Maximum pot size for < 36in/90cm high grow space

[TempleTrees]

hello bro if you need any advice on maybe growing solo cups I've grown tons of them on here but your going to need to water them as they get older multiple times per day https://www.autoflower.org/threads/...-140-series-perpetual-grow.78551/post-2304217

Wow thanks! Those are some CHUNKY nugs in those cups!
Looking at your girl’s structure, it looks like you trim all the secondary branches off down low (the smaller branches off the main branches that go directly to the trunk). Do you do this to the entire plant or just near the bottom?

Edit: cool lightening photography too

 

[St. Tom]

Wow thanks! Those are some CHUNKY nugs in those cups!
Looking at your girl’s structure, it looks like you trim all the secondary branches off down low (the smaller branches off the main branches that go directly to the trunk). Do you do this to the entire plant or just near the bottom?

Edit: cool lightening photography too

I generally just top them at the start and that's as far as any training goes the first plant I grew in 1 was for a dinafem competition and I thought this will be an epic fail on my behalf but I find them very easy to grow them as I treat them like any other bigger pot plant and as long as I'm feeding to run off I've also grown lots of coke bottles 2 litre and 1 litre and even a welly boot lol .also thanks for the compliments my friend it means a lot

 

[N/A-Greengo]

I have a grow going now in a 32x32x63 if you want to have a look. Good luck with your grow!

Show Grows 2022 - ParfactWorks, Zeusol ZE250 Test/Review

Hello, and welcome fellow growers! I have received direct from ParfactWorks, 1 Zeusol ZE250 - 250 watt full spectrum LED for the purposes of testing, and review. I will be testing PAR values, fixture temps, actual wattage, and will complete a through to harvest grow with the unit in a 32x32x63...

www.autoflower.org

 

[parsing_trees]

So your basically bottom watering?

I was planning on trying bottom watering myself. PPM raising due to salt buildup in the rootzone is a concern of mine… but I’m sure I can just top water to flush every week or so with regular strength nutes. If only there was a way to bottom feed and not worry about salt buildup

edit: Maybe salt buildup with bottom watering isn’t as big of a problem in reality? Interested in everyones thoughts.

Yes, I'm bottom-feeding.

Salt buildup hasn't been a problem for me in practice. Once every two weeks or so I've top-watered, just in case, but I'm not pushing nutrients hard either. I've also seen autopot guides say not to top-water like that at all, arguing any salt buildup will be at the very top of the media and shouldn't affect the plants very much, but flushing it all out to the rest of the plant at once may be more of a problem. Either way, I don't worry about salt buildup at all at this point. If it did start to happen, it'd be very easy to address. (Edit: It definitely did become a problem in later grows, when I got more lax -- probably a good idea to plan on top-watering once a week.)

My theory is that since I'm using small containers, there's much, much less media for salts to concentrate from if they dry out, and the plants' roots are drinking directly from the tray as much as they are from the coco, so any potential buildup would happen very slowly. If it takes longer to matter than the entire grow cycle, it'll get rinsed out before I reuse the coco and I'll never notice.

I've only ever run into issues with salt buildup when I used much larger containers (2-3 gallon fabric pots) with dripper lines, one of the lines got clogged, and only one side of the pot got watered for several days on end while I was traveling. That was still pretty easy to recover from.

 

[TempleTrees]

I generally just top them at the start and that's as far as any training goes the first plant I grew in 1 was for a dinafem competition and I thought this will be an epic fail on my behalf but I find them very easy to grow them as I treat them like any other bigger pot plant and as long as I'm feeding to run off I've also grown lots of coke bottles 2 litre and 1 litre and even a welly boot lol .also thanks for the compliments my friend it means a lot

Do you happen to have a concise grow-guide on your growing method? I would be extremely interested to learn your methods and techniques.

Seems everyone here tops, so maybe I should reconsider not topping? How do you decide when to top?

TYVM x 1000 as always. I learn so much through everyones experiences and observations

 

[TempleTrees]

Yes, I'm bottom-feeding.

Salt buildup hasn't been a problem for me in practice. Once every two weeks or so I've top-watered, just in case, but I'm not pushing nutrients hard either. I've also seen autopot guides say not to top-water like that at all, arguing any salt buildup will be at the very top of the media and shouldn't affect the plants very much, but flushing it all out to the rest of the plant at once may be more of a problem. Either way, I don't worry about salt buildup at all at this point. If it did start to happen, it'd be very easy to address.

My theory is that since I'm using small containers, there's much, much less media for salts to concentrate from if they dry out, and the plants' roots are drinking directly from the tray as much as they are from the coco, so any potential buildup would happen very slowly. If it takes longer to matter than the entire grow cycle, it'll get rinsed out before I reuse the coco and I'll never notice.

I've only ever run into issues with salt buildup when I used much larger containers (2-3 gallon fabric pots) with dripper lines, one of the lines got clogged, and only one side of the pot got watered for several days on end while I was traveling. That was still pretty easy to recover from.

Wow, that’s some great info there about salt buildup probably not being a problem. I’ll try not flushing out then and save myself a huge hassle, TYVM! An Lmao, yeah it seems that anything with droppers or nozzles is doomed to failure over time.

That’s why I’ve always been into low-tech methods such as Hempy or hand watering, personally. I have no experience, but it’s just something I’ve observed with other peoples grows over time.

 

[DCLXVI]

I had a single plant fill an entire 4x4 tent in only a 1.5gal pot.

https://www.autoflower.org/threads/twenty20-mendocino-sparkle-face.87515/page-3

 

[TempleTrees]

I had a single plant fill an entire 4x4 tent in only a 1.5gal pot.

https://www.autoflower.org/threads/twenty20-mendocino-sparkle-face.87515/page-3

Holy Mother of God, that has to be some sort of a record! That’s absolutely ridiculous! I have so much to read up on between everyone’s crazy grows lol.

Looks like you mix your own nutes… Do you think it would be possible to mix up an elemental PPM of approximately N 160-200, P 60, K 60-200? I have some white papers you’d be interested in…

Optimal NPK for Yield: 200N-60P-(60-200?)K
(Likely) Optimal NPK for lower yield but highest THC&Terpene % and healthiest plants: 160N-60P-60K

Optimal N, Quantity vs Quality: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0926669021002806

Optimal N,P,K vs yield: https://www.researchgate.net/profil...urface-Analysis.pdf?origin=publication_detail

Optimal K: https://www.researchgate.net/public...edical-Cannabis.pdf?origin=publication_detail

 

[TempleTrees]

I was playing with @Greenleaf Nutrients Mega Crop 1-Part Nutrient calculator online, and they pretty much nailed an optimal NPK formula according to the above studies.

@ 1.6g/L or 6g/Gallon = 155N-55P-200K

I used 200ppm K as a semi-arbitrary upper limit. Maybe not so much depending on the CEC of a medium though, such as coco. I expect Greenleaf’s 1 part Mega Crop to have great yields and potency.

 

[Cannaficionado]

Do you happen to have a concise grow-guide on your growing method? I would be extremely interested to learn your methods and techniques.

Seems everyone here tops, so maybe I should reconsider not topping? How do you decide when to top?

TYVM x 1000 as always. I learn so much through everyones experiences and observations

Topping us a great way to increase yield while maximizing canopy space. I understand the thought process of growing a plant naturally but in a 2x2 growing more than 1 plant you are probably gonna have to at least lst. Most plants will fill up a 1x1 area pretty quickly during veg. Even autos. I have one gowing right now, 4 weeks in and its about 14" tall and about 1.25ft in diameter. From what Ive seen online when it fully switches to flower its going to explode to about 2 to almost 3 times its height and it will also get a little wider and this is with nothing but 1 top I made about a week ago. It hasnt made the plant any wider just bushier.

If you let them grow naturally most of the main branches will not grow out far from the main stalk and during flower this creates a lot of airflow and humidity issues in the canopy. During flower your plants will be respirating a lot more than veg meaning they will be pumping humidity directly into your canopy. If your buds are packed in without a decent amount of airflow you run the risk of bud rot/mold. Lst helps out with that while maximizing light penetration to the lower parts of your plants.

Topping is pretty low stress for a healthy plant. But there is nothing wrong with letting the plant do its thing. Either way you go you're gonna have to monitor your grow carefully. And if you wanna keep your plants under 3 feet you're gonna have to do some kind of training, or run photos and basically only veg them for a few weeks. Even then they still might wanna stretch above 36" depending on strain. My caramel cream doubled its height in the first month of flower but it was a photo.

Also like it was mention your ventilation can go outside your tent. Just run a line of ducting in one of your top most vents, enough to secure it and put the filter on the end of the fan that blows out. It will be noiser slightly but it allows you to raise your light as high as it possibly can go.