Big pots or small pots?

[Herb Man]

The best way to find out is to do all of the options and see what gets the best result in your space, since there are a lot of variables from garden to garden, grower to grower.

 

[hbbum]

I'm running the same size closet 2' X 3' with a 400w HID. Last grow I ran four 3-gal containers. This grow I have four 5-gal geo pots and one 3-gal. I like the individual containers because I can rotate them 360 degrees and move them around the room. This keeps my nodes tight and symmetrical. Easy to feed and trim because they are light enough to move around.

The issue I have with one big plant in the same space is, what happens if the plant dies? Zero harvest right? Wasted four months. I'm just not that good of a gardener to place all my eggs in one basket.

I see these neat and orderly grows and I feel so sloppy. I feel like have have next to no control over my plant, how do you get them to grow so orderly? Should I be cleaning up the growth on the bottom more?

 

[prosperian]

I see these neat and orderly grows and I feel so sloppy. I feel like have have next to no control over my plant, how do you get them to grow so orderly? Should I be cleaning up the growth on the bottom more?

Growth on the bottom: The plants in the photo received no trimming except along the bottom by the soil. I have to keep the bottom area clean for air flow and so I can see how the soil is behaving. When you have a small space you need good air movement.

As far as symmetry and compactness of the plants I think it's the result of:

1) strain of plants Ak47, Pineapple Exp
2) using properly placed HID lighting up close to canopy 12" or less.
3) rotation cycle I use in the room. Everyday the container clocks 90 degrees (I mark the rim), every feeding the container rotates position in the room.
4) small containers with no perlite or compost, just organic soil - kept root growth to a minimum.
5) Vegged for 4 weeks - I didn't let the plants get too big because of the limited space and a 400 w HID will only penetrate so deep into the canopy.

I believe you can have great control of a garden without being a neat freak like me. I just do everything this way so it's natural for me. Good gardening is more about repeating good practices and recording your results. I could repeat my results only because I know exactly what I did last time.

Example: Smokinafatty asked me early about this above pic. "How many weeks were the plants into flowering?" I quickly access my folder of photos for the date, then I cross referenced with my gardening calendar for Nov 2012 grow. Photo was taken at week 7 of flowering. It's always good to keep records. Other gardens can look at a 10 year photo of their crop and just tell exactly what stage the plants are at, I'm not that good, yet.

I've garden for 20 years. The plant doesn't mater - wine grapes, water melons, tomatoes, or cannabis. It's all about developing gardening skills through practice and repetition. After enough time and practice gardening becomes more about reading your plants and less about reading books or Internet posts.

Good luck on your gardening hobby.

 

[growinman]

^^^^^^^^--....just happening accross this thread and yeah!!--->>love those girls for sure, prosperian!! Beautiful, awesome structure!! Like WOW!!
You definately have that dialed in. Haha, and: Outstanding last post, most of all!!

Props to you and yours

gman