Photoperiod Transplant question when using large pots i.e.; 10 and 20 gallon

[IraqJack]

Question: When germing in a solo cup from seed and the finishing pot size is 10 gallon or 20 gallon, is it better to a.) transfer directly into the fishing pot, or b.) veg in a 3 or 5 gallon pot, then transfer into their finishing pot.

Please school me. I have only been using 2-5 gallon pots in the past to finish in so I'm curious what the standard is when using these larger sizes.

I figure the benefits of an intermediary pot would be that I could veg them in the same tent, so less electric, less chance of over watering while waiting for root development going from a solo cup to a 10 or 20 gallon pot, less salt/nutrient build-up I'm assuming because it's getting transferred into fresh media in the final pot.

Anyways looking for a guru who uses these size pots that has a proven method to share.

If not I guess I'll be the guinea pig. Lol. The plan will be to transplant one seedling directly, into a 10 gallon. The other I'll transplant into a 3 gallon, that will finish in a 20 gallon pot. Then I'll document my thoughts and observations in my grow journal that I have going.

 

[neurotree]

Hey man,

I have zero experience with pots that size @912GreenSkell might be able to offer some help. Lately from solos though, I've just been cutting off the bottom before the plant is getting bound and putting it in the final container (5 gal) about 2/3 of the way down. I'm sure folks have different ways to do it but I'd say as long as you water the plant and not the pot you'll be okay

 

[G.Leave]

Hey man,

I have zero experience with pots that size @912GreenSkell might be able to offer some help. Lately from solos though, I've just been cutting off the bottom before the plant is getting bound and putting it in the final container (5 gal) about 2/3 of the way down. I'm sure folks have different ways to do it but I'd say as long as you water the plant and not the pot you'll be okay

I havent used pots that size either, but i would highly recommend the instatransplant pots for an application like this...not only will they be perfect transplants, but you will also be able to monitor the roots for development and moisture levels.

 

[IraqJack]

Alright cool. I've seen pics of grows where they do that with the cup. Is the reason for this to water in the circumference of the solo cup to get a nice cone of water to the roots? Also in your experience is it less stressful then just pulling it out sand castle style, and transplanting without the cup?

 

[IraqJack]

@912GreenSkell, those pots are definitely very interesting. I'm going to pick a couple up for next cycle to try for sure.

 

[IraqJack]

I also wanted to add something here. The reason I'm trying out large pots is because after seeing some other grow results where the grower was using 7 gallon pots through 20 gallon and they now use 20 gallon pots throughout (but they grow on a commercial scale). I have aspirations to grow on a large scale so I wanted to gain some experience, test these larger pots for my space to try and minimize the number of plants I need to get a particular yield.

 

[G.Leave]

Alright cool. I've seen pics of grows where they do that with the cup. Is the reason for this to water in the circumference of the solo cup to get a nice cone of water to the roots? Also in your experience is it less stressful then just pulling it out sand castle style, and transplanting without the cup?

It does give a good target to water yes, but i think the main real advantage is you dont have to wait until the roots are so well formed to do a transplant. The insta pots i just made by cutting windows out of the sides and sliding a second pot as an outer shell.
I also do it using cups for indoor autos to save space but also for purposely stunting larger strains so they fit in my smaller space.

 

[neurotree]

Alright cool. I've seen pics of grows where they do that with the cup. Is the reason for this to water in the circumference of the solo cup to get a nice cone of water to the roots? Also in your experience is it less stressful then just pulling it out sand castle style, and transplanting without the cup?

If you're going from seed, as long as you don't damage the tap root -it is wayyy less stressful than trying to freeball the rootball but I'm also a klutz. As far as watering, I water the cup when I first transplant to let the roots start to grow out then I water outside the cup further and further away in concentric circles to encourage the roots to extend for the water. The trick is not letting the outside of the pot dry out completely while not saturating the medium in between waterings.

 

[G.Leave]

I also wanted to add something here. The reason I'm trying out large pots is because after seeing some other grow results where the grower was using 7 gallon pots through 20 gallon and they now use 20 gallon pots throughout (but they grow on a commercial scale). I have aspirations to grow on a large scale so I wanted to gain some experience, test these larger pots for my space to try and minimize the number of plants I need to get a particular yield.

If you are looking for monsters, check this guide out. Much is geared toward outdoor, but the training techniques could work very well in an indoor setup. https://www.autoflower.org/threads/...-maximizing-outdoor-photoperiod-plants.59210/

 

[IraqJack]

Thank you guys so much for these tips. I live in an area where well.... there aren't any peers that I can ask advice of lol. I've been growing for almost 3 years but it seems there is always a new problem to solve. Which is why I love this hobby.