Pot Size

[Von_trotter]

oh and yes i am indoors , not very nice to ask what im doing in a soil section , am i not alowd to give people that may want to see it another angle on someone elses thoughts ?? isnt this what forums are about ? i personally disagree that someone that is desterbing a root zone in anyway is going to get better root structure than one that dosent move from its intended location , just because i have very few posts , dosent mean my idears arnt worth entertaining , all in all i havent lightly entered into the IC, i want to help and also gain knoladge from this experence !

 

[fireman]

oh and yes i am indoors , not very nice to ask what im doing in a soil section , am i not alowd to give people that may want to see it another angle on someone elses thoughts ?? isnt this what forums are about ? i personally disagree that someone that is desterbing a root zone in anyway is going to get better root structure than one that dosent move from its intended location , just because i have very few posts , dosent mean my idears arnt worth entertaining , all in all i havent lightly entered into the IC, i want to help and also gain knoladge from this experence !

Haha agreed you can definitely post where ever you like sounded funny this man saying, "what are you doing in the soil secton?", like a damn post nazi!! haha thats great sorrry.

I do disagree with you ways personally though. Transplanting up can in my opinion build a larger root mass as opposed to just potting directly into the larg part you plant on using. No only a lot of the times your roots will grow to the side of the pot and not really penetrate the inner mass of the pot as much as the outer walls. When you transplant up you have this concentration on the outer walls of you dirt ball and then they can grow laterally into the new fresh soil surrounding your pot, creating more rootzone, thus healthier plant!!!. This is my experience anyways. Its also all in the way you water!!!!!

Also in my opinion tplant shock is a myth and has never been a factor in any soil grow i have been a part of. OF course there is a transition period without growth but never have serious shock or death( FROM JUST TRANSPLANTING). So transplanting a plant is nothing to worry about in the case of stressing a plant as much as not tplanting if it is rootbound!!!

Fireman

 

[Von_trotter]

golly finally some one that isnt just heir to critasize , i want to help people heir at IC , not disterb people .

i see what your saying , im still unaware how a plant can be "healther" than a plant that is in its rightfull pot till the end , when i remove the plant , the entire 30L 10G dirball is riddeled with roots after a 12 week entire grow from top to bottom , i even have roots coming out of the holes in the bottom of the pot , meaning that the roots have a uncanny way of growing uninhubited throughout the medium , watering is the Key as you said , !!!!! ill leave it their as it seems that the person that has asked his question has now got both sides of the story , not just one ,

i thank all that read this as it is healthy to have all the information !

Kwiw Green is stronger than ever , most pot smokers in developed countaries per capiter of head ! go the kiwis ...

 

[LUDACRIS]

You aint got a clue mate.

LUDA.

 

[LUDACRIS]

golly finally some one that isnt just heir to critasize , i want to help people heir at IC , not disterb people .

i see what your saying , im still unaware how a plant can be "healther" than a plant that is in its rightfull pot till the end , when i remove the plant , the entire 30L 10G dirball is riddeled with roots after a 12 week entire grow from top to bottom , i even have roots coming out of the holes in the bottom of the pot , meaning that the roots have a uncanny way of growing uninhubited throughout the medium , watering is the Key as you said , !!!!! ill leave it their as it seems that the person that has asked his question has now got both sides of the story , not just one ,

i thank all that read this as it is healthy to have all the information !

Kwiw Green is stronger than ever , most pot smokers in developed countaries per capiter of head ! go the kiwis ...

A 10 gallon pot you say is filled with roots after a 12 week grow.
Love to see that.

 

[LUDACRIS]

How big of a pot should I transplant into?.



Added by: Tick Last edited by: administrator Viewed: 5462 times Rated by 4763 users:

A good rule of thumb is 12" of height/per gallon and to double the size of your existing pot on transplanting. Other factors involved in determining pot size are your grow room footprint size, the amount/intensity of light plants receive, where plants are in the grow cycle and if the are from seed or clones.

Grow room area size: If your grow room foot print size is small and horizontal space is at a minimum then BOG's (Bushy Older Grower) doubling potting method is a good alternative. Rather than repotting into a larger diameter pot your existing pot is set on top of another pot a few inches more in diameter. Thus giving your plants a lot more vertical root volume of soil to grow into and less horizontal volume.

Amount of light and intensity: Plants that are under low wattage lights (70-250) tend not to grow as big and as quick as plants under high wattage lights (400-100), thus one can scale back pot size slightly. Also if your plants are under a 24/0 cycle or an 18/6 cycle this will affect growth rates and repotting sizes.

Growth cycle: The average grower will find that they must repot usually every 2 weeks while in the veg cycle. Going from a 1-1.5 gallon to a 2-3 gallon in the third/fourth week of the veg cycle. From a 2-3 gallon pot to a 4-5 gallon in the 5-6 week of the veg cycle. Note it is always best to repot 1-2 weeks before you flip your lights to the 12/12 flowering cycle and to let your plants finish off in that last transplanted pot size.

Seed or clones: This will make the biggest difference between pot sizes. Since one must veg up to 4-6 week from seed to reach plant maturity. Cloned plants need not be veg as long 1-3 weeks. This will drastically reduced the pot size needed for a cloned plant.

These guide lines are by no means written in stone, all environments are different and will produce different growth/repotting rates this is just a basic outline.


LUDA.

 

[LUDACRIS]

Contributed by: Thurgood Jenkins

Roots grow outward for stability, so they naturally collect at the edges of the container and leave much of the soil in the middle of the pot unused. This will cause slowed growth because the roots may restrict each other. Transplanting allows for a more efficient root mass, as the space in the middle of the final container will be used.

Allowing the roots to collect at the edges of your 1-gallon pot, will ensure a more efficient root mass when transplanting to a 3-gallon pot. Each time you transplant, you can also bury the plant up to the first node or branch to shorten it's overall height.

It might be worth mentioning that you can bury the plant low or high in the pot you are transplanting to as well; that way all your plants will start off being the same height. Transplanting high might be a good idea for patio growers in high rainfall conditions - this will help drainage.

When.

Transplanting should be done a day after watering because moist roots and soil (not soaking wet or bone dry) will slide out of the old pot easier. The soil will hold together better, and less root damage will occur.

How.

You should loosen the root bound roots from the bottom and lower sides of the root ball by teasing them out loosely and gently - this will help the transition. if there are too many hanging down after teasing, then it is ok to cut or tear a few handfuls of roots away. If the roots are wrapped around the root ball in the shape of the original pot, then it's best to cut these away to promote faster root penetration into the new pot.

Timing.

The secret is the timing of the transplant; you want when the roots have filled the original pot, but before the roots have wrapped around and the plant has become root bound.

The danger of transplanting too early is that when you up can the pot and lift off the pot some of the soil and young roots may become damaged due to the fact that there is insufficient amount of roots to hold all the soil together.

The danger of waiting too long before transplanting is that growth will slow, as the plant has insufficient root room to match the above ground growth – ultimately yielding less. In addition, micro deficiencies, dehydration and other problems occur more frequently with root bound plants. Root-bound plants also take awhile to become vigorous again.

My Technique.

My preferred method of transplanting is to moisten the pots I'm going to transplant, moisten the new soil at the bottom of the new pots with a garden mister (the pump up models are best - misters are by far the best way to moisten the soil because they act like rain and do not compact the soil).

Mist each 3-inch layer of soil - lightly sprinkle around the old root ball in the new pot - this will create the best conditions for new growth. Roots will reach out and grow much faster into a light, airy moist soil than the compacted mud created by a hose or watering can to wet down the soil

I believe that many problems are caused initially by compacting the soil.

Lightly moisten your soil before and after transplanting. If a lot of water is pouring out of the holes in the bottoms of your pots when transplanting, then you are probably over wetting the soil and creating soil compaction.

Tips.

If your soil is lacking in soil conditioners (e.g. sand, rock gravel, perlite, vermiculite etc) and the roots have penetrated the new soil - then water again. In normal conditions this would be 4 - 7 days after transplanting. Try to emulate the natural action of rain: pump up misters, watering wands, sprinkler type watering cans are best - forget about using a hose as this may compact the soil and it is also very easy to over water (quickly leaching out nutrients from the soil).

All the soil mix ingredients should be mixed in dry.... never stir or mix wet soil mixes, as they will turn to useless mud.


LUDA.

 

[LolaGal]

I am confused as to what size pot I am actually using...

US pots all just say 10 inch or something...

Foreign pots say like 11 liters or something.

I wouldn't know a liter if it bit me on the leg.

anybody got a conversion chart?

10 inch pot = so many gallons...

20 liter pot = so many gallons....


I love my archaic, antiquated measuring system used here in USA... can't understand anything else...



I would give some advice here, but since I ain't really sure what size I am really using, I will shut the hell up. good luck OP

 

[simon]

I actually just finished an experiment with pot size: Afghani Kush clones vegged for 6 weeks, LST'd, all (but 1) in 2gal pots, 1 clone in 4 gal pot, identical placement in the garden. Grown as described, AKush typically yields 2oz dry/cured in a 2gal pot, and that's pretty much what was pulled. The 4gal pot, OTOH, yielded ~15% more. That's not the whole story, though.

The 2oz (dry/cured) yield in a 2gal pot took ~1 square foot of floor space. The 4gal pot, though slightly larger in diameter, took ~1.5ft2 of space due to its expanded canopy. It ultimately did yield better, but not per square foot. HTH

Simon

 

[Kusherman]

This is what I do when repotting to a substantially larger pot: First I only put the first half in of the plant in the newsoil because thats where most of the roots are. Its similar to B.O.G's except without the container. Then I water only the circle made in the soil by the plant where the roots are Just touching the new soil, and steadily widen where I water until I think the roots are growing until I finally just water the whole new pot after a couple of weeks. I hoped this helped someone LOL.

Peace luv and buds!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[LUDACRIS]

I am confused as to what size pot I am actually using...

US pots all just say 10 inch or something...

Foreign pots say like 11 liters or something.

I wouldn't know a liter if it bit me on the leg.

anybody got a conversion chart?

10 inch pot = so many gallons...

20 liter pot = so many gallons....


I love my archaic, antiquated measuring system used here in USA... can't understand anything else...



I would give some advice here, but since I ain't really sure what size I am really using, I will shut the hell up. good luck OP

A 10" pot holds around 3.5 litres and 1 gallon = 4.54 litres.
The ones shown in my pic of the roots are from a full 8" pot.

LUDA.

 

[LolaGal]

durn, my pots are smaller than I thought then.

15 inch pot I have is huge, all it says is 15 inch...

i hate metric system.

i hate math.

 

[LUDACRIS]

durn, my pots are smaller than I thought then.

15 inch pot I have is huge, all it says is 15 inch...

i hate metric system.

i hate math.

A 15" pot is big enough for a small tree.

LUDA.

 

[LolaGal]

yeah but if a 10 inch pot has 1/2 gallon of soil in it, then by your formula, a 15 inch would have 1/2 gallon, plus another half for the extra 5 inches...


"WAAAA!!!! RICKY RICCARDO, HELP ME"..... lol

 

[LUDACRIS]

yeah but if a 10 inch pot has 1/2 gallon of soil in it, then by your formula, a 15 inch would have 1/2 gallon, plus another half for the extra 5 inches...


"WAAAA!!!! RICKY RICCARDO, HELP ME"..... lol

The roots i am showing from my 8" pots are suitable for a plant up to 3ft-3.5ft tall with no hassle at all/watered every 3 days and clearly not rootbound. And a 10" pot will hold around 3.5-4.5 litres of soil.
1 gallon = 4.5 litres.

LUDA.

 

[LUDACRIS]

http://www.onlineconversion.com/volume.htm

 

[Gypsy Nirvana]

Yeah gallons are different in size from the UK to U.S.A.....

check the conversions for various claims, and lets not have any nastiness guys......problems need solutions......

 

[Dr. Dank]

I have fast vegging going from 16oz cup into my pot I finish in with no probs and a thick lush root mass. People having problems with this is almost always due to watering issues.

 

[greenhead]

I think that transplant shock is a myth, at least if it's done properly and with care.

If a plant is transplanted into a larger sized pot with the exact same soil mix as the previous sized pot, then why would that bother the plant at all? It would welcome more room to grow in and immediately become comfortable in it's new, larger sized home with more space for the roots to grow.

I've never seen any problems with plants being transplanted multiple times, and never experienced any stunted growth because of multiple transplants. Everybody has different methods, so whatever works for them I guess.

 

[sparkjumper]

I veg in small 4 inch pots to 2 gal pots.They are NSI containers so 2 gal is actually 1.6 gallon.I veg in these 4 weeks or so until I determine sex then I take cuts and flower in NSI 3 gal pots which actually are 3 gallon.I pull 4-6 ounces easily out of a 3 gal pot and thats not big bud either,blockhead is more like it.I find the 1 ft per gallon soil to be nutty as hell,its just not like that in reality.I dont need a 5 gallon pot to grow a 5 ft plant lol.Its all in letting the rootball fill the container before transplanting up a size.I normally find myself having to water every other day then I know its time to upsize.Same with the two gallon,I'll be watering every other day out of necessity before I transplant.This is maximum proper use of the finite media available to us in container growing.Planting a seed or cut into anything but a 4 inch pot or beercup is not the way to go