I'm willing to bet if you put the same strain in a side by side test after a proper dry and cure you wouldn't notice much aside from maybe smell and taste but the difference is most likely not much. Potency may lean towards hydro but that's just a guess and probably depends on a lot of factors like soil recipe. With megacrop though the smell and taste was there.
Some people go by days but I dont count. I think
@Pennywise Knows better but once stretching stops a few weeks into flower I'll give them a strip.
Sounds like fun, you plan on Etoh wash? Are you distilling your own?