Bigger Pot = Longer Grow Time

[Nabzter]

Hello fellow AFNers, contrary to what some people say and think about autoflowers having some kind of programmed life cycle, i have found over the years certain factors can speed up and slow things down. Just as their photoperiod brothers and sisters i believe a stunted autoflower does not necessarily mean a decline in final product and yield but only a delay in getting there. I feel an autoflower will switch the flower switch when its ready.

One factor i am curious to get other peoples opinions on is pot sizes, particurlary in soil. I think there is a correlation ie. Bigger pot longer veg and flower time. For me over the years i have increased the pot sizes i used from 12l up to 30l over time and think these larger plants in larger pots seem to take considerably longer to finish.

This is an open discussion so please feel free to throw in you 2 cents and cast your votes.

 

[KonopCh]

Yes, bigger pots = longer time needed to finish. But also means bigger yield.

 

[Nabzter]

Yes, bigger pots = longer time needed to finish. But also means bigger yield.

Yes thats why i use bigger pots, the question is purely based on development time. Thanks for the input.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[lunarman]

I think smaller pots also are faster in other ways. They react to changes faster. Reaction to a flush to fix an issue is faster in a small pot. Or reaction to changes in the feed water like PH levels show up faster in small pots.

 

[Rev. Green Genes]

It is a general consensus that smaller pots flower faster. There is no clear science about what makes an autoflower make the switch, but the collective experience I have read on AFN suggests that there is a chemical switch in the functions of the roots that trigger flower. In photo sensitive plants the daylight clock is in the leaves, and at a certain amount of darkness DNA for flowering is activated. In Auto's though, I think it's a hormonal shift in the roots that does the triggering. I can't prove it though.

 

[Dad]

I agree, my experience is that the Auto is not going to progress until the roots are ready for it, and a larger pot holds more roots and thus take longer to fill.

 

[Frank M]

OK guys, in your opinion what size pot is the best for an Auto grow?

I'm using a 5gal bucket right now, but I have been thinking it's to large

 

[calliandra]

I agree there is definitely something going on with bigger pots - and air humidity for that matter (low humidity=faster onset of flower) - to extend the plants' lifecycle!
Whereby, since it's nature, there are probably a whole set of aspects that factor into how that actually plays out.

I've currently got a Mephisto Cosmic Queen going in a 56L fabric pot - though it's not quite full, so actual soil mass will be around 50L. And she got really nice 60% RH when she was small too. So she's taken her time building plant structure, and she is now also taking her time with flowering, to the extent that I'd say she's 2-3 weeks "behind" other grows in smaller pots.

That root theory sounds cool, in fact I recently read about roots sensing the size of the pot as early as germination, and that autos do best planted directly into their final pots because uppotting makes them have to re.orientate themselves - too bad I was on a surfing spree and didn't note where lol
I'd actually like to go back and review that myself!
But I've also had a plant that challenges this theory; a Sour Stomper I actually had to uppot from 28 to 40Lto get her through her grow - she obviously didn't give a shit about sensing pot size, just wantonly grew to the max And she wasn't even slower to grow haha, ended up finishing in 70-some days, just like other sour stompers in smaller pots.

Concerning delays with autos, I've seen it go both ways - mostly downwards haha
But right now I have a second CQ growing in only 15L, she was supposed to get culled "better-of-two"-style but I didn't have the heart. So she got repotted into a 1L pot where she spent 10 days going WTF?!?!, and then decided to grow anyway, which got her transplanted into where she is now.
Contrary to expectations, she has developed into a full plant, and has stayed behind in her development by what seems to be pretty much the time she lost recovering from the initial transplant - her non-shocked sister has been stacking buds for a week, whilst she is still in the pompom bud stage. And while she also seems to be a different phenotype, I am intrigued by what is obviously proving the "time lost in an auto grow is lost" theory at least to not be inevitably true.
Now why this plant is doing this where others didn't, not a clue!
Current pix of the Cosmic Queens via the link in my signature, it's Sunday and I'm lazy

Another perspective on the onset of flower would be one of survival.
While I don't think there are scientific studies on this, it's a known mechanism of plants that when they think they're going to die, they try and reproduce real fast to assure the continuation of the species. This is seen in the way weeds mostly grow - fast vegetative growth, fast flowering and seeding, the best bet in the dire soil conditions they have made their specialty. This reaction however is also noticed in ailing fruit trees, for example. And is probably also the reason why people thought of stressing their plants towards the end of flower to get them to move on more quickly...

Cheers!!

 

[Nabzter]

OK guys, in your opinion what size pot is the best for an Auto grow?

I'm using a 5gal bucket right now, but I have been thinking it's to large

I have ran a number of different pot sizes over time ranging from 12L up to 35L. I always found larger pots rewarded with more fruits however for various reasons I found my sweet spot to be 20L. There is no right answer it is whatever works best for you in terms of grow space yield to pot size ration etc.

I agree there is definitely something going on with bigger pots - and air humidity for that matter (low humidity=faster onset of flower) - to extend the plants' lifecycle!
Whereby, since it's nature, there are probably a whole set of aspects that factor into how that actually plays out.

I've currently got a Mephisto Cosmic Queen going in a 56L fabric pot - though it's not quite full, so actual soil mass will be around 50L. And she got really nice 60% RH when she was small too. So she's taken her time building plant structure, and she is now also taking her time with flowering, to the extent that I'd say she's 2-3 weeks "behind" other grows in smaller pots.

That root theory sounds cool, in fact I recently read about roots sensing the size of the pot as early as germination, and that autos do best planted directly into their final pots because uppotting makes them have to re.orientate themselves - too bad I was on a surfing spree and didn't note where lol
I'd actually like to go back and review that myself!
But I've also had a plant that challenges this theory; a Sour Stomper I actually had to uppot from 28 to 40Lto get her through her grow - she obviously didn't give a shit about sensing pot size, just wantonly grew to the max And she wasn't even slower to grow haha, ended up finishing in 70-some days, just like other sour stompers in smaller pots.

Concerning delays with autos, I've seen it go both ways - mostly downwards haha
But right now I have a second CQ growing in only 15L, she was supposed to get culled "better-of-two"-style but I didn't have the heart. So she got repotted into a 1L pot where she spent 10 days going WTF?!?!, and then decided to grow anyway, which got her transplanted into where she is now.
Contrary to expectations, she has developed into a full plant, and has stayed behind in her development by what seems to be pretty much the time she lost recovering from the initial transplant - her non-shocked sister has been stacking buds for a week, whilst she is still in the pompom bud stage. And while she also seems to be a different phenotype, I am intrigued by what is obviously proving the "time lost in an auto grow is lost" theory at least to not be inevitably true.
Now why this plant is doing this where others didn't, not a clue!
Current pix of the Cosmic Queens via the link in my signature, it's Sunday and I'm lazy

Another perspective on the onset of flower would be one of survival.
While I don't think there are scientific studies on this, it's a known mechanism of plants that when they think they're going to die, they try and reproduce real fast to assure the continuation of the species. This is seen in the way weeds mostly grow - fast vegetative growth, fast flowering and seeding, the best bet in the dire soil conditions they have made their specialty. This reaction however is also noticed in ailing fruit trees, for example. And is probably also the reason why people thought of stressing their plants towards the end of flower to get them to move on more quickly...

Cheers!!

Some very interesting input there, thanks for that. I am particurlarly interested to see how the cosmic queen ends up, would be amazing to see the yield you get using a 56l pot !!!

 

[Nabzter]

I would also like to hear from whoever voted no and the reasoning behind their opinion.

It' almost like saying you don't think larger pots encourage larger plants and higher yields.