Outdoor in pots

[purple925]

i was wondering if i could grow all the way in a 1 gallon container outdoors iam a lil bit sure its an indica strain or may be mixed with a lil sativa but mostly indica and i used the f.i.m technique so now its growing two heads how much yield and how tall will it grow?? oh iam growing on my roof top so it gets full beautiful sun all day///// and when when its time to flower will street lamps and other outside lighting prevent my plant to flower?

 

[dlively11]

definitely bare min. I transplanted some 2 month olds from 5 gallon into 7's and I'm kicking myself for not getting the 10 gallons.

Years ago I put some 5-6 inch plants into 15 gallon in late june . They got huge and still got root bound needing water all the time. Have found that the 45 gallons are about perfect. 65-100 gallons are even better if you want trees.

 

[dlively11]

i was wondering if i could grow all the way in a 1 gallon container outdoors iam a lil bit sure its an indica strain or may be mixed with a lil sativa but mostly indica and i used the f.i.m technique so now its growing two heads how much yield and how tall will it grow?? oh iam growing on my roof top so it gets full beautiful sun all day///// and when when its time to flower will street lamps and other outside lighting prevent my plant to flower?

You can grow in any sized container but the size of the plant will suffer greatly. If you want it to yield more then a couple ounces and dont want to water it once a day get a larger pot. Do yourself a big favor and get atleast a 3 gallon

 

[ArrOgNt RocKstAR]

Hey, it depends on how big you want your plants to get... If you want to grow outdoors but dont want giant plants grow in 1 - 3 gallon pots.

If you dont care who can see them then go with 10 or more gallon containers

 

[cindysid]

I have a question. When you use the big pots do you fill completely with potting soil, or do you put in something on the bottom for drainage? I don't know if I can afford to fill too many 25 gal pots with fox farm, or MG for that matter!LOL Guess I need a larger budget!

 

[ArrOgNt RocKstAR]

If ya cant afford all the foxfarm, coconut husk/fiber, and peat moss can be bought in large amounts for very cheap. Just mix that in with the foxfarm, and some perlite...

 

[dlively11]

Hey, it depends on how big you want your plants to get... If you want to grow outdoors but dont want giant plants grow in 1 - 3 gallon pots.

If you dont care who can see them then go with 10 or more gallon containers

True but with a larger container you can just prune it and pull branches down and get a much larger yield. 15 gallon pot only takes like one $10 bag of good soil. Had to put 9 bags in each of my 100 gallon pots =?)
Smart pots are dirt cheap and fold up for easy transport. Low profile as well well suited for a shorter plant. That is what I would highly recommend. Might have to spend $20 for both pot and the dirt per plant. Are you doing lots of plants or just a few? Larger pots give a nicer buffer for watering as well. You could always try a few of each.
HTH
GL

 

[dlively11]

I have a question. When you use the big pots do you fill completely with potting soil, or do you put in something on the bottom for drainage? I don't know if I can afford to fill too many 25 gal pots with fox farm, or MG for that matter!LOL Guess I need a larger budget!

I used to but dont anymore. Good soil seems to work great all by itself. Smart pots drain over the entire surface area, you should check them out. My 45 gallons were only $16 so I would think the 10-25 gallon would be around $10.

 

[madodah]

I have a question. When you use the big pots do you fill completely with potting soil, or do you put in something on the bottom for drainage? I don't know if I can afford to fill too many 25 gal pots with fox farm, or MG for that matter!LOL Guess I need a larger budget!

A 25 gallon pot is 3.34 cubic feet. You want air and drainage throughout the grow medium (perlite being the most common and cheap at ~$4/cf in quantity) not just at the bottom. My grow medium (posted above) costs me $12.22 to fill each 25 gallon container.

I don't want to start an argument with Fox Farms fanatics who believe the marketing claims but there are far better options for grow mediums and they don't break budgets.

 

[veggiegardener]

I've always said a well nurtured plant will return 100 to 1 on dollars spent on soil/potting mix.

The bigger the container, the happier the plant AND the grower.

Tom Hill, and Hodge have this figured out.

Your choice!

Personally, I never finish an outdoor plant in less than a fifteen gallon pot.

 

[cindysid]

Thanks for the great information! I have about 8 25 gallon pots left over from a landscape project. I will be starting my plants in 4 inch pots. Should I graduate up to 1 gal, then 3gal, then 25? I think moisture level might be a little more difficult going direct to the larger pot. What is your opinion?

 

[madodah]

Thanks for the great information! I have about 8 25 gallon pots left over from a landscape project. I will be starting my plants in 4 inch pots. Should I graduate up to 1 gal, then 3gal, then 25? I think moisture level might be a little more difficult going direct to the larger pot. What is your opinion?

That's my exact re-potting schedule but it is dictated by space as I start indoors in March and do the final to outside 25 gallon containers in early/middle May. As to planting direct from 4" germinating pots into 25 gallon containers it would, due to cold weather affecting drainage/evaporation, depend on what time of year the transfer took place. Hot weather, no problem.

Think about spending $80 for eight Smart Pots rather than using plastic as black plastic pots absorb an enormous amount of heat and don't air prune roots, which causes them to circle the pot rather than expanding individual mass for more efficient performance.

 

[cindysid]

That's my exact re-potting schedule but it is dictated by space as I start indoors in March and do the final to outside 25 gallon containers in early/middle May. As to planting direct from 4" germinating pots into 25 gallon containers it would, due to cold weather affecting drainage/evaporation, depend on what time of year the transfer took place. Hot weather, no problem.

Think about spending $80 for eight Smart Pots rather than using plastic as black plastic pots absorb an enormous amount of heat and don't air prune roots, which causes them to circle the pot rather than expanding individual mass for more efficient performance.

Thanks for the info. I had thought about the black pots absorbing too much heat and I will definitely look into the Smart Pots!

 

[veggiegardener]

The black plastic pots are fine if you paint them mostly white. If you want to get fancy, you can paint a bit more than half of the pot white. Face the white south in hot weather and North during cooler weather in Spring and Fall.

I like using a small starter pot or peat pot to germinate my seeds, followed by a one gallon pot. Once the plant is sexed, or a foot tall, it's time to go into her final location. At this point you can lean the plant at an angle to help LST, if you want.

At the bottom of this post is a link to my grow thread. On page #38 is a tutorial on a no stress method of transplanting. This method results in a big growth spurt.

Good luck!

 

[dlively11]

Thanks for the great information! I have about 8 25 gallon pots left over from a landscape project. I will be starting my plants in 4 inch pots. Should I graduate up to 1 gal, then 3gal, then 25? I think moisture level might be a little more difficult going direct to the larger pot. What is your opinion?

As soon as you put them outdoors put them in the pot they will stay in. Going from one pot to another to another will slow growth down as they will get root bound multiple times. I have put the same strain plant from a small 4 inch right into a 15 gallon right next to one about 3 times as large that was put in the container at that larger size. The small one caught up and passed it in size ! So if you can go right to the big one. Water around it for a week or two to get the roots to stretch and fill the pot then start heavy waterings.

 

[josh b]

Do you think i could produce more than 8 oz per plant with 80ltr tubs?

I live in the uk but it has been like 30+ every day,and only like 4 days rain so its amayzing weather.

 

[madodah]

Do you think i could produce more than 8 oz per plant with 80ltr tubs?

I live in the uk but it has been like 30+ every day,and only like 4 days rain so its amayzing weather.

To convert it to my US mind, that's 21 gallons or 2.4cf. A lot of questions; are they already started, how tall are they, what strain and normal flowering time for that strain in the UK?

In the Western US with seeds germinated in March, planted outside in the 21 gallon containers at about 2" tall before July in a well-balanced grow medium with a harvest time of late September/early October I'd venture to say yes, you could get 8oz from some plants but regardless of strain in multiple plants (12 up) in my experience there usually seems to be a runt or three. Unless you've been growing for some time and have your strain(s), grow medium and techniques well sorted out, forecasting yield is almost as foolish as attempting to predict the weather for more than a week out.

 

[whiteflour]

If you're going to be planting in big pots let me suggest you buy your soil to match. Meaning don't go buy 1.5cu bags meant to fill flower pots. Buy a 3.8cu brick such as promix that you would get for trees or commercial gardening, you may have to have a nursery or somewhere order for you, but you'll save money. Then you can go buy yourself some big bags of amendments; manure, guano, castings, coco, lime, meals, etc.

There's really no need to have to spend more than a couple bucks a gallon. If you're going to be buying bulk quantities, make sure you're taking advantage of bulk prices.

 

[dlively11]

Do you think i could produce more than 8 oz per plant with 80ltr tubs?

I live in the uk but it has been like 30+ every day,and only like 4 days rain so its amayzing weather.

I did 12 dry ounces of Blueberry in a 15 gallon container. Lots of water and nutes though. Was only about 10 inches tall when I put it outside in late June.

 

[Antny420]

I just transplanted a haze skunk today that had been in a 5 g bucket since 5/30 and it was so full of roots it was insane.Im gonna move them all to 18g Rubbermaids..