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Size does matter!

chef

Gene Mangler
Veteran
Big pots = Bigger plants/yields!

5gal min. for quick crops.
7-10gal for 30day veg grows.

Multiple transplants & transplant timing is related & makes a difference too.

Agree? Disagree?
 

Young Giver

Member
0-3 weeks= root cube
2-6 weeks= 4-inch pot
6-8 weeks= 2-gallon pot
2-3 months= 3-gallon pot
3-8 months= 5-gallon pots
6-18 months=10-gallon pot
transplant times are a factor 2..... agreed
 
T

toodles

chef said:
Big pots = Bigger plants/yields!

5gal min. for quick crops.

I don't know what that means. No point in a big pot if your grow space is limited. Pots size is governed by more than just desired yield.

7-10gal for 30day veg grows.
same answer as above.

Multiple transplants & transplant timing is related & makes a difference too.

I do agree with this statement.

Agree? Disagree?

Toodles
:rasta:
 

Dragor

Member
Big pots = big root systems = big stalks = bigger veins/branches = more food per unit time = more bud material per unit time (with all environmental factors controlled to optimal of course) - I vegged in bigger pots this time and although the first ten days of growth from clone/seedling in the 2 gallon pots (vs traditional 1gallon) was slower than normal, the growth became exponential very rapidly thereafter - so size DOES matter - probably even MORE in flowering!
 

chef

Gene Mangler
Veteran
I don't know what that means. No point in a big pot if your grow space is limited. Pots size is governed by more than just desired yield.

Governed by what else?
Maybe its the old mersh grower in me? lol Yield per sq foot per unit of time was everything. ;) Happy plants with room to stretch their toes produce superior quality too though.

If you use too small of a pot, it will be root bound before it is finished, usually the last several weeks when perfect health is most crucial for max swelling/yield.

Organic soil or soiless mix, same thing. Pot size plays a huge role in the entire lifecycle of a plant & the results.
I'm willing to bet that the unrestricted root growth in the larger hydro systems, is responsible for some of the impressive results there too?
Same thing with SOG/Kiddy wading pools, impressive is an understatement.

If space is limited?
Fill your productive light space with 5gal bags until they're solid with no wasted space. That's how many plants you should be growing.
Depending on the strain... manicure several times/LST to manage size, maximize budsites & fill the canopy, with the big pots she'll throw a couple dz monsters no problem.

6 10gals look perfect for my 600w
 

EuroToker

Member
Young Giver said:
0-3 weeks= root cube
2-6 weeks= 4-inch pot
6-8 weeks= 2-gallon pot
2-3 months= 3-gallon pot
3-8 months= 5-gallon pots
6-18 months=10-gallon pot
transplant times are a factor 2..... agreed

Agreed.

I go with the ol jorge cervantes rule from his grow bible.
1 gal per foot, works like a charm.

Anything more than that is fine i guess, but when you're dealing with 50 or more plants its labour intensive to haul all that dirt
 

chef

Gene Mangler
Veteran
That is a good rule of thumb ;) especially for beginners.
Stick to that & one of the water-only soil mixes in the sticky posts & you'll be good to go.

I'm talking top-notch stash grow here though, not a mersh op either.
Been really pushing everything where I'm limited to 6 mature plants now. Killer soil/nutes/microbes/myco (Roots), multiple transplants/air pruning etc. They come out of T5 veg uber dark blue/green bushes (full tank of hi octane IMO) just ready to explode when they hit the final big pot.
I'm narrowing it down now from 1st day of 12/12 (my old method) to 15 days in for final transplant.
Have a big girl I just did around 20 in, which was slightly late but damn lol Kaboom!

I'll post some pics as soon as I have enough posts.

On old mersh ops, I'd take a bag of real Black Gold, stab a few holes in the bottom of the bag, drop it on its bottom, round it up, cut off the top with a razor knife & stick a clone it. Rinse, lather repeat. Knock out a room in no time ;)
An old timer showed me that back in the 80's, laughed his ass off when he saw my soil mixing op. lol He said, come here son...

The first thing that impressed me about Roots products & grabbed my attention was that their soil came in grow bags, which ='d oldskool growers + based in Oregon, was like "wheres my credit card?" ;) Great stuff, their soil mix gives me wood!
 

Smeden

Active member
Heya

Heres just my fifty, and think its part of what toodles meant too.

If you have 1x1 m growroom with 1x400 or 600 hps.

Would you go for;
1 or 2 large pots? (maybe 40-80 liters each)
or
25 x special pots (with measurements that fits your growroom) the square pots I bought measures 20x20x26 cm = roughly 9,5 liter of soil each I think. Total = 25 x 9,5 liter = 237,5 liter - (YES - size does matter)

I would ANYTIME go for 25 pots. If its a yield question (and it is) a shorter veg time would also be preferable. Also an advantage over 2 large pots.

Maybe 2 large pots will produce the most beautifull and biggest buds. But, there will not be as many, as in the 25x9 liter grow. And total weight should be lower as the 25 plants, except, your an expert in making big bushies... but again big bushies = longer veg. When I transplant rooted clones from 0,5 l pots to the 9,5 liter pots. I veg 10 days - 18 hours of 600watt 6000k mh. And boom, from size 10-15 cm to 40-50 cm in 10 days and then switching to bloom cycle.

So all inn all, everybody has to judge and calculate on his own growroom. I choose these 9 liters, as the next step was 11 liters squares and therefor only 16 would fit in the 1x1 m room (and the 11 l measures 26x26x28cm, so maybe only 9???)

Im still just a noob, but these was my fifties...

Cheers
 
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chef

Gene Mangler
Veteran
I'd run multiple plants in a couple big pots, 4 10gals maybe?
They don't mind sharing :)

For absolute max performance, I'd build a 1m x 1m square bed & SOG 49 plants.
1m = 3.28ft @ 4 per sq ft = 49 plants (7x7 plant grid)
 

Brastaman

Member
i have had the best success with individual containers over plants sharing a bed. I have also discovered that certain strains I have do not need the extra room for roots because they dont grow as much as other plants the same size.
Og kush for me does not need as big of a container as a PurpleUrkle or Ak47.

this go round i am going to do large bushes so i think i am going to need bigger containers as the plants will be in VEG longer.

Chef- good luck with the 49 plants in a 3'x3' area. Standing room only, yeah.
 

KDee211

Member
what containers would you recommend for homebox XL, maybe 2 big ass pots, veg them for some time and get 2 big bushes and yield over um, maybe 500grams? Under the 600W HPS lamp.
 

chef

Gene Mangler
Veteran
lol, thats oldskool SOG, they were a sight to behold :p
Not me, I'm old now, legal & limited to 6 at the moment.

I haven't seen a big SOG since the late 80's, when the new sentencing guidelines came into effect. The new plant limits put a stop to big sog grows quick & gave birth to a replacement method known as "Candelabra" back then. I learned it from a local who had a grow column in several of the old weed mags. HighTimes, Sensimilla Tips etc.
Candelabra was top once, strip to 4-6 mains after a 7-14 day veg & bud'em!
A 7x7 pot grid gave you close to the number of main budsites as a 8'x8' SOG @ 4 per sq ft & stayed 1 under the 50 plant bitchslap lol

Agreed that some strains don't need huge pots, a lot of equatorial & some high altitude genes in my experience. Keeping a Sativas growth/stretch in check with a small pot is an exception also. I just bumped a CG from 1gal to a 5 last night @ 30days of 12/12, has at least 8 to go. I'm takin' notes lol

My old 1-3-7gal routine was dialed in for a 3-4 week veg with a hardy mersh strain.
Been working on larger 40-45 day veg grows now & is my reason for moving into 10gal territory.
An ingredient that I'm really missing, is the old 3gal square "Pyramid pots" I used to use. They had pyramid shapes all over the bottom & lower sides that would redirect roots back into the center rootmass. A bit like the new airpots but without the holes, were perfect for readying them for the final big pot. Been experimenting w/air pruning as a replacement.

There are so many variables, the trick is to find the unrestricted sweet spot for each strain. Stating anything more than "bigger IS better" is near impossible.
 

steppinRazor

cant stop wont stop
Veteran
I prefer not to transplant.. 5 gal from seed/clone.. ive noticed faster veg time using this method..

what bennefits come from transplanting can anyone tell me?
 

luvtogrow

Active member
steppinRazor said:
I prefer not to transplant.. 5 gal from seed/clone.. ive noticed faster veg time using this method..

what bennefits come from transplanting can anyone tell me?

Talking seed, indoors. I transplant because: starting out in small pots (i use styrofoam cups), allows me to get more plants under smaller light footprint. I can then reduce as sorting males, having wasted no extra soil or lighting to accomodate larger pots. I transplant (first xplant to 2-3gal.) at @week 3 as sorting male/female. By week 5 ready to xplant week before flower. Transplanting allows better, more thorough rootball penetration of soil, as they are soiled up inside. An initial planting of seed to large container will put most of the root system at the bottom and sides of the container and not efficiently use the entire soil available. Easier to care for those small plants in small containers, especially watering effectively. I just sorted my medman while still in 16oz styrocups 6 females, 1 male and the male is being punished remaining in the cup.
 

chef

Gene Mangler
Veteran
@ Dragor
Missed your post before. Seeing is believing ;)

@ KDee211
What dimensions & what strain/s?

@ steppinRazor
luvtogrow explains it well. Builds a big rootball.

@ Hammerhead
Cool ;) How many weeks difference in them?
I'm going to run a 5,7,10gal test next & document it.
5,7,10gal Smart Pots
VS.
5,7,10gal Poly Bags

We'll see just how effective SmartPots are at the same time.

Who has room & time to try a 30day small pot test?
Say, 1,3,5gallons?

Get this documented & we can move onto other factors, like exploiting the transplant growth spurts to max advantage.

This will be fun too :p
 

headiez247

shut the fuck up Donny
Veteran
chef said:
lol, thats oldskool SOG, they were a sight to behold :p
Not me, I'm old now, legal & limited to 6 at the moment.

I haven't seen a big SOG since the late 80's, when the new sentencing guidelines came into effect. The new plant limits put a stop to big sog grows quick


It's all relative. Veg a plant for 3 months and then flower it, ok cool, but in that time it took for that plant to veg/flower I can do 2 cycles with my SOG.

Lots of people have time constraints, can't wait that long.

f_SOGm_6e33b4c.jpg


f_sog2m_b2b19d2.jpg
 

chef

Gene Mangler
Veteran
1. Who said 3 months veg? I'm smokin on a tree in 100.

2. Thats not a true SOG, I like the tight pots though, making the most out of your space ;) A true SOG is a bed with clones planted every 6" (4 per sq ft.) 72hrs veg & bud it!
Towards finish, could probably stage dive on it & not hurt it :p

3. Thats a really good example of the candelabra method I mentioned, next best thing to a true SOG. looks good!
 
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steppinRazor

cant stop wont stop
Veteran
i agree with luvtogrow on the fact that IF grown by seed you have to weed out the males and its definitely a loss of light and soil...

as far as the root mass goes i dont think you could convince me.. just my opinion..
 
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