Indoor How much dirt ?

[Garyoutlaw]

I'm sure their is a sound mathematical equasion to give me the answer I'm looking for but had a few fallow up questions I'd like to throw into the mix before going googling...

I have read that bigger growing containers typically produce higher yeilds so have been pondering the idea of growing in standard 5 gallon buckets.
I however have a few concerns..

How much soil do I need for an 8 bucket grow ?
I plan to grow in soil but at the price would like to add a filler to make the soil go farther yet keeping a quality blend - any ideas ?

Should the buckets have drain holes added in the bottom ? I know 5 gallon buckets can take a big drink of water so would this also apply when adding nutes ?

Does the bucket color have dik to do with anything ?

Thanx in advance - Outlaw

 

[AndyBotwin]

Outlaw, I'm sure others with more experience will chime in, but here's my $.02.

I don't have a calculation for the amount of soil, but I recommend adding plenty of perlite to make the it airy and to stretch how far it will go. Autos have a short lifespan and the roots grow really fast, so light soils make it easy on them. A buddy of mine uses a 2/3 OF & 1/3 peat moss +perlite with good results.

I wouldn't grow in any pot that didn't have drain holes. Without them you'd have no way to test your runoff and the risk of overwatering would be too great IMO.

As far as the color, I'd try to find a white one just for that little bit of extra reflectivity in your grow area. Probably makes no difference, though.

 

[The Medicine Man]

Well, at 5 gallons you're looking at 2/3 of a cubic foot of space. You'll need roughly 5.5 cubic feet of dirt to fill those 8 buckets, and a bale of promix is 3.8 cf, and a bag of OF is 1.5 CF. Since I don't grow in soil, I don't know good proportions to use, but I myself would be keen to use promix and make my own nutrient schedule and feed that way.

And yes, definitely on the drainage holes.

 

[Joe Dirt]

OG has it wired.

Which mix, comes down to personal preference. I like the OF because I'm pretty lazy and it has given me good results. I know of others who like to mix in more perlite, up to 50/50. If you want to be an expert grower, you might lean more toward the pro-mix so you can amend to your own liking.

Does the bucket color have dik to do with anything ?

The color? Not really, as long as light is not passing through the sides of the bucket to the soil.

 

[Muddy]

The 3.8 cu. ft. bale of Pro Mix is a compressed bale. It will actually make 83 gallons when loosened up. Their 2.8 cu. ft. loose fill bag will make 28 gallons.

Even though a lot of people use standard 5 gallon buckets, personally I'm not fond of any pot that has a smooth, round surface as the roots tend to swirl around the pot. Check local nurseries or garden centers and you might be able to pick up 5 gallon used nursery containers for about the same money as the 5 gallon buckets. They should have indentations around the sides to redirect the roots and keep them from swirling.

Well, at 5 gallons you're looking at 2/3 of a cubic foot of space. You'll need roughly 5.5 cubic feet of dirt to fill those 8 buckets, and a bale of promix is 3.8 cf, and a bag of OF is 1.5 CF. Since I don't grow in soil, I don't know good proportions to use, but I myself would be keen to use promix and make my own nutrient schedule and feed that way.

And yes, definitely on the drainage holes.

 

[AndyBotwin]

Even though a lot of people use standard 5 gallon buckets, personally I'm not fond of any pot that has a smooth, round surface as the roots tend to swirl around the pot. Check local nurseries or garden centers and you might be able to pick up 5 gallon used nursery containers for about the same money as the 5 gallon buckets. They should have indentations around the sides to redirect the roots and keep them from swirling.

Good tip, Muddy. Thanks!

 

[whatsgoodie]

Muddy you're an insightful dude man. +rep for that post, I've honestly never given thought or consideration to roots swirling. I've been transplanting some grows into 1.5gal pails from solo cups (tiered) and notice a stoppage of growth and couldn't figure out why. I honestly believe it's the roundness of the container. I was using 1 gallon nursery pots with better results and couldn't understand why.. I also noticed they tend to use much less water under the same conditions and just thought it was the strain, but the root swirling makes perfect sense.

 

[Muddy]

Thanks guys. I actually prefer square pots for the same reason but it's hard to find square pots over about 3 gallon.

 

[The Medicine Man]

Too bad you don't live over here. Shops have 4 gallon square buckets for 99 cents a piece right now.

 

[Garyoutlaw]

The 3.8 cu. ft. bale of Pro Mix is a compressed bale. It will actually make 83 gallons when loosened up. Their 2.8 cu. ft. loose fill bag will make 28 gallons.

Even though a lot of people use standard 5 gallon buckets, personally I'm not fond of any pot that has a smooth, round surface as the roots tend to swirl around the pot. Check local nurseries or garden centers and you might be able to pick up 5 gallon used nursery containers for about the same money as the 5 gallon buckets. They should have indentations around the sides to redirect the roots and keep them from swirling.

I'm stuck with the buckets for this 1st grow & have not had any luck finding square buckets yet. I had this rood binding problem with our tomatoes in a small pot so I started pushing chopsticks in the soil when the plants were just little so as they grew the roots were spread out & grew around the sticks. I was thinking of scoring the inside walls with a knife to give the roots a hand hold of sorts .

I also ended up buying 4 bags of OF & a small grit petrolite for this grow