Soil Mix for a 1-Gallon Pot: From Seedling to Harvest

[Tranquilidade]

I want to master growing in small pots (1 gallon / 4L from seed to harvest ), and I usually run into trouble roughly 3-4 weeks into flowering. Leaves are starting to yellow, and I have to finish my plants 2-4 weeks earlier. My setup looks like this:

Soil: CANNA Terra Professional 80%, worm castings 20%, Guanokalong Bat Guano Powder
Lights: 480W Mars Hydro FC 4800 (max running at 60% of intensity)
Nutrients: CANNA Terra Vega, Canna Terra Flores, Canna Rhizotonnic, Biobizz PH down
Watering: every 4-5 days in veg, every 2-3 days in flower


I measured runoff PH levels in flower, and it was 7.2, which is a bit off, so I tried to flush it; however, it took 5 gallons of pH'ed water to bring it down to 6.8, and then I got tired Still don't know why my soil became so alkaline and why it was so hard to pH down.

Another thing I've noticed is that my tent has two compartments, one bigger one with LED lights and a smaller one that runs on 4 x 35 watts CFLs. Plants in the smaller compartment under CFLs looked way more happier than on LEDs, although the yield was significantly smaller.

Can you please share your experience growing in small pots, what works for you (soil, watering, nutrients). If you see some red flags in my setup, please share.

 

[Mars Hydro Led]

Maybe you can provide some pictures, it will be easier to analyze the problem, friends here are very helpful.

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[Creeperpark]

One-gallon pots need to be fertigated on a constant feed in order to maintain a steady EC. You can lower the pH with a fertigated feed instead of using acid. These plants were a 12/12 from seed to flower photoperiod using one-gallon pots.

 

[Tranquilidade]

One-gallon pots need to be fertigated on a constant feed in order to maintain a steady EC. You can lower the pH with a fertigated feed instead of using acid. These plants were a 12/12 from seed to flower photoperiod using one-gallon pots.

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Thanks for the advice @Creeperpark your plants look really happy. Would you mind sharing your soil recipe and feeding regimen?

 

[Creeperpark]

Thanks for the advice @Creeperpark your plants look really happy. Would you mind sharing your soil recipe and feeding regimen?

Sure that grow was FOXFarm Ocean Forest with RO water only for the first 4 weeks. Then I use a "very low ppm" of General Hydroponics Flora series with every watering until the end. Very easy to grow.

 

[Creeperpark]

I have used Promix HP and BX with one-gallon pots too, however with those I started a "very low ppm" of General Hydroponics flora series on the second week and fed with every watering. It's important to use RO water or Rainwater for the best results with one-gallon pots.

 

[Tranquilidade]

Thanks again @Creeperpark

What ratio have you combined Promix HP and BX soil? 50/50?

What PPM of General Hydroponics flora was at week 2 and week 8? I assume this is week 2 from seedling, not flowering?

I have access to springwater.

 

[Creeperpark]

No, I didn't mix Pro mix hp and bx, I use them individually. Pro mix BX is the best Summer mix and HP is the best Winter mix. Both will work find with the right water management.

I follow the table charts by the book, with the exception that I only use 1/3 or less of the manufacturer's recommendations. The trick is to use a very low ppm (160)ppm of nutrients with every watering, instead of heavy feed one time and then water for a few days. Feed with every watering.

I start my seeds in the dixie cups and when they fill up the cups I up-pott into 1-gallon pot.

 

[Tranquilidade]

Thanks for the valuable info @Creeperpark

Would you mind sharing how you would approach this problem with regular watering? I will look at the dripping system in the future, but I have to stick with watering by hand for my next grow. Even if it won't be perfect, I would love to hear your or anyone else thoughts.

 

[Creeperpark]

Thanks for the valuable info @Creeperpark

Would you mind sharing how you would approach this problem with regular watering? I will look at the dripping system in the future, but I have to stick with watering by hand for my next grow. Even if it won't be perfect, I would love to hear your or anyone else thoughts.

Sure

 

[Creeperpark]

Some plants move more water than other plants in the same grow. It's very important to know how much water each container holds dry and wet. When I know the water volume of the container, I can keep it from over or under-watering. Most one-gallon pots have a water capacity of around 250 ml after it's already watered. Knowing this I can know if there's water in the pot or not just by watching the runoff.

For example, If I have a plant that's not taking water, I will see this when I water it with 250 ml of water. Why because it will run out the bottom because it still had water in the pot. However, If I give the container 250 ml and it takes all of it, I know it has gotten the right about because there's no runoff.

IF one just waters until they get discharged every time, they will never know if the plant was too dry or too wet before watering day. Mold is the result of over-watering randomly. It happens often to people who just water with any amount of water until discharge.

You hear of people using 10 to 20% runoff with every watering but that's for people that use a very high EC or ppm. I don't do that!

 

[Tranquilidade]

Some plants move more water than other plants in the same grow. It's very important to know how much water each container holds dry and wet. When I know the water volume of the container, I can keep it from over or under-watering. Most one-gallon pots have a water capacity of around 250 ml after it's already watered. Knowing this I can know if there's water in the pot or not just by watching the runoff.

For example, If I have a plant that's not taking water, I will see this when I water it with 250 ml of water. Why because it will run out the bottom because it still had water in the pot. However, If I give the container 250 ml and it takes all of it, I know it has gotten the right about because there's no runoff.

IF one just waters until they get discharged every time, they will never know if the plant was too dry or too wet before watering day. Mold is the result of over-watering randomly. It happens often to people who just water with any amount of water until discharge.

You hear of people using 10 to 20% runoff with every watering but that's for people that use a very high EC or ppm. I don't do that!

That makes sense. Let's say all plants are taking the same amount of water. So, how often would you water them, how many milliliters of water, and what ppm?

My previous setup in flowering looked like this:
Watering every 2-3 days with 800ml of water and roughly 800-1200ppm. Nutes were added almost every time, but in the middle of flowering, my plants looked like this:

 

[Creeperpark]

That's a lot of fertilizer, I use much less.

The amount of water used can vary from garden to garden. There are two watering methods I use depending on the garden. One way is to use a small amount of water every day and the other is to use the max amount (saturation) of water every few days. The main difference between the two is the wet-to-dry cycle vs keeping constant moderate moisture.

The wet-to-dry watering is best for large containers in the beginning. The problem with wet-to-dry is if the roots get too dry the root tips die. So at the end of flowering when the buds get fat, I switch to 1/3 or less the max amount and water daily. The plants move the water much easier than saturation watering.

 

[Tranquilidade]

So what PPMs you would use for daily watering and what for wet-to-dry?

 

[Creeperpark]

So what PPMs you would use for daily watering and what for wet-to-dry?

When I am in FoxFarms potting mix I just use quality water. When I am in a soil-less substrate I feed with every watering. Keeping the EC constant has proved to be the best in both cases. Using a 3 part General Hydroponics Flora series I follow the table to the tee. The only difference is instead of one-gallon nutrient mix I use three gallons of water. So the ppm is 160 to 300 depending on the run-off. I use GH with every watering.

 

[Tranquilidade]

When I am in FoxFarms potting mix I just use quality water.

Can I ask the role of rain or well water? I've checked my tap water (which was the main source of watering most of the time) it's 412ppm. My well water is around 200ppm and my rain water bucket is only 14ppm.

 

[linde]

1 gallon pots are simply more work than worth. As cheap as soil is 2 gallon pots would get triple the results with quarter the watering. You will never get full potential with that setup. Just saying.... Carry on.

 

[Tranquilidade]

1 gallon pots are simply more work than worth. As cheap as soil is 2 gallon pots would get triple the results with quarter the watering. You will never get full potential with that setup. Just saying.... Carry on.

My goal is to try as much different strains in a very limited space. I'm not for the yield, I'm for variety.

 

[flower~power]

1 gallon pots are simply more work than worth. As cheap as soil is 2 gallon pots would get triple the results with quarter the watering. You will never get full potential with that setup. Just saying.... Carry on.

I kind of agree.. also I’m curious how runoff is being handled.. or you (Tranquill) letting it reabsorb ?are you removing all the runoff every time?

 

[Tranquilidade]

I kind of agree.. also I’m curious how runoff is being handled.. or you (Tranquill) letting it reabsorb ?are you removing all the runoff every time?

I grow in airpots that are lifted from the ground. I always watered with 10%~20% runoff that was always collected and dismissed.