i agree but i thought in fabric root pots, the rootball is constantly air pruned...
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3 Gal vs 5 Gal fabric pot yields
- Thread starter Raw710
- Start date
i agree but i thought in fabric root pots, the rootball is constantly air pruned...
Switcher56
Comfortably numb!
That is true but, the plant is still limited to its growing environment. Although, cloth pots prevent causes for "root bound" plants, it is the "carrying capacity" of the recipient (pot) the plant grows in which will determine its size (among many other factors)
In a conventional pot roots follow the water and, we all know water rolls downhill e.g the pot bottom. The roots go after the water, and will circle the pot bottom as they grow, until eventually "choking off" its own water/feed supply. The same happens in hydro as well when the plant has exceeded the carrying capacity of the pot/reservoir (bucket) it is in.
Air pots, cloth pots etc... prevent this circling and eventual "choke off" point. When the root reaches the edge of the pot (either side or bottom) they get "air pruned" causing the root to back bud. In doing so, creating capillaries (more beneficial than roots) because roots are better suited to anchor a tree/plant while, it is the capillaries that supplies water and nutrients to the plant. TBS, should a plant in a cloth pot that has exceeded the pots carrying capacity, them fine feeder roots will become so thick (known as the mat, just like bonsai) that they eventually choke each other off.
To date as discovered during pot "post mortems" after harvest. I have a look what is going on below soil level. Low and behold, the tap root is no longer recognizable and is not part of the root mass.
The root mass is constituted of fine feeder roots, occupying 75% of the pot. I had one girl that had occupied close to 7/8th of the pot, although during the same grow session. That being said. The tap root is to anchor the tree, it is the lateral roots that do all the feeding. So, when I go from my 4" pots into 3 gal pots, I water at the inside edge of the pot, so that the roots travel to find water (laterally). That being said, moisture will travel throughout the pot but, I concentrate the source so the roots can readily find it, until they reach the edge of the pot where, they will back bud in all direction. From autopsies I was able to establish that the root zone grows at a rate about 1" per week. This is important, because when I check my pots for moisture, I want to take the reading at the root level, not the moisture of the pot. So armed with the results of my autopsies, it puts me closer to the ballpark so to speak. My pots are never what I call "saturated" until I flush them.
Yes you are absolutely correct but would it have more space in a 5 gallon? Would an extra gallon of Coco get you another QP?
Here is a pic for you vash. Still has 3 weeks
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it would get you an extra yield if you gave the plant extra veg time to fill the space?
ive recently switched from 8litre root nurse pots to 3.8L ones
will report back in time but i made the switch so i could flood and drain multiple feedings as is the path to higher yields in coco from my experience.
dramamine
Well-known member
it would get you an extra yield if you gave the plant extra veg time to fill the space?
ive recently switched from 8litre root nurse pots to 3.8L ones
As of right now I give them 3 weeks of veg time from the time they go from 1 gal to 3 gal. Do you think it would fill out the 5 gal in a 3 week period? Awesome I am excited to hear about how your new set up with work out please keep us posted.
Junior Capsula
Member
I think any pot over 3 gallons of pure coco is not worth it. I’ve grown trees in 1 gallon SP with straight coco via blumats, but I prefer 3 gallons for all strains from short, columnar Afghans/Indica to equatorial lanky Sativas. To see yields increase from a 3 to a 5 you’ll need at least a square meter per plant to allow it to build roots large enough for the 5 gal plant. DE HPS would be perfect for this setup.
Been using solely HLG LEDs for some time now and I’m really satisfied with the results. I’ve found that they don’t penetrate as well as HPS which means canopy management is a priority as the more level the canopy the lower you can slam the lights on (18 inches).
Been using solely HLG LEDs for some time now and I’m really satisfied with the results. I’ve found that they don’t penetrate as well as HPS which means canopy management is a priority as the more level the canopy the lower you can slam the lights on (18 inches).
Awesome information thank you. I am currently running DE HPS and am thinking about switching to LED its a big investment but I am thinking about running Nextlight Megas or the new Luxx LED 645's. How much veg time do you think it would take to fill out a 5 gal. transplanting from a 1 gal. How much penetration do you think you lose from switching to LED?
Thats what it is sounding like going with a 3 gal.
Winnersmaller pots in coco = more frequent watering = higher yield
Grapefruitroop
Active member
Beautifully efficient setup man!
I harvested an average of 45g from 7gal pots in soil and makes rethink everything....
The thing is that i taught i was killing it judgin from the canopy!haha
Its time to go full coco i guess....
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Beautifully efficient setup man!
I harvested an average of 45g from 7gal pots in soil and makes rethink everything....
The thing is that i taught i was killing it judgin from the canopy!haha
Its time to go full coco i guess....
Thank you so much maybe I will try and get an updated picture they are almost finished. Looks like you are doing really well with your set up. One question I do have is with running a SOG like that what do you do for the air flow underneath?
I run perpetual so here is a pic of my 24k that grows taller in week 4
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Grapefruitroop
Active member
Well this last run given the inaccessibility of the center row the bottom pruning was a poorly done...
But seemd that even with high humidity during flowering (55-67) following the VPD i managed to get ZERO molds
The grow room its a rectangle so i tried to create a huge current pointing an idustrial fan thru the larger side a little bit higher than the soil level....and added other 4 fans at canopy level...not sure if i really accoplished the swirl but i noticed since this positioning that the efficiency of the dehum impoved a lot!!! At the point that i decided to run the last half part of the flowering without adding the usual second dehum and following (and prayng for) the VPD .....that for my temps were suggesting a RH up to 67 for optimal transpiration...pretty high for ripening but i was impressed to harvest without any sign of mold or PM with a genetic that is prone to fusarium.
The interesting part is that genetic gave me some problem with fusarium last run with a perfect rh range during flowring of 45-55...
This time with a range of 55-67 no problems...
I decided to run the room with more humidity mainly because the other dehum was at the repair shop...otherwise i would never try what i did....it seems a crazy move with that canopy but i also noticed how perky and healthy were looking at that high humidity level so i decided....lets make it..
I noticed also that when i was dropping the humidity in the room for bloom in the past runs the plants were still healthy looking but not that vigorous and perky like with a slightly higher humidity...
But seemd that even with high humidity during flowering (55-67) following the VPD i managed to get ZERO molds
The grow room its a rectangle so i tried to create a huge current pointing an idustrial fan thru the larger side a little bit higher than the soil level....and added other 4 fans at canopy level...not sure if i really accoplished the swirl but i noticed since this positioning that the efficiency of the dehum impoved a lot!!! At the point that i decided to run the last half part of the flowering without adding the usual second dehum and following (and prayng for) the VPD .....that for my temps were suggesting a RH up to 67 for optimal transpiration...pretty high for ripening but i was impressed to harvest without any sign of mold or PM with a genetic that is prone to fusarium.
The interesting part is that genetic gave me some problem with fusarium last run with a perfect rh range during flowring of 45-55...
This time with a range of 55-67 no problems...
I decided to run the room with more humidity mainly because the other dehum was at the repair shop...otherwise i would never try what i did....it seems a crazy move with that canopy but i also noticed how perky and healthy were looking at that high humidity level so i decided....lets make it..
I noticed also that when i was dropping the humidity in the room for bloom in the past runs the plants were still healthy looking but not that vigorous and perky like with a slightly higher humidity...
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Looks good do you think the hydroton keeps the humidity down? You are running 3 gal correct? Yea when you can run higher RH it makes a big difference crazy how sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't with the molds. But maybe you have enough air flow
Grapefruitroop
Active member
Are 7 gal!!
I used the hydroton to dont let the surface dry out making watering annoyng and in an attempt to fight fungus gnat but they laughed at me.....until i introduced predatory mites
I used the hydroton to dont let the surface dry out making watering annoyng and in an attempt to fight fungus gnat but they laughed at me.....until i introduced predatory mites
Junior Capsula
Member
Raw710 that’s a good setup you got goin, great canopy management! Check out Grandmasterlevel on Ig or YouTube. His setup is similar to yours in plant counts and dimensions, and he’s been killing it since the first generation of HLG 550’s. His pot sizes are much larger but he is running soil I believe.
You can pick up a HLG550 clone from Kingbrite for $300. If I was replacing 24 1K lamps that’s the route I’d take. As Grapefruitroop stated above about the humidity is correct. I keep it around 60-70% RH until the last half of flowering I’ll set the deheuy on 55%. More humidity and more feed also.
Your plants look like you veg for a couple months. For perpetual with led’s if you can isolate the right pheno with topping and lst you can cut the veg time to 4 weeks while flipping them when they hit 15-18 inches which will finish around 30-36 inches tall allowing you and saving you a month/harvest. As FE stated in this thread a few pages earlier with these led’s you get more even and dense growth all around vs much hps grows that’ll yield a couple large colas and the rest is damn near popcorn. All in all great setup!
You can pick up a HLG550 clone from Kingbrite for $300. If I was replacing 24 1K lamps that’s the route I’d take. As Grapefruitroop stated above about the humidity is correct. I keep it around 60-70% RH until the last half of flowering I’ll set the deheuy on 55%. More humidity and more feed also.
Your plants look like you veg for a couple months. For perpetual with led’s if you can isolate the right pheno with topping and lst you can cut the veg time to 4 weeks while flipping them when they hit 15-18 inches which will finish around 30-36 inches tall allowing you and saving you a month/harvest. As FE stated in this thread a few pages earlier with these led’s you get more even and dense growth all around vs much hps grows that’ll yield a couple large colas and the rest is damn near popcorn. All in all great setup!
AWESOME!!! great info for me and everyone that reads its. I am going to go check out grandmaster on youtube right now. Yea I think the LED are really calling towards me LOL. I am also thinking about going back to HP Mix peat moss. Thats what I started with and used to kill it consistently in 15 gal. pots. But I really dont want to move from coco because of the convenience. I have a 10k plus irrigation system that would almost render useless if I switch to peat moss
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