Why not plant straight into final pot? NO EXPERTS, OK EXPERTS TOO.

JiggyPop

Active Member
Just a curiosity question. Why don't people jus plant into the final pot? Water management? Space? Just curious. I am betting water management, but I just wanted to hear some opionions.
 

lokie

Well-Known Member
no need to use nutes and resources for roots that are not grown yet. saves cost.
 

ImAgIaNtInDaGrOwWoRlD

Active Member
Plants will do better with a tighter rootball. I go from solo cups, to 1 gallon pots, to 3-5 gallon pots.
If Im planting reg seeds than it saves on soil since they are in 1 gal pots when they show sex in 4 weeks after germination. Once they show female they go into 3-5 gal pots.
So basically t/ping to bigger and bigger pots manages the soil. We could care less about water management.
 

tyke1973

Well-Known Member
If i was useing soil and hand feeding then i would use at least 3 diff sized pots but in hydro straight into there final pots
 

TriPurple

Well-Known Member
It has to do with proper watering of the roots ... if the pot is too big for the root ball the soil stays too wet, no roots to soak up the water. You want to water thoroughly to entirely saturate all the soil.
 

GidgetGrows

Well-Known Member
I use smaller pots and upcan as I go along as a space saver. I can get the plants a lot closer together and closer to the light without so much space and dirt inbetween.
 

chasta

Active Member
I guess i'm just lazy . I put clones from started cubes to solo cups then from there right to 5 gallon buckets . only reason for the solo cups it to burn some time while last grow finishes up . plant count only allows so many over 12 inches where i live .
 

Pure CFLS

Member
I believe I made a mistake today.... I went from the jiffy cup to a 3 gallon pot which I plan on growing in it till its top to chop down. I've read transplanting too many times could cause males, or hermies. But im sure if done properly then there is no worries. I'm currently 22 days into my first grow so I wouldnt happen to know to much.
 

chasta

Active Member
relax your fine . My favorite quote . "there is a reason tweekers don't grow weed " . Don't over think it . Reality is it's a weed and kinda hard to kill . I do solo cups to 5 gallon every time and it works fine . If soil is draining good it's kinda hard to over water . Just use the finger method . bigger pot will probably help you if your new to this .
 

smokemupm8

Member
Hi mate, just a qik question.. So its best to aim for a solid root ball structure in soil grow? Coz a friend, has a nearly mature plant, he transpl. 3 times i think? to its final pot, which when i saw it seemed to be mainly solid root structures only mm's below the surface all the way from Stem to the sides of the pot. Ive heard of root bound,but the plant is healthy so doubt any probs, so should that be the aim, to have a plentiful amount of roots like that? He waters when top is dry wit organic ferts, only uses maybe 2-3 litres of solution each day of watering, and it seems to be absorbed straight away with minimal run off to drainage holes below im assuming the roots are drinkin alot!!..Is it ok for him to water this way during flowering, as he s been told to 'flush' his plant, and cut off nutes, but he s giving them minimal solutions of P,K + seaweed xtrct with a little sugar disolved in it?? Should he only give one decent watering every few days or small amounts everyday? Thanks.. Sorry, theres more than one question!! ;)
 

yesum

Well-Known Member
I wait till 6 weeks and check for preflowers, then take the females and up pot them for flowering. This saves space, soil, water and is easier overall.

I am going from 18 oz. cups to either 1 or 2 gallon pots. Using 3 different pots seems excessive.
 

Vindicated

Well-Known Member
I start my plants indoors using seed starting mix and one gallon smart pots. I then transplant them outside into 10-15 gallon smart pots when they are 3-4 weeks old. I do this because seed starting mixes are easier on the seeds and space is limited indoors.

A larger container in and of itself won't cause any problems. What can cause problems is putting them in hot soil to early or in a mix that doesn't drain properly. Also transplanting over and over against slows the plants growth. Plus the roots don't need a small container to form a good rootball, they will do that no matter what, granted you feed them and take care of their basic needs. Look at plants grow outside in Africa or in India. They grow eight feet tall straight from the ground. They an't getting transplanted over and over again. Instead, they're just put in well tilled soil.
 

Dr Kynes

Well-Known Member
growing any plant in a container is different from growing in the great outdoors.

a pot thats too big tends to lead to rotten useless even lethal diseased mud at the bottom. a pot thats too small suffocates roots and doesnt hold enough water/nutrients.
transplanting aims to balance the size of the pot to the growth stage of the root system. so theres always just enough room for the plant to expand, but not so much it leaves room for competitors.
i preferr to plant my tomatoes directly into 5-15 gallon pots depending on type (romas dont need as much root space, but beefsteaks demand the world) myh pineapple has been through 3 pot sizes in 2 years. it went from 1 gallon, to 3 gallon to 20 gallon, and i may force it to fruit this year, as that big ass plant in a big ass pot is a pain in my big ass when i have to drag it inside for the winter or heavy storms. my herbs such as thyme and basil never get a pot larger than 1 gallon, i just split them and give the new plant to a neighbor (who invariably kills it) strawberries i plant in a tray or a communal pot, as they like to mix and mingle with their friends my cannabis is in deep water hydroponics, and my only other foray into dope growing only served to feed some goats just as they were nearing cutting time (FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOATS!!!!) basically the only rule is, dont let you plants get root bound, and dont let the dirt turn into toxic sludge. everything else is just suggestions.
 

Irie Genetics

Active Member
I drop my rapid rooters into 7 gallon pots and let those bitches go all the way til harvest. The roots will never become restricted and my stalks BEEF up because of it. I pull 6-8oz.'s per plant, per 7 gallon pot with 6 plants per light with a SHORT veg time. I have another room with 5 galln pots and my harvest is noticably different.
The only reason I would use a smaller pot is to save space but I have PLENTY of space so I don't worry...
 

mygirls

Medical Marijuana (MOD)
Just a curiosity question. Why don't people jus plant into the final pot? Water management? Space? Just curious. I am betting water management, but I just wanted to hear some opionions.
i start mine in the pots imgoing to finish in all the time 19 gallon pots and 10 gallon pots, why start small.... go big or go home
 

tyke1973

Well-Known Member
The main reason when watering by hand is that its a waste of nutes,no use in wetting a full pot through when the root mass is small.But i use a auto pot set up and i do put them straight into there final pots,and just hand water around the base of the clones till the roots reach the bottom of the pot,then i put the tank on.
 

mygirls

Medical Marijuana (MOD)
The main reason when watering by hand is that its a waste of nutes,no use in wetting a full pot through when the root mass is small.But i use a auto pot set up and i do put them straight into there final pots,and just hand water around the base of the clones till the roots reach the bottom of the pot,then i put the tank on.
you only what enough for the roots.. when i transplant my clones from the cloner to my big pots i only give the a couple of cups when i feed them.. as they get bigger i give them more feed/water
 

missnu

Well-Known Member
I will sometimes put straight into a big pot, but usually I would rather move from cup to small pot, from small pot to medium, and then before switching flower I go to a 5 or 7 depending on present size of plant..It saves me space, and watering time and nutes...then again I small plant in a big pot needs to be watered like once every 2 weeks, but after that 2 weeks you usually have to start watering like normal...I haven't seen plants act any differently that were transplanted vs ones that weren't...It just all depends on how I am feeling...Autoflowers go straight into 3 or 5 gallons from the get go, because they get super stunted if you transplant them...so if it is a photosensitive plant then it is alright to move up as needed.
 
Top