Yeah, I came to the same conclusion when I started researching indoor growing. I think a lot of these people are getting their information from the big hydro growers, then extrapolating it to small, personal growers. Along the way, priority gets ignored, and some information that can safely be disregarded ends up being accepted as gospel.

Personally, I've found that good weed can be grown at much higher temperatures than most people recommend. I had a plant last year that was almost always above 100 degrees, but it gave me 3 ounces of seedless bud. I've also found that copious amounts of dirt do wonders to your plants' stress tolerance. After all, in the wild they grow on a ball of it that's 8000 miles across. 18-gallon Rubbermaid storage containers work well. Also, plants in the wild grow next to other plants, so I plant 2-4 plants per storage container. They don't seem to mind, and I think it helps to give them a broader root base.

My entire setup cost about $300 including a 400-watt HPS light, but doing it a second time I think I could probably trim $50 to $100 off the cost. I get about 3-4 ounces per grow, which is far more than I can smoke. But I like growing so the weed just keeps piling up.