lol, I just posted on this subject in another thread. I'm strictly sterile in hydro and soil less. I don't know of even one good reason to grow otherwise. Organics in hydro are a real PITA far as I'm concerned. I tried them at first using the House & Garden line and tea made with Great White. Lots of issues with root slime and film on top of the water. When I called H&G for assistance they were the ones who convinced me to go sterile even though that meant I wouldn't be buying their organic additives. I made the switch and things got much easier and the results much better. Since switching to the Cultured Solutions nute line and using their UC Roots as my sterilization agent, things got even easier. No teas to brew, no root issues, just nice white roots start to finish. When I do a system change I add my desired nutes and 3ml per gallon of UC Roots. Every week after that I add another 3ml of UCR. It's basically hypochloric acid (bleach), and will dissipate over time so replenishing on a regular basis is needed.
Plants don't know or care where those molecules of N or P or K are coming from. They can't tell the difference between organics or inorganics, as long as they are getting what they need. Organic nutes are more complex than inorganic ones and must first be broken down before they become available to the plants. That is what the teas accomplish. Inorganics are immediately available to the plant. Should a deficiency arise, the plants will respond much faster to the inorganics since they don't need to be broken down.
I know somone will likely come in and say that organics taste better. That's bs. Any chemical taste or poor burning is the result of an improper cleansing at the end, not the type of nutes used. That is more common in soil grows where it's easier to over feed and not cleanse the plants long enough at the end to flush the nutrients from the soil and allow the plant to utilize any stored nutes. In hydro, a 3-5 day cleanse at the end will remove most of the nutrients, and provide a tasty, well burning product.
To me, sterile is much easier, requires less time, saves money and produces a superior product.
