[TanzanianMagic]

Originally Posted by Mikell

Ehh I transplant dry with bagged Canna and haven't had issue. Certainly doesn't bring a host of deficiencies or stunting.

Not sure what you mean by how long it has been in the bag playing a role.

Dry medium is still very bad for roothairs. Even with mature plants, you get a lot less transplant shock. Also, plants need moisture to feed.

And it's the same with all bagged media.

[Rondon]

Extreme dry down in coco is only good for new transplants. Where the pot is light when you pick it up but the new plant isnt wilted. Then hammer them till runoff. Gets the roots established. Then you slowly work up until your feeding at 50 or 60% dry down. Only in later flower do you want extreme dry down again. Except low temps and low humidity. Whereas in veg you want high temps and humidity. Its easy once it all clicks. And you have a dialed room where you can actually control all of it with precision.

[Mikell]

I don't know what you're talking about TM.

I transplant dry and water full strength feed. They're sitting in dry medium for all of five minutes. Roots are at the bottom within 2-3 days.

Not to speak for kiwi but I don't think either of us were suggesting letting it idle around in dry medium for a few days.

[Absolem]

Originally Posted by Rondon

The fabric pots like Smart Pots and the cheap grey Aurora pots are not a true 3 gallon. Especially Aurora. More like 2 and some change.

It's strange how pot sizes aren't what they claim. It's what's referred to as a "trade gallon" in plant nursery's. Basically a "trade gallon" is 70% of a true gallon. Rarely do plant container makers specify whether it's a true gallon or "trade gallon". I've been bit by purchasing containers that were smaller then I thought.

[Rondon]

Originally Posted by Absolem

It's strange how pot sizes aren't what they claim. It's what's referred to as a "trade gallon" in plant nursery's. Basically a "trade gallon" is 70% of a true gallon. Rarely do plant container makers specify whether it's a true gallon or "trade gallon". I've been bit by purchasing containers that were smaller then I thought.

Yep. Nursery pot sizes by # that is common language in the straight ag crop..greenhouse..nursery & veggie/fruit grower world. Ive been cozy to that world nomenclature and terminology and what it means for some time now. And soon as we go legal...we will be adopting these universal terms as well. Things like dry back/dry down...moisture gradient...field capacity...shot...fertigation. ..temperature differential...vapor pressure deficit...cultivar or varietal (not strains - smh) etc. They call "clones" actually what they are and that's cuttings. They call "mother plants"...Stock plants. And a bunch of other stuff. This is the lingo the pro greenhouse operators use. And I know a few tomato hot house ops down Lansing way and those guys just chuckle at our methods and talk. But not our profit margins. That gets thier attention no doubt.

[TanzanianMagic]

Originally Posted by Mikell

I don't know what you're talking about TM.

I transplant dry and water full strength feed. They're sitting in dry medium for all of five minutes. Roots are at the bottom within 2-3 days.

Not to speak for kiwi but I don't think either of us were suggesting letting it idle around in dry medium for a few days.

What I'm saying is that most of the problems that exist when planting in new medium disappear when the medium is fully soaked first.

And that is true for peat, coco coir, perlite, grow rocks, worm castings, compost. Everything that has been in a bag and stored.

The reason is that plants feed themselves with nutrients dissolved in moisture. If the medium is drier than the roots, it is actually drawing water from the plant and into the medium.

And you can get away with that in coco - a little. However I can guarantee you that if you soak coco fibre in 6.0 pH nutrient solution of 0.2-0.4 EC high P/K nutrient solution - you're going to have a very high success rate, there will be no purple stems and the roots will develop quickly, without root stimulator. (And that's for seedlings, not clones.)

[gaiusmarius]

i do that with my coco slabs every run, plant them on the slabs and stick the dripper in to pin the cube to the coco, once the whole room is done, the pump is turned on and the medium is watered till the water is coming back from every single slab, then i'll add ferts and set the timer. when they are new they will suck the cube dry fast, so i don't waste time, but a few hours is no problem if the cube was fully watered.

[TanzanianMagic]

Originally Posted by gaiusmarius

i do that with my coco slabs every run, plant them on the slabs and stick the dripper in to pin the cube to the coco, once the whole room is done, the pump is turned on and the medium is watered till the water is coming back from every single slab, then i'll add ferts and set the timer. when they are new they will suck the cube dry fast, so i don't waste time, but a few hours is no problem if the cube was fully watered.

Right, and coco slabs are an extreme example - it is true for ordinary potting soil, peat too, which is especially water resistant. And they will absorb more water, for a longer period than you'd expect. Last time I put grow rocks in a tub of water, they were still absorbing water the day after. If I hadn't done that, it would have been weeks before they were fully hydrated.