? about 3 gallon pot size and yield

Posternuggbag · Apr 22, 2012

ok, so i have a question that ive been kind of stressing over. My newest grow i have started i am running 2 600 watt hps light in a 5x5 grow lab tent i decided to put 18 3 gallons in there and they fit fine. My question is more about end yield. You see i decided to go with longer veg time this go around shooting for a full 30 days from rooted clones. End of April will be 30 days and im doing the LST tie down method so i dont get a lot of larf on the bottom branches.

Ive already done this once and they are growing back nicely with alot more tops BUT my question is this....
Im growing Super Lemon Haze and as we all know the flower time is usually 10-12 weeks. There in lies my worrys...if you add veg of 30 days and 12 weeks flower thats 4 months growing in 3 gallon pots. Is this even going to be possible? Igoing to tye them down once more today and the should be perked back up by the 30th to start flowering but im worried they are going to get so rootbound by the last few weeks of harvest that its going to greatly effect the quality and overall harvest. Anyone have any input or can help me out? Thanks! oh and heres a couple pics i just took before i tie them down again...

DeoXy · Apr 22, 2012

In general those 3 gal pots should support at least 3footers with no problem(1gal per foot of growth).. as far as them getting root bound before finishing depends on a few things.. how long they sat in that container to begin with.. how many transplants before ending in that 3gal.. and also your watering frequency as consistently more drier would lead to more root growth in search of water compared to constantly more wetter they wouldn't expand as much or as often in search of it.. a fabric pot of some sort would fix this concern as it air prunes roots and prevents root circling + the increased o2 around the roots makes for healthy plants.. their only a buck more than plastic.. worth looking into

I run a sea of 2gal aurora fabric pots and they are supporting 3-4 footers just fine.. and they are in their last 2 weeks of flower and are finishing up just fine

a side note : some genetics are crazy rooters to begin with so you have to pre plan for those so you don't fall short.. it's also not uncommon to have to do an emergency transplant to fix the problem in flower if you do notice root bound plants in those containers. How tall is that plant? about 18in or so? can at least double in height and still be good :tiphat:

Green and Gold · Apr 23, 2012

That seems like a very ambitious number of plants and long veg time for a 1200w 5x5 space. I run 20 at a time with similar veg time under 4 1000w lights in an 8'x13' space.
Looking at those plants I would say turn those lights down today given that space constraint. I use 5 gal. smartpots and plan on 4 to 5 oz. per plant........

Seedlin · Apr 23, 2012

Just noticed you have 3 plants in dixie cups in each 3 gal bucket. Are you going to put each plant in a their own bucket or transplant all three plants in each bucket? It would makes a big difference in yeild IMHP... :canabis:

TGT · Apr 24, 2012

Like stated above, a gallon per foot is usually a good rule of thumb. I would start budding now judging by the size of them and you might find after stretch your plants to be crowded and not enough space. The good thing is you can always remove a few. You just might end up with a better yield with less plants.

If your still worried about the plants getting too badly root bound, you can always cut just the bottom circle of the pot and place this on a larger pot. This was you don't disturb the roots and they have plenty room to grow downward. The only negative thing with this is it will increase your height, so plenty of upward space is needed.

Hope this helps and let us see how your girls are looking later on in bud. They look nice and healthy now, great work!

TGT

the gnome · Apr 24, 2012

I started with 5 gall pots under 2 1000w lamps @9 per lamp.
I'm now in 3 gallon bags growing 4-5footers with 22 total.
of course numbers is dependant on strain

Purple Buddha · Apr 24, 2012

The super lemon i use to grow only stretched like 1/2 when flipped. Always in 5gallons though.

singingcrow · Apr 24, 2012

Thanks for posting your pics. I am running a very similar setup with 3gallon pots, 1000w bulb in a 4x4 tent, 12 plants. Was wondering about yield myself as this is my first soil setup in a while. My plants also have 2 more weeks, but I use FiMM and Supercropping techniques, Soma style, TLO.

Wishing you the very best. Plants look nice and healthy!

Jungle.Microbes · Apr 24, 2012

I grow SLH and 3 gal will be more than enough space for them. I usually veg in 1 gal then transplant into 2 or 3 gal a week before flip, they usually fill the 2gal pretty nicely, and the 3gal gives better yield and they don't fully take up the entire pot.

I grow 3' plants in 2gal pots all the time without problems.

Posternuggbag · May 8, 2012

ok guys just wanted to say i really appreciate all the feedback and hope they will be ok but they really are stretching like crazy! Still not really sure what to do..im starting to run out of space height-wise getting to close to the lights for comfort...i took some pics just now so you guys can see what im workin with i just took a few shots but it was hard to get them all in but it should give you an idea..

I switched to 12/12 on the 27th so im at about day 11th flowering i really hope they stop stretching an start budding more. Im a little mad at myself for being too ambitious with this veg time and topping all input is appreciated!

Posternuggbag · May 8, 2012

Yes4Prop215 · May 8, 2012

im running 3 gal pots right now, with 2-3 foot bushy plants that are same size as ours...and i wish i went with 5s....they have already reached the bottom and side of the pot so im gonna have to water more to compensate because they will get rootbound.

Posternuggbag · May 8, 2012

yes4prop215...how often do you water and how much per 3 gallon do you usually use?

187020 · May 8, 2012

Defoilate

Defoilate

Mabe clean up the lower branches homie for more focused growth. Aggressive pruning might stunt the height during recovery and you win! Peacin it

Don Treadonme · May 8, 2012

Are the lights always that high. Or did you raise them to take pictures....
Good luck .

Guest2012z · May 8, 2012

you have a 5' x 5' grow tent which are used for growing micro crops and then trying to SOG in it. which do you want? yeild or dank weed? you going to cram 18 - 3 gal pots in there and get the same yeild as 2 - 600ws can produce with 8. you can upcan but the size should be ok depending on your medium.

your going to have MAJOR stink! good luck

Floridian · May 8, 2012

I've flowered very large plants in 3 gal pots many times,the secret is in transplantation.I'll grow in a 4 inch pot usually until the plant is between 6-10 inches tall.I always know when its time to transplant because the plants tell me.If I'm having to water every other day because the roots use all the available water,I know its time to transplant up to two gallon pots.In 2 gal pots I'll veg at least to 24 inches,sometimes larger it all depends on the watering cycle once again.When I'm having to water the 2 gal pot every other day then its time to take clones,transplant up to 3 gal,and change photocycle to 12/12.Growing in a container is very different than growing in mother earth,in container growing there is a finite amount of medium and you want to use it all.Planting directly into a large container will leave you with a big "empty" in the middle of the container

Jungle.Microbes · May 8, 2012

Floridian said:
I've flowered very large plants in 3 gal pots many times,the secret is in transplantation.I'll grow in a 4 inch pot usually until the plant is between 6-10 inches tall.I always know when its time to transplant because the plants tell me.If I'm having to water every other day because the roots use all the available water,I know its time to transplant up to two gallon pots.In 2 gal pots I'll veg at least to 24 inches,sometimes larger it all depends on the watering cycle once again.When I'm having to water the 2 gal pot every other day then its time to take clones,transplant up to 3 gal,and change photocycle to 12/12.Growing in a container is very different than growing in mother earth,in container growing there is a finite amount of medium and you want to use it all.Planting directly into a large container will leave you with a big "empty" in the middle of the container

this is very good advice to follow

TGT · May 8, 2012

Should stop stretching around the third week, that is an average but for me has been pretty consistant with the strains I use for vertical lights. I always seek out the large stretchers as it is best for vert systems.

TGT

Nickelv17 · Sep 10, 2012

It looks like you are running your lights a little high which could be making your stretch worse. And look at the bottom of your pots if they say 500 anywhere on there they are 2.5 gallon pots because I bought the same pot thinking it was 3 gallon.

? about 3 gallon pot size and yield

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