Container Size Question

[Fattie]

Well, I'm germing the seeds to start my first decent grow. Everything is coming together nicely, and now seeds are germing. I just hope that I haven't made a mistake in my choice of container.

I ordered these pots online as 4" square pots. These were the only 4"ers I could find anywhere at the time. The problem is I couldnt find the exact dimensions listed anywhere.

Because they were relatively cheap and pretty much my only option, I went ahead and ordered them, and am a little worried about the size.

They are 4x4 at the top of the pot, and 3x3 at the bottom(sloping slowly inward). The depth is only 3.5" and I was hoping for at least the full 4 maybe even 5 or 6. Hoping someone more knowledgeable on the subject can clue me in.

I'm not sure I'm doing the calculations right, but it seems that it would hold at least as much as the 16oz soda bottles used by Dr. Bud and others that yeild at least 5 grams. Thats all im expecting a piece anyway.

So, my questions are:
-Because I'm not sure about the calculations, what is a good measurement of how many liquid ounces these would hold?
-And ultimately, in a Seed or Clone to Flower situation, would these be enough?

Throw one of these smileys in here for good measure.

 

[durka_durka420]

more root mass = more nutrient uptake = more yeild....but if your doing SOG or something id use atleast 1/2gallon containers or 1gallon if your only doing a couple plants bigger the better...

 

[Fattie]

I'm doing a very small sog with 9 plants per square foot. A Dr. Bud style but not quite. I believe that using the watering style outlined (similar to dunking) there, you can use smaller containers. They have used the 16 oz. soda bottles. Im just wondering how much soil compared to those bottles these will hold, and if it would be enough for these sized plants.

Does anyone with experience in these types of grows happen to be browsing?

 

[FrijolElVerde]

Hi Fattie, Check out www.stuewe.com for some cool tray and pot combinations, very much Dr. Bud size and style. One of my design criteria was that a Tray 6 would fit in my box. Tray 6 will hold several sizes of pots, so 16, 25 and 36 pots will fit a 15.75 inch square tray. Think I'll try the 4 inchers at about 9 inches tall, 16 to a tray. I'm going from memory here so check the site for all the combos. They have separate pages for 'tree pots' and 'mini tree pots'.

I do a 15 minute soak right up to the rim of the 1 gallon pots I am currently using at every watering. It's usually every three days but I confirm by how much a thirsy plant weighs in my hand.

You can see what my new box looks like in my Album. Please post up whatever pots you decide to use. Good luck with your grow.

 

[JacuzziSplot]

well you say the pots are 4" at the top, 3" at the base, and 3.5" high so thats pretty close to a 3.5" cube. That size pot would have a volume of about 42.875 cubic inches. One cubic inch equals 0.554 ounces so those pots are about 23.75 ounces.

 

[durka_durka420]

yeah i suck with math jacuzzi was the most helpfull for the OP lol hell im just using one of those plastic folgers coffee cans for a bubbling DWC just for the hell of it doing it 12/12 from seed got intense branching....they take longer then autos of course lol

 

[Thundurkel]

Ok dude you will be fine if running a DrBud style setup and you can always go with large party cups which are 18oz that's what I was using cuz the bottles became a pain in the ass to water dunking each one. So I went with hand watering until the cab shut down.... BUT!!! When I have money I can spend I'm gonna build me a bigger badder CFL cab on a flood and drain system with a coco/pumice mix so the cups don't float....

 

[fishing time]

I'm using the square bottoms of 1/2 gallon milk jugs cut square so they're about 4x4x4 inches and it seems ok - 12/12 from seed btw.

That's only about 25 oz after subtracting 'lip height' and it seems ok. Really the canopy size is the problem. Even without much branching they're all getting way to wide to fit 9 per square foot which would be each container sitting shoulder to shoulder. This wouldn't be so much a problem if they didn't have to go in and out of the box vertically. Putting the last few in it's hard not to rip off the other's fan leaves.

I've been toying with the idea of using a single broad shallow container if I do so many in the small space again. They wouldn't get any more soil per plant but they could as least stretch the roots out more and not circle as soon.

 

[Fattie]

well you say the pots are 4" at the top, 3" at the base, and 3.5" high so thats pretty close to a 3.5" cube. That size pot would have a volume of about 42.875 cubic inches. One cubic inch equals 0.554 ounces so those pots are about 23.75 ounces.

Thank you that pretty much confirms the math I did. I wasn't sure about the formulas I used.

Ok dude you will be fine if running a DrBud style setup and you can always go with large party cups which are 18oz that's what I was using cuz the bottles became a pain in the ass to water dunking each one. So I went with hand watering until the cab shut down.... BUT!!! When I have money I can spend I'm gonna build me a bigger badder CFL cab on a flood and drain system with a coco/pumice mix so the cups don't float....

Thanks for stopping by with the advice, Ill be sure to check that out when it comes. I always thought that the watering method was the only thing that would allow you to use small containers like this. Did you notice any negative effects when you switched from the dunking method to regular handwatering?

I'm using the square bottoms of 1/2 gallon milk jugs cut square so they're about 4x4x4 inches and it seems ok - 12/12 from seed btw.

That's only about 25 oz after subtracting 'lip height' and it seems ok. Really the canopy size is the problem. Even without much branching they're all getting way to wide to fit 9 per square foot which would be each container sitting shoulder to shoulder. This wouldn't be so much a problem if they didn't have to go in and out of the box vertically. Putting the last few in it's hard not to rip off the other's fan leaves.

I've been toying with the idea of using a single broad shallow container if I do so many in the small space again. They wouldn't get any more soil per plant but they could as least stretch the roots out more and not circle as soon.

I would say that would be cool as long as they are all females from the jump. I don't think I would ever wanna do that, but I see where your coming from on taking and replacing being a pain in the ass.

 

[fishing time]

It is a pain but today I trimmed a bunch of fan leaves so now it's better. I would use the milk jugs again but not with LST. The plastic is too soft and without a rim tying pants off under tension distorts the shape. The good thing is the base has two sections (sort of like a 2L has five) which keep the roots from circling. Also the mailability of the plastic causes the sides to pull away from the soil a bit moving them around which results in a cube of soil with a little extra air space and prunes the tip off. The longest roots traveling along the side is only about 1in.

Next time with is what I want: http://www.growers-inc.com/03ap-k03ea.html
4 inch wide, 5 inch tall airpots, no transplant, 12/12 from seed. Males get yanked as soon as they show to make room for more new seeds to get a perpetual thing going.