Instatransplant Cups & Pots pictorial and Root Restriction Stunting

I know i am often lacking in space in my setup and I can't fit as many 7" pots in my setup as I want, so if I start a bunch of regular non femmed seeds I simply cannot fit enough pots in my small space. I started using "instatransplant" pots a few seasons ago and had excellent results using the technique. I found that you would get little to no stunting when growing an auto in a 6" pot for 21 days. A few advantages come with an instatransplant pot. First it allows a totally stress free transplant. Extremely low risk of shifting dirt, and no risk of a poorly timed transplant, as the "windows" in the side of the pots allow you to monitor your root development, so a transplant too late or too early is super easy to avoid, by keeping an eye on root development.

This 6" instatransplant pot had an autoultimate growing in it for 21 days and then was transplanted to the outdoors.
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Here she is at the end of her life.
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So for this application the instatransplant pots work extremely well!! I started using the instatransplant 16oz cups for a different reason. 2 seasons indoor ago, thanks to the advice of master stunter @arty zan, I was showed the way. With his advice i found that keeping roots restricted in cups for a certain amount of time would root restrict and I would end up with smaller plants.
This is the last thing that most guys would want, except for the few with limited vertical and unable to grow tall plants as a result of their vertically challenged space. For me, it opened up a whole slew of strain options that I would have been previously unable to grow due to height. I also found that cramming in smaller plants and focusing main colas to keep nodes stacked and plants stout(I also believe that close proximity LEDS with IR spectrum play a roll in overall height and node spacing), I was able to increase overall space versus yield ratios, along with getting the benefit of being able to grow 7-8 strains at a time which increases variety immensely!!

How much stunting would i need to do to keep plants in check with my space? There is several factors I needed to take into account. First of all breeders quoted sizes, and also grow journal results are taken into account. If DP's auto night queen is quoted to 36" and i need to have plant at a maximum of 26", then I need to do something, or she will outgrow the space(assuming i do a perfect job growing her out, and the plants genetics are just right for a big lady).
I also keep an eye out on early growth rates as well as root development, and take those into account. If a plant is growing slowly, and after 14 days(especially if into preflower) she is not very large, I will often jump the gun and plant her then, even if she is supposed to be a large(r) strain.
If early plant growth is quick and I feel the plant could reach typical quoted sizes, I use this as a general guideline for plants that preflower at 15-21 days.

1-7 days contained in the 16oz cup = no effect on size
8-11 days contained in the 16oz cup = minimal effect on size
12-16 days contained in the 16oz cup = moderate effect on size
17-21 days contained in the 16oz cup = major effect
22 days+ contained in the 16oz cup = maximum effect, that should only be reserved for the latest preflowering plants or for the largest plants you want to greatly reduce the size.


Making the instatransplant cups is super easy....all you need is an ultra sharp knife like an X-acto blade and some plastic cups.

Step 1: Drilling bottom root access holes
ahh one thing i forgot to do when taking pics for this tutorial. Before you do anything else, it is easiest to drill your bottom holes for easy root access and drainage. I forgot to do this step for the pics, but what i do is put a whole stack up cups together and then i use a drill with a 1/4" drill bit and drill a series of 4 holes in the bottom of the stack of cups. If you have a drill press this task is even easier, but a regular drill will work fine as well. The reason i do this as step one, is because you lose a certain amount of structural integrity once you cut the window out and the cups can buckle. Easier to drill first thing.

Tools of the trade(also need a drill and a 1/4" drill bit not shown in pic), ready for action!! A redneck razor blade and a cup ready to become insta!!
IMG_6415.JPG


Step 2 : Horizontal Cuts
Cut a horizontal cup around an inch wide, at the bottom and top of the cup
IMG_6416.JPG


Step 3: Vertical Cut
Use you blade for a vertical cut. Start at the corner of your horizontal cut
IMG_6419.JPG


Slice down the cup, so the cut meets the corner of your lower vertical cut.
IMG_6420.JPG


Folding back the one side will make the second cut a snap.
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Repeat the process 4 more times and you will end up with this.....
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Once you have made a few of these cups, and have full control over your knife you might want to give the banana slot technique a go instead of the 4 slot technique. This might be a bit hard to explain. All I do is start near the top using a vertical cut into the cup, and once you get near the bottom of the cup you can rotate the angle of the blade creating a small circular cut, which when done right will allow you to be cutting vertically back up the cup toward the top, and ready for another small circular cut to finish the "slot". Once you master this technique, speed of making these is vastly increased.

Root restricted for 21 days DP auto Euforia
IMG_5087.JPG


"Not for a Free Weed country or continent, but for a Free Weed World, Unite and Grow, for a Better, Kinder Planet"
912GreenSkell






 
the problem lies with genetic variance. Sure you can guess, but unless you are pulling clones there is no real comparative experiment to base grounds on.

I find some strains are pretty consistent and stable. Some not so much. If I picked a stable strain I'd think that the test would be fairly legit. Clone cuttings for the win for sure. But still I think there is something I can experiment with.
 
I find some strains are pretty consistent and stable. Some not so much. If I picked a stable strain I'd think that the test would be fairly legit. Clone cuttings for the win for sure. But still I think there is something I can experiment with.

Agreed all around. Even with clones it would not be a cut and dry experiment...some clones simply do not root as well or as quickly, and growth rates vary. But genetic variance is eliminated from the variables, and with stable flower trigger it would allow a fairly accurate assessment of flower trigger and flower duration in larger pots.
 
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Do you think this method would work using a sort of 'self watering' wicking system using some string? Although, what to do with the string when it comes to transplanting... perhaps a bottom dunk/feed? I really struggle with watering seedlings lol
 
For the people who have successfully used this instatransplant cup...

What do you do in terms of soaking the soil? I’m sure the nutrients or lack of would depend on what you are using for medium. But that aside, do you give it a thorough soaking and how long would you let it sit and drain before planting your germed seed?

Thanks!
 
For the people who have successfully used this instatransplant cup...

What do you do in terms of soaking the soil? I’m sure the nutrients or lack of would depend on what you are using for medium. But that aside, do you give it a thorough soaking and how long would you let it sit and drain before planting your germed seed?

Thanks!

I fill my 18oz solos with my medium and weigh to get a dry baseline, 120 grams in my case, then slowly water ( I use a plastic ketchup bottle} until I can feel bottom of soil is moist and get that weight. 230 grams. I then set that in my grow environment for 24hrs, weigh again, 205 grams, then planted seeds. I don't go below 150 or above 200 and so far so good. Six days in. Thanks so much to G Leave for this technique. It's already made a difference for me.
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I know i am often lacking in space in my setup and I can't fit as many 7" pots in my setup as I want, so if I start a bunch of regular non femmed seeds I simply cannot fit enough pots in my small space. I started using "instatransplant" pots a few seasons ago and had excellent results using the technique. I found that you would get little to no stunting when growing an auto in a 6" pot for 21 days. A few advantages come with an instatransplant pot. First it allows a totally stress free transplant. Extremely low risk of shifting dirt, and no risk of a poorly timed transplant, as the "windows" in the side of the pots allow you to monitor your root development, so a transplant too late or too early is super easy to avoid, by keeping an eye on root development.

This 6" instatransplant pot had an autoultimate growing in it for 21 days and then was transplanted to the outdoors.
View attachment 873873 View attachment 873874

Here she is at the end of her life.
View attachment 873875View attachment 873876

So for this application the instatransplant pots work extremely well!! I started using the instatransplant 16oz cups for a different reason. 2 seasons indoor ago, thanks to the advice of master stunter @arty zan, I was showed the way. With his advice i found that keeping roots restricted in cups for a certain amount of time would root restrict and I would end up with smaller plants.
This is the last thing that most guys would want, except for the few with limited vertical and unable to grow tall plants as a result of their vertically challenged space. For me, it opened up a whole slew of strain options that I would have been previously unable to grow due to height. I also found that cramming in smaller plants and focusing main colas to keep nodes stacked and plants stout(I also believe that close proximity LEDS with IR spectrum play a roll in overall height and node spacing), I was able to increase overall space versus yield ratios, along with getting the benefit of being able to grow 7-8 strains at a time which increases variety immensely!!

How much stunting would i need to do to keep plants in check with my space? There is several factors I needed to take into account. First of all breeders quoted sizes, and also grow journal results are taken into account. If DP's auto night queen is quoted to 36" and i need to have plant at a maximum of 26", then I need to do something, or she will outgrow the space(assuming i do a perfect job growing her out, and the plants genetics are just right for a big lady).
I also keep an eye out on early growth rates as well as root development, and take those into account. If a plant is growing slowly, and after 14 days(especially if into preflower) she is not very large, I will often jump the gun and plant her then, even if she is supposed to be a large(r) strain.
If early plant growth is quick and I feel the plant could reach typical quoted sizes, I use this as a general guideline for plants that preflower at 15-21 days.

1-7 days contained in the 16oz cup = no effect on size
8-11 days contained in the 16oz cup = minimal effect on size
12-16 days contained in the 16oz cup = moderate effect on size
17-21 days contained in the 16oz cup = major effect
22 days+ contained in the 16oz cup = maximum effect, that should only be reserved for the latest preflowering plants or for the largest plants you want to greatly reduce the size.


Making the instatransplant cups is super easy....all you need is an ultra sharp knife like an X-acto blade and some plastic cups.

Step 1: Drilling bottom root access holes
ahh one thing i forgot to do when taking pics for this tutorial. Before you do anything else, it is easiest to drill your bottom holes for easy root access and drainage. I forgot to do this step for the pics, but what i do is put a whole stack up cups together and then i use a drill with a 1/4" drill bit and drill a series of 4 holes in the bottom of the stack of cups. If you have a drill press this task is even easier, but a regular drill will work fine as well. The reason i do this as step one, is because you lose a certain amount of structural integrity once you cut the window out and the cups can buckle. Easier to drill first thing.

Tools of the trade(also need a drill and a 1/4" drill bit not shown in pic), ready for action!! A redneck razor blade and a cup ready to become insta!!
View attachment 873881

Step 2 : Horizontal Cuts
Cut a horizontal cup around an inch wide, at the bottom and top of the cup
View attachment 873883

Step 3: Vertical Cut
Use you blade for a vertical cut. Start at the corner of your horizontal cut
View attachment 873884

Slice down the cup, so the cut meets the corner of your lower vertical cut.
View attachment 873885

Folding back the one side will make the second cut a snap.
View attachment 873886

Repeat the process 4 more times and you will end up with this.....
View attachment 873887

Once you have made a few of these cups, and have full control over your knife you might want to give the banana slot technique a go instead of the 4 slot technique. This might be a bit hard to explain. All I do is start near the top using a vertical cut into the cup, and once you get near the bottom of the cup you can rotate the angle of the blade creating a small circular cut, which when done right will allow you to be cutting vertically back up the cup toward the top, and ready for another small circular cut to finish the "slot". Once you master this technique, speed of making these is vastly increased.

Root restricted for 21 days DP auto Euforia
View attachment 873900

"Not for a Free Weed country or continent, but for a Free Weed World, Unite and Grow, for a Better, Kinder Planet"
912GreenSkell





Hello will i will be able to do this with a 0.5 Liter beer cups and pot the beer cups directly into soil will i get a good resutls.Or the beer cups go to a pot and then into soil what will be better?Sorry for the stupid questions but i want no stressing on autos and i have limited space for first 2 weeks indoor.Also i will use flourescent light can you tell me is there diffrent light for growing or it's the same az a normal flourescent office lamp can i get a office panel with 4-5 tubes say 24 watts one will it do the trick ?
 
I fill my 18oz solos with my medium and weigh to get a dry baseline, 120 grams in my case, then slowly water ( I use a plastic ketchup bottle} until I can feel bottom of soil is moist and get that weight. 230 grams. I then set that in my grow environment for 24hrs, weigh again, 205 grams, then planted seeds. I don't go below 150 or above 200 and so far so good. Six days in. Thanks so much to G Leave for this technique. It's already made a difference for me.

That’s a great explanation, thanks for that. Unfortunately I didn’t weight mine prior but it seems like a solid approach to keeping things consistent and within the right threshold. Also, I like your squeeze bottle idea :)

Here’s my Dark Devil at 8 days
3ff4dfb90072f81be35fccab04d53b49.jpg


And my White Widow at 4 days
5daa958f79c330b0f38a510648a893df.jpg


Both coming along reasonably but definitely room for improvement!
 
For the people who have successfully used this instatransplant cup...

What do you do in terms of soaking the soil? I’m sure the nutrients or lack of would depend on what you are using for medium. But that aside, do you give it a thorough soaking and how long would you let it sit and drain before planting your germed seed?

Thanks!

You'll find more expert responses than mine, but here goes.

I use potting soil with 30% coir. My coir comes in a brick so I have to pre-soak it to reconstitute. I wait a few days and when the moisture is similar to the potting soil, I blend and wait a day or so for it to equalize itself.

My lights tend to bring CalMag deficiency, so I add some to the water before I reconstitute the coir. (This is not at all based on science, rather a notion that the plants will need less supplements if it is available to them in the mix and/or, less CalMag will leach into the coir.)

Anyhoo, I just feel it. I like to germinate my seeds before planting, so I don't think it needs to soak.
 
Hello will i will be able to do this with a 0.5 Liter beer cups and pot the beer cups directly into soil will i get a good resutls.Or the beer cups go to a pot and then into soil what will be better?Sorry for the stupid questions but i want no stressing on autos and i have limited space for first 2 weeks indoor.Also i will use flourescent light can you tell me is there diffrent light for growing or it's the same az a normal flourescent office lamp can i get a office panel with 4-5 tubes say 24 watts one will it do the trick ?

Welcome Chubi.

GLeave 's grown a lot of plants and with it knowledge, so I try to do it just the way describes, with 2 cups per plant.

As for lights, that's a big topic. Look around this forum for ideas: Grow Lights
 
Please post your findings on this thread elle!! I want to know how this works out for everyone using the technique!!
If you're vertically challenged, what size pots are you transplanting to?
 
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