good info, jay.
Tiered transplants also work very well. Basically, you cut the bottom two-three inches off the bottom of your original seedling pot (best using a solo cup), dig hole in your transplant pot to accommodate this cut away section, and drop in your transplant, keeping the top half of the party cup intact. If done right, you don't disturb the dirt or roots. My first attempt, however, when I cut the section off the cup, I also cut the roots a bit.
So, I found a better method. This is a "cup in a cup" process. when you make your seedling medium, go ahead and cut the bottom 2-3 inches off one cup, put it into another whole cup, and fill with medium and plant. When it is time for transplant, remove the outer cup and follow the above steps.
I wanted to take this a step further with experimentation, so I am currently trying a "pre-tiered" method. I went ahead and set up my final pot with normal soil mixture, but added a tiered cup on top with my base seedling mix, and direct planted into the tier. This gave the seedlings time to grow without risk of nutrient stunting (a problem with autos). I have three plants in at 36 days using this method, and can say that I am happy with the results so far.
I work in a micro rubbermaid set up, so my max pot size is 1 gallon in order to fit 6-8 plants comfortably. By using a tiered method, I was able to increase the overall height of the pot from 7 inches, to 10 inches. Anyone familiar with autos knows that the taproot depth is key in success, so this really helped me to achieve one of my goals.
I recently ordered 2 gallon grow bags that have comparable dimensions to my 1 gallon tiered pots as far as base and height dimensions, so those will be up next for experimentation.
Lol, did I mention that I like to experiment?
Anyhow, once again, great info Jay.
Honestly, I can't say how well this would work. I would guess it would work as long as you don't affect the tap root growth. Sounds like ANOTHER experiment to try....How about drilling holes into the first cup till it looks like a net pot?
Have you ever transplanted from rockwool to soil?
How about a passive hydro bucket with rockwool same idea as hempy buckets.
Never tried this one.
Are either of these idea's plausible?