How Much Soil Volume for Veg?

[rrog]

Like others here, I am starting many seeds and only taking the best females to finish. I have very limited space and have room for only a few 5 gallon pails.

So I have to veg in several smaller containers, then transplant the keepers into larger containers.

Is there a minimum size container that I can get away with assuming 4 weeks of veg? Not the worlds smallest container, but some reasonable small size.

I'm sure some strains might do better with larger quarters, but on average what could I get away with? 1/2 gallon?

 

[schwagg]

might just be me but i get about a month of good growth before i run into problems with a 1 gal. pot. seems like they always get rootbound and eat everything up by then. then i jump to 3.5 gal. and then to 8 gal. to flower.

 

[tuinman]

I've gone all the way from veg to flower with 1 gal airpots, needing some top dressing about two months in. Only done this twice so far, however. YMMV.

If you're going to transplant my suggestion would be the 1 gal airpots, they're taller than they are wide and build a very nice rootball.

 

[Podink Stucky]

Do what you do.

Do what you do.

Yeah RROG, 1/2 gallon is very suitable for veggin small and sexing plants. I would advise only upgrading the nicest fems!!!

 

[rrog]

Schwag, you feel a 1 gallon pot is needed for a month of veg?

Tuinman, you take the plant all the way to finish with 1 gallon pots.

Stucky, you feel I'm OK with a 1/2 gallon for veg.

I'd like to think 1/2 gallon for 4 weeks of veg would be OK. Then move to 5 gallon for 8-12 more weeks to finish

 

[TACOE]

should be okay. in .5 gal, or 1 gal. May need to top feed if they show any issues. I was in 1 gallons (no ferts, just compost, rock dusts) for about 4 weeks before N and P deficiencies showed.

 

[rrog]

I certainly don't mind top feeding etc if it allowed me to use a smaller container.

I guess the other component is how much of that container is soil and how much is rock / water layer below. I have 1/4 - 1/3 of the container as lava rock / water / bubbler. Then soil on top of that. So not 100% of the container is soil... That obviously compromises things for me

 

[Iron_Lion]

These plants were kept in 4" square pots for a 30 day veg and until they showed sex. They ended up yielding 1.5-2.25oz each under 250hps. Top dressed with ewc.

 

[rrog]

Wow! What was the volume of the square pots??

 

[mad librettist]

yeah, nice work iron lion!

For me small pots is for testing a plant from seed. So I am ok with early yellowing, etc...

For my mod scrogs though, I am putting cuts straight into #15 smart pots.

 

[Mr. Greengenes]

Most genetics will double in size each week of veg, if the roots are unobstructed. Also, most genecics will send roots to the bottom and begin circling by the first week, of ANY size pot. Best way to achieve fast veg is to repot before any circling begins, so thats about once a week, or week and a half. So, for example; 20oz solo cup for a week into 1g for a week into 2G for a week into 5. For a slower vegging 'indica' just make those times a week and a half or maybe two.

 

[GrinStick]

saw someone else go through flowering to harvest in 1/2 gal. container. he had issues, but going that far in that small a container was interesting. i've done 1 1/2 gal. pots before with nominal results (through to harvest).
good luck, and good times.

 

[rrog]

Most genetics will double in size each week of veg, if the roots are unobstructed. Also, most genecics will send roots to the bottom and begin circling by the first week, of ANY size pot. Best way to achieve fast veg is to repot before any circling begins, so thats about once a week, or week and a half. So, for example; 20oz solo cup for a week into 1g for a week into 2G for a week into 5. For a slower vegging 'indica' just make those times a week and a half or maybe two.

I'm growing Super Silver Haze, so I guess that's a faster veg being primarily a Sativa. I was with the understanding that the Promix starter flats would need to wait for two weeks because they're delicate.

 

[Iron_Lion]

I'm growing Super Silver Haze, so I guess that's a faster veg being primarily a Sativa. I was with the understanding that the Promix starter flats would need to wait for two weeks because they're delicate.

With super silver haze not much more than 2-3 weeks is necessary. With SSH it is all about the pheno you choose, and there is many of them, it is one of the most diverse strains I have ever grown, which is its downfall. A few years back I had some shorter flowering SSH's and I ran them 12/12 from seed and they still produced well for their environment.

SSH 30 day veg, this pic was taken around 70 days, it is even larger now and still has a few weeks left to go.


Different SSH 2 week veg


be on the look out for looong ass flowering pheno types, both plants shown go 20 weeks easy.

As for the volume of the 4" square pots, let me just say its not much. I also wont say it is a good thing to do, but I grew micro style for years and always did it the same way and always had great success.

I've since moved up to 600 then 1000watts, and I have a hard time breaking old habits but Im still very frugal with my soil. I dont like to waste much soil on plants until I know they are female, which in most cases plants start showing preflowers by 30ish days.

here is a pic of the 4" pots

 

[rrog]

Again, great SSH-specific info Lion. I have agonized over possible early pheno identification as you well know. I'll just have to see what I get...

In future grows, it sounds like a 1/2 gallon would work, even if the bottom 1/3 was a rock / water / bubbler layer. That's still over a quart of soil.

 

[Strainhunter]

OP your primary concern should be rootbound plants.

You can easily avoid that by using Smart Pots. 1/2 Gallon ones for 1 month veg will do.

Check the link above and/or buy them on Ebay if your local store does not carry them.


Edit: the smallest Smart Pot available is .83 gallon @ 7" base so that should work perfect for you.

 

[rrog]

Thanks for the link SH. I can see their advantage for drainage. The point being if there's no volume tied up with stone for drainage, there's more volume available for soil.

 

[foomar]

You can go really low on pot size if you can water by hand twice a day or drip in soil.

I veg to nine nodes/30 days in 0.80 litre pots , flower in 2.00 litres with few issues apart from early yellowing , plants finish a little faster and its a way to keep hazes and the like under control.

Yield is obviously reduced to 25 - 35 gramme per plant , it allows me to have 48+ around one 600 watter so total yield is not too bad , good way to run the numbers in a small setup for some decent selection.

The low level stress helps reveal any intersex traits if looking for breeders , maybe 10 % fail across all commercial crosses.

This metre tall Casey did 35g untopped from seed in two litres of John Innes compost with no extra nutes , was not totally rootbound at the end and is revegging well , have slowly worked down from 30 litre pots and two litres is as low as is safe and productive.

 

[mad librettist]

Most genetics will double in size each week of veg, if the roots are unobstructed. Also, most genecics will send roots to the bottom and begin circling by the first week, of ANY size pot. Best way to achieve fast veg is to repot before any circling begins, so thats about once a week, or week and a half. So, for example; 20oz solo cup for a week into 1g for a week into 2G for a week into 5. For a slower vegging 'indica' just make those times a week and a half or maybe two.

That's not my understanding. Branching has a lot to do with medium physical properties. Take a look at a cur rooted in water and one rooted in DE chunks.

People worry incorrectly about root circling. The real issue is that as the root system ages it fills up with thick roots that can't absorb nutrients. Even with a smart pot, you have the same problem. The roots that go straight down are tap roots, and their main purpose is to get water. A circling tap root is not a problem unless your container is getting filled up with thick tap root.

The only way to reduce the amount of hard, thick roots to make way for the root hairs that do the work is to cut away the old roots. Up-potting without trimming roots gives a root bound plant only a little bit more room for root hairs. You get a corresponding growth spurt and then you have to do it again.

I do not buy the argument that I will do better disturbing my soil than I will by installing my cuts in the actual soil they will live in through flower. As long as your soil volume is enough to support the canopy, there is no reason to worry about root binding in a plant that will spend 6 months max in the container. This makes even more sense in multi-species plantings like I have. I want the cut's roots to be mingling with the clover so it has a continuous feed.

 

[Strainhunter]

.........

People worry incorrectly about root circling. The real issue is that as the root system ages it fills up with thick roots that can't absorb nutrients. Even with a smart pot, you have the same problem.

The only way to reduce the amount of hard, thick roots to make way for the root hairs that do the work is to cut away the old roots.

.....

Dude he's vegging only for one month.