Starting over

Ive learned a lot in my last two tries but I still have a few questions

1. What would be a good size final pot for a single plant? I got a 20 gallon pot last time and it seemed way to big and lead to over watering "gnats"

2. Is fertilizer a MUST? I seem to over feed them from the start. Can I just wait a month before giving them any food?

3 I am using a 1000w light. How many plants would be ideal for a light that big?

4. What is each persons personal preference on time when to switch to flower? Is it a size? Time? Gut feeling?

5. What is the max amount of times to safely transplant a plant before you consider it excessive?

1 depends on the plant and the size of your grow area

2 depends on your medium, if hydro(coco, and all non soil mediums) yes, some soils yes, some soils no

3 depends on the plant(how many fit in a 4x4-6x6 area depending on your hood and light type(more than one 1000w on the market)

4 i go by size and expected stretch in relation to light height restrictions

5 again, strain and environment dependant(usually as often as needed, but imho any more than 3 is just bad planning)


Welcome to RIU!

^^^ You can take that to the bank....

I'm currently growing 16 plants in 3gal square pots under a 1000 watt light with 1 month veg and have great results but you must keep in mind a light of this size creates a lot of heat I'm talking hot.. so a good air flow system the box fans don't cut it, everyone is different on when to flower I usually do 12/12 from seed and I had 36 plants under it last grow. Rule of thumb after stretch your plant will more than double in height keep in mind light distance to plant, don't wait till it's 4ft tall to switch you will have no room for the light. About your nutes use a complete package like a go box or rx green solution something that has your cal mag and micros get a ph pen and a ppm meter and follow their recommend schedule, with soil that's a whole different game I compost so I have a lot going on in there but just starting out buy a couple bags of potting soil a bag of guano earthworm castings and perlite. If you decide to compost I use microbe life as a booster and it's awesome get on their site they are happy to send samples. Good luck my friend and any questions you have can be answered on rollitup a lot of great growers on here.

Thank you for the advice. About the lighting. My 1000w can go as high as 9ft. "Air vent cooled". If I put in side lights as well "have extra 400w light air cooled as well would it be more beneficial to veg it as long as possible since my room has a 10ft ceiling?

*Questions #1, #3 & $4 are dependent on one another:
1. What would be a good size final pot for a single plant? I got a 20 gallon pot last time and it seemed way to big and lead to over watering "gnats"
3 I am using a 1000w light. How many plants would be ideal for a light that big?
4. What is each persons personal preference on time when to switch to flower? Is it a size? Time? Gut feeling?
-- Growing in 2 gallon pots (question #1) could allow you to grow 12 or more plants (question #3) under such a light, but you will have to switch to flowering when they are about a foot high if from clone (question #4). An alternative is to grow in 5 gallon pots (question #1) but this means less plants (question #3), but the flipside is that each plant will yield more since it has more root space, allowing you to grow bigger plants by waiting longer before switching to 12/12 (question #4).

2. Is fertilizer a MUST? I seem to over feed them from the start. Can I just wait a month before giving them any food?
-- Dolomite lime is a must! By mixing dolomite lime into your soil, you will balance the PH and this allows for HEAVY feeding, resulting in massive buds. If you purchase the powder form, mix 2 TBL per gallon of soil; if you purchase the pellet form, mix 3 TBL per gallon of soil. After mixing in with soil, water and wait a few days, then stir really well and you're ready for planting! Unless you go waaay overboard with nutes, you shouldn't continue having your overfeeding problems.

5. What is the max amount of times to safely transplant a plant before you consider it excessive?
-- There is no max in veg, but transplanting in flowering should always be avoided if possible. And to be honest, whether seed or clone, planting them in their final pots from the start is always the simplest option. How I grow.