want some big bitches and im short on time ill go with hydro and cut the veg time in half. Soil is easy and I never think twice or even measure EC and ph.
I believe soil overall is easier, bit i also run one big plant at a time 99% of the time so transplants are non issue.
And for the record, not a single person on this forum could decipher between my soil or hydro nugs... yiels is always comparable as well if the plants end up the same size. Ive done side by sideswith over 20 strains in my day, and only a few hydro girls drastically outperform soil... sometimes vise versa
Hydro would be more difficult in my situation.
Prior to having become an expert in both disciplines, a choice must be made. That choice is not required to be based on highest yield or fastest growth. The physical actions involved, as well as the specific maintenance requirements, versus preexisting environmental factors, plus ideological preference, are all relevant.
I never argued Against Hydro. I expressed a pro-soil opinion, based on ideology, experience level, and available information (including my own physical characteristics and environment, which i'm the only one here qualified to know about) and the Hydro Zealots freaked out about it (notice not all of the pro-hydro people are "zealots," and not all of them freaked out).
Being pro-soil is not synonymous with being anti-hydro.
That's where the problem happened. Some of the pro-hydro people wanted to make it seem "stupid" to think a soil preference can be acceptable. I never said it was "stupid" to prefer hydro, and yet, i'm the one getting all the bullshit. How stupid.
Some people either intentionally misrepresented my position, or misinterpreted it, and then started slinging poo.
I think it's a bit ironic when someone comes in trying to act like a scientist, but then acts as if they cannot possibly be wrong, about something with which they have zero experience, and cannot test (in other words: me, my views, my circumstances)... all the while trying to make it seem like i'm the one with hopelessly flawed reasoning.
All because they're upset that i don't want to do what they define as "superior," while several experienced hydro growers have offered, without being prompted, that the quality difference is either negligible, or not even discernible. The biggest difference is allegedly Veg speed and Yield... and while veg speed seems like a valuable advantage, it's not like i could yield twice as much in half the time in the same space. Part of the reason i compared it to overclocking, is because i've been building my own water-cooled PCs for years, and i know exactly how much of a hassle it can be to have to make sure nothing leaks, and then have anxiety about hoping i didn't manage to overlook something important, despite being so meticulous that it takes me longer to complete a build, or even reconnect and refill and get settled again, after a flush/refill. Not something i want to deal with, more than i already do. Maybe if i go back to air cooling, i might feel like watercooling some overclocked plants. I don't think standing water is a good idea where i am, and pumps both complicate the process, offer more chances for something to go wrong, and use more electricity. Plus, i want my little micro-forest, not a weed-lab. Trying to make "lab-conditions" here would be futile. Maybe i will have a weed-lab someday, full of overclocked monster-plants... but when it comes down to it, and i have to choose between "natural" and "test-tube-pot," i choose natural. It's just the way i am, and it's not wrong, and no one should take offense (yet they do). It would be better anyway, for me to first go through the process of establishing a thorough understanding of the most natural and sustainable methods available, and then to take that further, and learn hydro, but with enough knowledge to keep it "as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible." I have no resource to consult, to teach me how to achieve a satisfactorily, equivalently "earth-friendly" hydro method, nor do i have the means to access all the right materials, nor do i have any inclination to build an elaborate setup which may need to be destroyed, or which may be unjustly confiscated. I want to keep it as simple as possible, as natural as feasible, and feel good about what i'm doing, and while doing it.
I've seen parts lists and build logs and who knows how many pictures of lots of different styles of hydro setups, and plenty of "hydro-problem" threads. I think using a big pot of soil is far simpler, and less of a mental requirement. I don't mind lifting a heavy object occasionally, but it's not my favorite thing to do. I don't think a month is too long between cracking a seed and flipping to flower. I don't have that much space or excessive light anyway. Using minimal amounts of dry plant meals to make slurry and/or top dress (which isn't even entirely necessary), is much easier than becoming a chemist (i mean, unless you're already a chemist, but can't understand a teaspoon...). There are simply too many other things that drain my time and mental energy. I won't be able to become a chemist, too late for that, but i will be able to understand, well enough, how plants and soil work together. Interestingly enough, along the way, i will be unable to avoid exposure to the perpetual comparisons to how hydro works, in contrast to how "living organic soil" works.
Plus, as i already mentioned: even if hydro is not my choice, for various reasons, i still find it interesting and intriguing. If anyone knows of a good "living organic hydro" (lol) resource, link it up, i'll have a gander.
That said... i'm not on the fence. I know which way i want to go, and why, regardless of the unwarranted criticism. Not saying anyone's grass sucks, just that mine is green enough that i don't need to wish i was in your yard. Which is exactly how i like things to be.
. This is all assumed of course as I have not actually tried unicorn poop. Tried to catch one last friday coming out of the bar but he/she eluded me.