how small of pot is too small?

[RuralRoute420]

i regularly go hydro, but i've run out of hydro setups to use, so i have these clones in 16oz dixie cups right now in soil. question - i've seen people flower in these before, is it hard? otherwise, i will rinse the roots and take them to the tray.

 

[Mr GreenJeans]

Hiya rr

I don't think it will be hard, but you probably won't get but a few grams. If you were going to keep her in soil I'd put her in at least a 2 gal if not bigger. Just mho...

Cheers

 

[admiralcornport]

Good lookin clone!

Please don't flower in those, you will get next to nothing. Transplant into a bigger container.

 

[Guest]

When I am looking to get a crop through fast like. The smallest containers I use are half gallons or gallons...

 

[aeric]

better to transplant if u can....but if u insist on keeping them in the dixie cups, flower them right away, any taller will be too tall and u will run into problems. If u keep it in the dixie u should only have to water every day or 2, it's actually very easy to grow in them. I have done 15 per 10x20 tray and however many trays (won't say, just 'cause) and it was the easiest crop ever to grow and harvest, but way too many clones. 5" square containers do the best for the same concept.

To answer your question usually more than 3x the height of the container is too big with soil, 5x too big for hydro.

 

[kokua]

a good rule of thumb is one gallon of soil per foot in height. SO a 3 foot tall plant would require a 3 gallon pot, 5 foot would be in a 5 gallon etc... It isn't an exact science though.

 

[RuralRoute420]

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thanks guys, i know they are pretty small, but i have a tray of them in soil that are ready to go. figured what the hell. i'm going to bottom feed them and set the around the outside of current grow. i just hate to waste them. i don't have the room or i would put them in 5.5"squares. they are swt3 that i'm dying to grow.



aeric, did you do a lot of bottom pruning on those clones?

 

[Guest]

Plants in dixie cups are for a SOG system. It can be down, but you want almost no veg period once the roots take hold. You would be better off grabbing a couple of plastic bins(10G or so) and putting two plants in each one.

Cheers,
SH

 

[aeric]

RR420: just enough to lower the chances of mold etc...bottom 1/4 or 1/3 should work. There tends to not be much popcorn in that style because they are short enough, they can put alot more energy into production + more light available at the bottom. I see now u have a whole tray of them etc...makes more sense now. If u do it that way u would do well to switch them right away. Bottom feeding is a good way to reduce watering frequency, but watch for root rot and salt buildup. Kokua: another good point about sizing.

 

[Space Ghost]

I would transplant into 1 gallon grow bags and do a fairly dense sog, and the extra clones I would put outside in a few guerilla plots.

 

[Closet Funk]

Go with at least 1 gallon pots. I've gotten up to an 3/4 oz in 1 gallon pots. I think an ounce is very achievable too.

 

[aeric]

I think he's saying he can only flower them if he uses dixie cups...not enough room otherwise...maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Tutu]

a good rule of thumb is one gallon of soil per foot in height. SO a 3 foot tall plant would require a 3 gallon pot, 5 foot would be in a 5 gallon etc... It isn't an exact science though.

Well I've grown 3 foot plants in 4 ltr containers with no problems, just make sure you feed regularly when the time is right and cannazym is a godsend.

I've seen people pull 2oz in 6ltr pots, depends on your grow SOG growers would never use too big a pot.

that is too small though.

 

[RuralRoute420]

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so we're going to test it out, pruned them(will probably prune again) and stuck them under the outside of a 250. maybe the pots are too small, or too far from light. it doesn't matter if they all die to me. but on the other hand, it would be nice to pull something off them.

 

[Closet Funk]

Experiment as much as you can. Growers find out new thing all the time. I think this is good way of learning.

 

[aeric]

agreed CF

 

[Guest]

why not try some root trimming.. and double potting into another dixie cup

lol thats still small as hell and wont do much , but its a little more

 

[Calyxander]

. A long time ago I used to start large amounts of seeds in 16 oz Styrofoam cups.... 150 or so...after transplanting to larger containers (apx. 30-40 of them) I became too lazy to do more and I didn't really have room.....hahahheeha.
And after I switched light cycles I'd be left with 40 to 50 little girls in styro cups. They would get to about a foot tall or so but not much side branching at all. This works very well but you do indeed get a tiny yield... I used to get one "popsicle" bud off of each plant. I sometimes had to water some of these dwarfs twice a day in flowering stage. It’s a good way to try a lot of varied phenos with that many plants.

IMO the minimum size for decent yield is one gallon.

calyx

 

[aeric]

The difference in yield between 12" and 18" final height in those cups is phenomenal. They really have to be dialed in along with the needs of ur strain. No veg= lolipop to popsicle size, 3 days veg = 6-8", 5 days = 12" ,7 days = perfect 16-18''. 7 grams avg. at 8-10 per tray is not bad under a 400. 10-12" = 1 ounce per tray, 16-18" = 2 ounces per tray, with only a medium yielding strain. So yes they do yield. Yes size matters Calyxander, but only strategically.

 

[Calyxander]

Yes you are correct aeric. In my experience the small cups were a distraction from my large-container plants. I never tried to dial in maximizing yield with the little cups. I doted only on the big girls.
It was hard enough keeping the little ones alive sometimes.....when time was short, it took me awhile to handwater all of the little cups...but it was certainly worth the effort.