1 gal pot = how much watering?

ok well i wasnt looking for people to sit there and call me a nube. so thanks to all of you that did. but reality is that this is my second grow and i have read everything i could possibly find.. hours upon hours upon hours. so simply put, if you want me to go read the growfaq, I already read it and then some. I figured i would ask a few questions that wernt covered in my readings or my searches. So if you don't know, then dont bother replying. Im sorry but usless posts are just that.

I have a 5 foot tall, 2 X 2 foot box. a 400w hps light. Temps are at 82 all the time (vegging so the light is on 24/7) currently they are in 1 gallon pots and averaging about 8" tall. I would like to grow them to be about 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall and looking to get anywhere from"1 oz to 3 oz" per plant. I understand this is difficult, but I see otheres doing it so it cant be that hard. I have a total of 8 plants and if i change them over to 2 gal buckets then I would have to cut out and have 5 plants. My question is how to maximize on this type of setup. If i need to get pictures of everything I have going on for growing then tell me and Then maybe you can get a better visual of it. any help would be helpful. Thanks

Welcome Lerecords.
Growfaq has all the info you are requesting.
It may be necessary to read it more than once.
It is alot of info.

I would use those cfl's you mentioned for veg. (2 per plant)
Like someone else said the HPS will cause them to stretch in veg.
As far as pot size you want 1gal per each foot of plant height.
I would recommend going to atleast a 2 gal.

Plants will double if not triple when you put them into flower (12/12).

You will need good intake and exhaust ventilation.
Ideally the rooms air will be replaced every 5 min.

Like KP said you want to water approx half the volume of the pot.
If pot is gal use 1/2 gal for water.
Get a moisture meter.
Let plants dry out completely between waterings.

You should not consider nutes until they are 30ds old or they have 4 sets of alternating sets of leaves.
Start nutes at 1/4 strength.
Less is more with nutes.

Good luck

oh and is it possible to flower along enough with 8 in 1 gal pots to determin sex or should i transplant before flowering. Oh and im not doing any cloning or mother plants this time around. thanks again

1 gal pots will work.
However, the bud yield is directly related to root mass.
I would transplant now if possible.
When you do you should get some perlite or vermiculite to mix with potting soil. 40%perlite /60% soil.

The transplanting is up to you when you do it.
I personally like to do it early.
Since you are sexing I would wait until you determine sex.

Good luck

Personally I'd use at least 2 gallon sized pots to be safe.I got mine in 1 gallons and they will need at least one more transplant before I start flowering.I put a few in 3 gallon buckets so those one will be safe.Marijuana plants have alot of root and from what I've heard is that the more root they have the more or better u will have.Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but I've done most of my homework on this.Don't know it all but I do have a good share of knowledge.

I don't use any perlite in my soil and everything is goin along just fine.It's just plain old organic soil and I add my own nutes every few days.

midgradeindasouth said:

1 gal pots will work.
However, the bud yield is directly related to root mass.
I would transplant now if possible.
When you do you should get some perlite or vermiculite to mix with potting soil. 40%perlite /60% soil.

The transplanting is up to you when you do it.
I personally like to do it early.
Since you are sexing I would wait until you determine sex.

Good luck

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LERecords said:

oh and is it possible to flower along enough with 8 in 1 gal pots to determin sex or should i transplant before flowering. Oh and im not doing any cloning or mother plants this time around. thanks again

Click to expand...

There's nothing wrong with flowering in a 1 gallon pot (I'm flowering 3 of mine in smaller than 1 gallon pots and they're currently about 2 and a half feet tall) but you have to understand the implications of flowering a plant in a 1 gallon pot - and you don't, which is why you need to go and learn.

The people here won't help you either - they're already giving you bad advice.

I don't see it as bad advice cause mine got root bound a week ago from using half gallon pots.It might just depend on the strain....maybe play it by ear.Get some clear pots or something u can see through.Then u'll know for sure when u need bigger pots.

Or just wait till the roots are growing out of the bottom and by then you're root bound and chancing ripping some roots by transplanting and could shock/stunt your plants for a while.Choice is yours man.....

ok then what are the implications. Other than more frequent watering what else. That is the only thing that i read. well that and root bound. anyone with a site to read or any info

I try to avoid getting root bound altogether,plus I hate having to water everyday.Bigger pots hold more water which makes it easier to maintain.Check the grow faqs...might be something in there.

Here's another site. Hope it helps. Cant be any worse than the babble you had to read through here.

The Green Man's Page.

Go to the grow library....

im not worried about having to tend to the plant everyday. Its downstairs from me. easy to get to. anything else?

Follow what Babygro says to a "T". Start a journal so we can watch Babygro in action since he thinks he can help.

nickledyme said:

Or just wait till the roots are growing out of the bottom and by then you're root bound

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Rubbish.

Go read the FAQ's.

Ain't rubbish....it just happened to me

I have to agree with Babygro on that one. I have growbags for some of my plants. The 3 gallon variety, I can see roots coming out of the bottom and the plant is only 8 inches tall. Far away from being root bound, but I still see roots.

LERecords said:

ok then what are the implications.

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Watering and feeding frequencies and plant needs and requirements are different in small size pots than they are in large sized ones.

Do you know and understand how your nutrient feeding frequencies will change when flowering in small pots? If you're using chemical salt fertilisers you may have to flush more often too.

It's not as simple as you think.

I say again - go read the FAQ's and learn about what the implications are.

I can get away with using smaller sized pots because I use a soil inoculant which helps to expand the root zone by as much as 100% to help the plant's roots supply sufficient water and nutrients that the plant needs.

It's also important that you've followed the correct 'potting up procedure' from seedling stage - so each time you've repotted into a larger pot - the root ball has been able to develop correctly - have you been doing that?

Plants will show nutrient deficiencies much faster in small pots than large ones for the simple reason small pots simply cannot hold a lot of nutrients, and fast growing plants will use those nutrient reserves quickly, yet I see people recommending you cut your soil with as much as 40% perlite - removing even MORE nutrients from those small pots!

nickledyme said:

Ain't rubbish....it just happened to me

Click to expand...

See what I mean SmokerE?

What's the fucking point?

I don't use any perlite in my soil-it's plain.I just use my usual nutes every 2 or 3 days depending on rain.As much rain as we've gotten recently I ain't very worried about flushing.