How big do my Pots need to be for Rootbinding ?
I want to just slightly speed up Flowering for my Sativas.
Can one make a Rule of Thumb for any Size/ Age?
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Depends how many times a day you feel comfortable watering.
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Another factor is how heavy they feed.
Landrace sativas are usually light feeders.
Cheers
G
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Why does watering and feeding play a Role?
i guess the more watering the more unlikely is Rootboud to happen??
Grow a big plant in a small pot and you’ll find out quickly.
The stretch can and will be immense, regardless of pot size.
People keep talking about rootbound but it’s a peripheral concern at best. It either has enough water and nutrients, or it doesn’t. It’s more about flowering when small, with intense light and shorter daylight hours with tropicals, IMO.
“sativa” is such a broad term, and there’s a million ways to skin a cat, I don’t think there’s a rule of thumb with pot sizes.
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Sativa means minimum 13 Weeks Flowerer in my Case. Oh and Landrace it is.
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something like that:
you can see the Potsize (lower part underwater)
I had two Plants per Pot.
I would assume i could planted like 4 Plants of this Size per Pot?
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I used to recommend one rule of thumb (in soil) was “one gallon for each month of growth” and point people to 5 gallons for an average from-seed plant.
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Thanks for your Input SSSGuy. I think i get the Idea.
I guess with “growth” ,flowering Phase counts aswell, yes? no?
Yup. Part of the logic there is that you would never (or should never) transplant a plant that’s deep into flower, you know? I’m sure that others will have different opinions, just what works for me. I envy those who can run an outdoor seed plant in 20 gal bags or whatever - just not something I could ever do indoors. Way too friggin lazy for that…
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This Year i first time have a Problem… I wanna reproduce as much individuals for genetic preservation, but… not enough Space for what i would like…
Well , i could just start later, but that way the Floweringonset takes longer, so i start now, i have to. Last year they took long, too long starting late…
I guess i just shade them , so the Roots and Plant doesent grow as Big. Anyone?
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You can limit pot size the best by frequent transplants. If you were to put a plant right into 5 gallons, it would learn that it has lots of space and nutrients to use… it will fill this space rather quickly. Starting plants in a beer cup, transplanting into quart, half gallon, then 1 gallon, then two gallon, then 3 gallon and then finally 5 gallon if you have time to, really limits the size of the plants. I can’t stress enough how well this worked. The minute the plants growth had stopped or any sort of deficiency started, or if they were rootbound, they got a transplant. It’s definitely extra work but you don’t have to worry about feeding. The new soil you are adding every few weeks feeds them and you already know that they like the soil. You can put some food spikes on the perimeter of the pots as you transplant if you want to, and then at various points inside the rootball there will be some food for the roots to grab. I didn’t use any spikes until I reached three gallon size. I put a squeezed handful of dry 555 organic fertilizer in a few small holes made with a stick on the perimeter of the pot after the transplant, and some dry food on the bottom of the pot before the dirt went on top of it. When you move up to 5 gallon you can switch to a dry fertilizer with a higher middle and last number, say a 3-8-5 or something similar. Or keep it simple and just use some 555 again. You will definitely need more trips to water using small containers so watch your trails headed into your spot if you decide to go that route. Try to go from a different direction as often as you can. Self watering containers would help.
It would certainly be easier to start them in a big container, but they just grow so fast, and then use up all the food and then you have to worry about trying to feed them without making them unhappy… You can start flowering your plants indoors in small containers, just giving them some sunlight in a window , and putting them in a dark space for 12 hours a night. They will want to stretch this way more than other ways that have more sun, but if you start flowering in July or even August, you might get some of those plants to finish… if you are looking for root bound plants, plastic containers work excellent for that. The new fabric grow bags won’t allow plants to get root bound. Meant to send this message out yesterday…
It’s tough living in the northern latitudes if you like sativas. All of my containers we’re plastic until I put them in the last container which was fabric
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The smaller the pot/soil. The more often you will need to water and feed before drying out.
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Thanks @upstate for the Fabic-pots Tip.
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