YOUNG BUCK
Well-Known Member
Thats it. If you are a grower stick to what you know and if it aint broke then dont try to fix it.
Calling All Noob Growers
- Thread starter riddleme
- Start date
hey guys, i know this is completely off topic but it seems this thread has been off topic for a while now..lol... anyway i had a question about potting up. why do it? I mean why not start out in the container you are going to finish in? It would stop root damage/shock all together.
When I do this with tomatoes and such (i really mean tomatoes..lol) I do this because I start them inside for a few weeks before transplanting them outside. But if you are growing MJ inside from start to finish what would you need to start in a smaller container for?
I am a complete newbie and know there must be a reason for this and am very curious to know why.
When I do this with tomatoes and such (i really mean tomatoes..lol) I do this because I start them inside for a few weeks before transplanting them outside. But if you are growing MJ inside from start to finish what would you need to start in a smaller container for?
I am a complete newbie and know there must be a reason for this and am very curious to know why.
riddleme
Well-Known Member
IMO it is more about preventing problems than anything else, #1 problem with new growers is overwatering, in a 5 gallon pot a seedling has no way to wick the water off so it stands in the pot damp for weeks inviting potential problems. A gardener that knows this would water said pot differently and may never have a problem.
I think the secondary consideration is plant vigor and the ability to better control it in the smaller pot while the plant is small.
and finaly the ability to control plant size in a smaller garden, in the stages up upcaning a grower gets a better idea how the strain grows and reacts and this gives more opportunity to control overall size
Danielsgb
Well-Known Member
Totally agree. I think of it as more compacted root system that then spreads to the next bigger pot. Instead of a little plant trying to get a bigger pot with lots of roots.
Daniels
riddleme
Well-Known Member
that would be fine just keep it under 3 feet tall (which would mean flipping to flower at 1 foot)
EdGreyfox
Well-Known Member
Riddle,
I agree that it's easy to overwater seedlings and that putting thems straight into a 5 gallon pot isn't a really good idea, but my experience with 3-5 inch clones has shown that once a plant has a decent set of small roots going (i.e. several long enough to stick out of the rapid rooter plug) that they can go into a 5 gallon pot without any real problem. A seedling thats been grown in something he size of a dixie cup should be more then ready to transplant into a 5 gallon pot once it's about the same size as my clones, and will probably have a more developed root system.
You do have to be a bit careful with the watering during he first week though- I put my pot in the tub and get all the soil nice and moist about an hour before I do the transplant, and i go very light on the watering for the first week while the roots are spreading out. I also focus the water towards the center of the pot so they won't have to work so hard to reach it at this point. It's only during week two that i really worry about making sure the soil throughout the pot is getting throughly moistened, but by that point the plants are usually about a foot tall and are getting to the point where overwatering them starts to become difficult.
Also, as I'm discovering, you shouldn't use the 1 gallon of pot per foot of plant rule for larger plants. It might be true when it comes to root mass, but when it comes to water retention you will quickly find that a 3 ft plant in a 3.5 gallon pot absolutely must be watered daily, while the same size plant in a 5 gallon pot can go 2 days. I talked to a horticulturist a while back who suggested that for growing plants over 3 ft that you really wanted to make sure that you used a pot that gave it at least 9 inches on each side of the main steam to expand out into, and at least 4 inches of depth per foot of growth you expected. He didn't go into all the science, just said that the plants roots needed thay much room to spread out into if you wanted it to reach its full potential. From a water retention perspective a larger pot makes a lot more sense as well, because if a 3ft plant in a 3.5 gallon bucket requires watering every day then it would stand to reason that a 6 ft plant in a 5 gallon bucket would need watering more like 2x a day. Don't know about anyone else, but I'd prefer to use a larger pot and forgo the extra labor.
I agree that it's easy to overwater seedlings and that putting thems straight into a 5 gallon pot isn't a really good idea, but my experience with 3-5 inch clones has shown that once a plant has a decent set of small roots going (i.e. several long enough to stick out of the rapid rooter plug) that they can go into a 5 gallon pot without any real problem. A seedling thats been grown in something he size of a dixie cup should be more then ready to transplant into a 5 gallon pot once it's about the same size as my clones, and will probably have a more developed root system.
You do have to be a bit careful with the watering during he first week though- I put my pot in the tub and get all the soil nice and moist about an hour before I do the transplant, and i go very light on the watering for the first week while the roots are spreading out. I also focus the water towards the center of the pot so they won't have to work so hard to reach it at this point. It's only during week two that i really worry about making sure the soil throughout the pot is getting throughly moistened, but by that point the plants are usually about a foot tall and are getting to the point where overwatering them starts to become difficult.
Also, as I'm discovering, you shouldn't use the 1 gallon of pot per foot of plant rule for larger plants. It might be true when it comes to root mass, but when it comes to water retention you will quickly find that a 3 ft plant in a 3.5 gallon pot absolutely must be watered daily, while the same size plant in a 5 gallon pot can go 2 days. I talked to a horticulturist a while back who suggested that for growing plants over 3 ft that you really wanted to make sure that you used a pot that gave it at least 9 inches on each side of the main steam to expand out into, and at least 4 inches of depth per foot of growth you expected. He didn't go into all the science, just said that the plants roots needed thay much room to spread out into if you wanted it to reach its full potential. From a water retention perspective a larger pot makes a lot more sense as well, because if a 3ft plant in a 3.5 gallon bucket requires watering every day then it would stand to reason that a 6 ft plant in a 5 gallon bucket would need watering more like 2x a day. Don't know about anyone else, but I'd prefer to use a larger pot and forgo the extra labor.
riddleme
Well-Known Member
^^^^ Excellelant Info Ed ^^^^^
I kinda stopped paying attention to the foot per gallon rule after seeing some of the grows here, root spinout seems to be a bigger problem than rootbound for sure when it comes to MJ
But the info you have presented seems very spot on and good to know
I kinda stopped paying attention to the foot per gallon rule after seeing some of the grows here, root spinout seems to be a bigger problem than rootbound for sure when it comes to MJ
But the info you have presented seems very spot on and good to know
SensiStan
Well-Known Member
Ahhh thats a relief, i planted my girls (just a little smaller than clones) in their peat cups into 1.5 gallon pots last saturday and id thought i overdid it but now i see its ok 
i may have overwatered them a bit in the beggining but thats will make them more receptive to the rain when it starts to fall more frequently (i hope) im really glad that came up 
i may have overwatered them a bit in the beggining but thats will make them more receptive to the rain when it starts to fall more frequently (i hope) im really glad that came up
EdGreyfox
Well-Known Member
Riddle,
Not sure what you mean by root spin out. You spend a lot more time reading the scientific stuff then i do, so sometimes I'm not up on the terminology.
Had a nice trip over to Paulino gardens today and picked up the Jacks general purpose to add to my nute mix. I've partially corrected the N deficiency the one plant was showing last week, but it's still not the deep shade of green that I'm looking for. The oldest set are really coming along and should be ready for harvest in about another 10 days, and while they didn't get as tall as I would have liked I've got no complaints at all about the results of the Fimming. I've got secondary colas on these plants that are bigger then my main colas were on my last harvest, and my main colas are about twice that size. They've also firmed up nice and tight, so I'm anticipating one heck of a good harvest.
I'm having some cloning issues though. My first set of clones had a 90% success rate, but since then it's been more like 50%. The cloning has been a team effort between me and my sister so I haven't been handling every step and can't say for sure where we're messing up, but I suspect that we're shaving the stem a bit too much. The results are that about half the clones develop roots, and the others don't do anything at all.
Not sure what you mean by root spin out. You spend a lot more time reading the scientific stuff then i do, so sometimes I'm not up on the terminology.
Had a nice trip over to Paulino gardens today and picked up the Jacks general purpose to add to my nute mix. I've partially corrected the N deficiency the one plant was showing last week, but it's still not the deep shade of green that I'm looking for. The oldest set are really coming along and should be ready for harvest in about another 10 days, and while they didn't get as tall as I would have liked I've got no complaints at all about the results of the Fimming. I've got secondary colas on these plants that are bigger then my main colas were on my last harvest, and my main colas are about twice that size. They've also firmed up nice and tight, so I'm anticipating one heck of a good harvest. I'm having some cloning issues though. My first set of clones had a 90% success rate, but since then it's been more like 50%. The cloning has been a team effort between me and my sister so I haven't been handling every step and can't say for sure where we're messing up, but I suspect that we're shaving the stem a bit too much. The results are that about half the clones develop roots, and the others don't do anything at all.
riddleme
Well-Known Member
Root spinout is when they hit the side of the pot and follow it in a circular patternRiddle,
Not sure what you mean by root spin out. You spend a lot more time reading the scientific stuff then i do, so sometimes I'm not up on the terminology.
I'm having some cloning issues though. My first set of clones had a 90% success rate, but since then it's been more like 50%. The cloning has been a team effort between me and my sister so I haven't been handling every step and can't say for sure where we're messing up, but I suspect that we're shaving the stem a bit too much. The results are that about half the clones develop roots, and the others don't do anything at all.
if you see this when you upcan you simply take a razor knife/blade and cut 1/8 into the root ball
and have you tried slicing up the center of the stem instead of scraping?
riddleme
Well-Known Member
Perhaps do it to one and find out, I have never done it, so don't know?
EdGreyfox
Well-Known Member
I might as well. My oldest vegging plant has been in there for nearly two months and is pretty close to three foot currently, so it's not like I don't have plenty of growth to take clones from. Btw, if you happen to want to grow blueberry once you're set up in the new place let me know and I'll be happy to give you a set of clones.
hey guys, my girls are beginning there 3rd week now and noticed a bit of curling on the top leaves. they are curving down. can this be light burn? i have my T5 lights about 3 inches from the plants. it is pretty hot in there, i checked my temp and it was 101 and my humidity was 15. I need to get something better to vent. right now i have a 4inch duct fan that doesnt seem to be doing it. any suggestions?
Danielsgb
Well-Known Member
the 120mm comp fan I use on my Medicinal Fridge is great.
Daniels
riddleme
Well-Known Member
Def need to get that temp under control 101 is way high, to start I would advise you raise those lights to 8 to 10 inches