Pot size/veg period/foot print calculations

[ducktales]

Right now, I have 11 seedlings in one gallon pots in my little closet (2ft,3in X 3ft,6in) under a 400 watt hps. The pots are squeezed in from wall to wall, but since I have the reflector going the long way, the long sides of my closet get good light.

How long can I wait until the plants out grow these pots? I'd like to sex them in the one gallon pots and transfer the fems to bigger pots, but they may be rootbound by then and also shocked when I repot them, stunting the flowering, especially if I veg them for a long time.

Should I do something like cut the bottoms off of the pots and put them in 11 more one gallon pots to give them more room to grow without increasing the footprint? that could get messy. How long until I'd have to repot out of the one gallon?

But what Im really curious about is: ***how long do YOU veg for and what size pots do YOU use throughout the growing process?<<<<<<<<!!!!!!!

 

[Guest]

I like to let the plant grow into each container, with the theory that it condones stronger root growth and stimulates large top matter also.
I use plastic solo cups for seedlings and clones, then move them to 1 gallon pots for veg, and then 3-5 gallon for flower. You could just keep them in the 1 gallon pots for flower if you are super tight for space. I usually wait until the above-ground part of the plant is twice the size of the pot.
I have observed this method in commercial growers of ornamental houseplants, etc....

 

[420KushMaster]

hello

they can stay in 1 gallon till they are a foot tall with no problems. root bound wount be problem. i dont think youll need to cut the pots unless all of your seeds are female. but im sure there will be males. as far as vegging you can do that for as long as you like it really depends up to you how big you want your plants to be and space that you have for them. i only veg for 2 to 3 weeks till they have three nodes (3 sets of leafs) then flower them out. i use three gallon pots but im sure you could get it done with smaller pots. good luck

 

[ducktales]

 

[Guest]

The next time you may want to start in 4 inch pots and transplant to 1 gallon at around 6 inches,this way you are utilizing all available soil. When you plant directly into the 1 gallon,the roots tend to grow down along the sides of the pot leaving a lot of empty soil in the middle.If you start in 4 inch and transplant up,you'll be able to grow a much larger plant in a 1 gallon pot,thats what it comes down to

 

[Guest]

I choose veg length based on three things

1) Room in my flower cab
2) Size of the main stalk being about 1/3" (strain dependent)
3) Overall plant height (cabinet limits me there)

If I had unlimited space, I would go by plant size. Larger plant = more roots to suck up nutes and make bigger buds.

 

[Guest]

Im trying something new with my next round.. instead of 6 6" round plants, I am doing 12 3 liter soda bottles (same footprint, and MORE soil) so that I can minimize the extra time vegging in the final stage.

 

[ducktales]

The next time you may want to start in 4 inch pots and transplant to 1 gallon at around 6 inches,this way you are utilizing all available soil. When you plant directly into the 1 gallon,the roots tend to grow down along the sides of the pot leaving a lot of empty soil in the middle.If you start in 4 inch and transplant up,you'll be able to grow a much larger plant in a 1 gallon pot,thats what it comes down to

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

 

[Guest]

Pff,I guess I just like wasting my time

 

[bostrom155]

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

ALWAYS pot up in stages.

 

[southpaw]

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

I can confirm this because a) I've seen this myself b) Skeletor knows his shit and c) unlike you, I know how to use the search button.

A zip of research is worth a lb. of posts.

 

[Gangabiss]

Yes it gives the roots a bigger surface area from which to penetrate the surrounding soil...if you pot up in stages once you have a little rootball forming you'll get a much more even distribution of roots throughout your pots.