Relationship between pot size and yield?

[Finagleabud]

Does anyone know a good rule of thumb for determining how big to veg a plant in a given size pot so that you get the maximum yield without worrying about it going rootbound?

I'm about 3 weeks into a new bagseed grow, and I already have the plants in the container I'd like them to finish in. It's a 3 gal pot, which is big enough that it seems like transplanting would be a HUGE pain in the ass. So, about how big should I let the plants get before flowering? I know roots stop growing at some point during flowering, so I'd like to get it as close to being rootbound as possible without it actually happening.

What kind of yield can you expect from a single plant in a 3 gal pot under good conditions. I know it depends on strain, so let's say a typical 50\50 sativa\indica.

 

[Centrum]

I remember there used to be a rule a long time ago 1 gallon per foot.
But im not sure anyone still abides.

 

[Vermonster]

def a correlation,

 

[Bud Bug]

I've gone down to 3/4 gal pots and there was no difference in growth between 3/4, 1 and 2 gal pots. Thats just me though.

 

[OrganicMonkey]

It depends on a lot, height means little to how compact the nodes/branching is or how many tops you gave it. How healthy the plant is remains a solid variable, it's just easier to mess up a small medium. Hydro uses small mediums, soil can be that way but not as proficiently.

I've seen nice yields in tiny pots, cruising online has shown some answers not expected.

 

[SOTF420]

Generally under HID with decent sized plants you can get about one ounce of dried nug per gallon of soil. It really all depends though, the more root space the bigger yield for sure. Some strains need alot more rootspace than others, like my favorite strain for example.

 

[Wasabi420]

i feel like its strain dependent, and also i think the shape of the pot also makes a difference. Shallower wider pots grow shorter bushier plants. you also have to factor in the space your growing in and the wattage of your lights. that being said I feel like under optimum conditions you could push out anywhere from an oz to a quarter lb

 

[SOTF420]

What kind of yield can you expect from a single plant in a 3 gal pot under good conditions. I know it depends on strain, so let's say a typical 50\50 sativa\indica.

I would say around 2 or 3 oz's usually, 3 gal is a pretty popular size and some people pull much more per plant.

 

[simon]

What kind of yield can you expect from a single plant in a 3 gal pot under good conditions. I know it depends on strain, so let's say a typical 50\50 sativa\indica.

My personal best is a hair under 4oz (dry/cured) in a 2gal pot in a little less than 1.5ft2 space. In 1ft2, I typically see 2-2.5oz dry/cured in a 2gal pot. I've never used 3gal pots. In a 4gal pot, trained and vegged appropriately, I've pulled +6oz (dry/cured) in ~2ft2 space.

i think the shape of the pot also makes a difference. Shallower wider pots grow shorter bushier plants.

I've experimented with pot shape (using clones), but never saw a real difference in structure and development. This was documented back on OG; wish I still had the pics.

Simon

 

[Finagleabud]

Thanks for all those replies, really helpful to get some raw numbers.

I do have one more question though, regarding growing multiple plants in one big pot VS one huge plant in the same pot.

I'm going to be using direct sunlight as my main light source, so it's gonna require a lot of moving especially when I want to induce flowering, so I figured I'd just plant 8 beans in this 3gal pot, and keep all the females, that way I could have multiple plants but only have to lug around one big heavy pot.

Then I got to thinking though, they'll probably start to crowd eachother, so should I just kill everything except the healthiest looking female and grow it out huge? Or would I yield more by inducing earlier but having several plants. It's bagseed, so I'm kinda leaning toward multiple so I can increase the odds of getting a nice pheno. Still, yield is important to me too.. dahh I can't decide.

EDIT: I should point out that I'm already about 3 weeks into veg, so I currently have 8 healthy plants in one 3gal pot, half of which I'll assume to be males. I'm just not sure what to do when it comes time to flower.

 

[Bud Bug]

My personal best is a hair under 4oz (dry/cured) in a 2gal pot in a little less than 1.5ft2 space. In 1ft2, I typically see 2-2.5oz dry/cured in a 2gal pot. I've never used 3gal pots. In a 4gal pot, trained and vegged appropriately, I've pulled +6oz (dry/cured) in ~2ft2 space.



I've experimented with pot shape (using clones), but never saw a real difference in structure and development. This was documented back on OG; wish I still had the pics.

Simon

I've been told by a couple of people who did experiments with clones that tall skinny containers like beer cups produced bigger roots then say a shallow 3/5" pots. This came from two sources that didn't know each other so maybe there is something to it but I haven't had a change to try it out.

 

[etinarcadiaego]

Same strain, same conditions, same nutrients:

5 nursery Gallon (11.75' diameter x 11' tall - about 780 cubic inches/2.8 actual dry gallons) - vegged 45 days - flowered 58 days: 3 ounces total

10 nursery gallon (10.77 diameter x 20" tall - about 1,400 cubic inches/5.2 actual dry gallons) - vegged about 35 days - flowered 65 days: about 5 ounces total, but the buds were much, much more dense.

The strain was Skunk #1 . . .

I don't think it matters if your pot is wide and shallow or narrower and deep provided your comparing total volume.

Nursery gallons are fucked up, for instance a 5 gallon nursery container has an actual volume of about 780 cubic inches - which is actually 2.8 dry gallons.

My 10 gallon pots have the same top and bottom diameter, about, but are 9 inches deeper and grow MUCH bigger plants. Great for topping and scrog so you can really let those roots grow.

Hope that helps.

 

[Wasabi420]

I've experimented with pot shape (using clones), but never saw a real difference in structure and development. This was documented back on OG; wish I still had the pics.

Simon

I would have to differ with you on that one...I have ak's right now where the shallower ones are way shorter and bushier while the deeper pots are taller and thinner.. Also check out the march isseue of high times. They say it right in there as a technique for maximising yield. Although this could be strain dependent. I'm sure certain strains respond differently to pot size.....?

 

[Wasabi420]

Thanks for all those replies, really helpful to get some raw numbers.

I do have one more question though, regarding growing multiple plants in one big pot VS one huge plant in the same pot.

I'm going to be using direct sunlight as my main light source, so it's gonna require a lot of moving especially when I want to induce flowering, so I figured I'd just plant 8 beans in this 3gal pot, and keep all the females, that way I could have multiple plants but only have to lug around one big heavy pot.

Then I got to thinking though, they'll probably start to crowd eachother, so should I just kill everything except the healthiest looking female and grow it out huge? Or would I yield more by inducing earlier but having several plants. It's bagseed, so I'm kinda leaning toward multiple so I can increase the odds of getting a nice pheno. Still, yield is important to me too.. dahh I can't decide.

EDIT: I should point out that I'm already about 3 weeks into veg, so I currently have 8 healthy plants in one 3gal pot, half of which I'll assume to be males. I'm just not sure what to do when it comes time to flower.

If i was you I would keep a few of the healthiest females...say like 3. And train the crap out of them so they are each bent away from each other and out of the pot. This way you will increase the canopy and hopefully your yield too

 

[Centrum]

Some pictorial side by side would be a nifty insight.

 

[Strainbrain]

I get a pretty eerily-consistent ~25g out of the 3.4L pots I flower in. I mean... I had 5 of 8 plants yield exactly 25g in my last grow and not a single one of them was the same strain. I had a couple 20s and a 30 in there too, but it's remarkable how many came up exactly 25g.

That would suggest that an OZ/Gal is a pretty good rule of thumb to start with. I veg into those pots for 1-3 weeks (until the plant 'scales up' as I call it) and then I flip. Some are rootbound and some never really fill the soil - but the yield stays in a narrow window.

 

[Lazyman]

I have gotten over 3 oz per plant in 2 gallon pots, and a buddy often does 6+ in 2 gallon containers too. I use Smartpots so they don't get rootbound, and as long as they get plenty of water and food, the roots cannot absorb more than their maximum. Veg time seems to be the more limiting factor when plants don't get rootbound.

 

[Finagleabud]

I have gotten over 3 oz per plant in 2 gallon pots, and a buddy often does 6+ in 2 gallon containers too. I use Smartpots so they don't get rootbound, and as long as they get plenty of water and food, the roots cannot absorb more than their maximum. Veg time seems to be the more limiting factor when plants don't get rootbound.

I've never heard of smart pots. Could you elaborate? How do they prevent root binding?

If i was you I would keep a few of the healthiest females...say like 3. And train the crap out of them so they are each bent away from each other and out of the pot. This way you will increase the canopy and hopefully your yield too

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking I'll do. The reason I felt pretty safe putting multiple plants in a single pot, despite what I've read about it being a bad idea, is that I've grown 2 and 3 plants at a time in previous grows in a single pot and as far as I could tell they could care less that the others were there. I read a lot of crap about plants "competing", but I don't really see why that would be the case. The roots just passively absorb nutrients from the medium, the only extra consideration would be that they'll get rootbound faster, since it's double or triple the amount of roots.

 

[SunTzu]

Very helpful thread!

 

[Nicoli]

I have hit 34G dry in 1gal... hoping to hit 40G dry in 1gal this time around.. Veg for 3-6 weeks depending on strain