How often do i water a 5 gallon pot outdoors, after 3 months of veg??

pabloesqobar said:

Growing in raised beds in the Central Valley is completely different. That's cool you have very large, successful grows. The person asking the question lives in the SF Bay area, and is growing in a 5 gallon pot. I grow in pots in San Diego, which is a better comparison and upon which I based my advice.

Click to expand...

I'm just trying to cover the bases on what can happen, using small pots with a plant that likes SPACE.

The first plant I ever saw was seven feet tall in a ONE gallon pot. My friend got two ounces, in 1969.

He is a farmer's son and knows what a plant needs.

I've taken many plants to full maturity in one to five gallon pots. Some years, I can mostly get away with watering every other day.

Other years it's more work.

A couple shots of some recently matured in one gallon pots...

darkdestruction420 said:

I will agree it sounds like alot, but they have a more extreme climate apparently. I've seen what veggiegardener can do and what he has done and if he says he needs to water his monsters that often I'm inclined to believe him.

Click to expand...

Thank you!

Are you a friend from elsewhere?

pinkjackyle said:

hydroton will not help much ,mulch is what needs 2 b dressed on top . watering those 5 gal pots with big plants in them will require a soaking for about 30 min . when u water/feed set the 5 gal in a slightly larger bucket to catch run off so it can sit in it and soak it up like a sponge then pour the run off that it doesn't soak up back into the 5 gal and let it drain like normal , if u dont the water just rushes thru and only a partial amount of soil gets wet resulting in watering more often .

Click to expand...

A lot of experience in that post.

On those hot days when I've had to be away for more than 24 hours, I'd set each potted plant in a cake tin. An inch or two of water in that reservoir will give you an extra 12 hours during a hot spell.

This works occasionally, but will eventually begin drowning roots, done too often.

pinkjackyle said:

hydroton will not help much ,mulch is what needs 2 b dressed on top . watering those 5 gal pots with big plants in them will require a soaking for about 30 min . when u water/feed set the 5 gal in a slightly larger bucket to catch run off so it can sit in it and soak it up like a sponge then pour the run off that it doesn't soak up back into the 5 gal and let it drain like normal , if u dont the water just rushes thru and only a partial amount of soil gets wet resulting in watering more often .

Click to expand...

Thats exactly the problem I'm trying to address. So you don't think Hydroton would do much? Reason I was thinking to use hydroton is because it's recommended as an outdoor potting mulch for exactly this reason by jorge cervantes in the grow book. What kind of mulch would you recommend?

Jorge knows his stuff.(I think he was reaching with that recommendation, or has ties with its manufacturer.)

I'm not familiar with hydroton.(I looked it up. Hydroton is really designed for hydro grows and shouldn't be mixed with soil. They never go away, and provide nothing to a plant in soil.)

I just think an organic mulch provides as much water retention AND as it breaks down, nutrients.

Leave room in the pot for two or three inches of organic mulch. I like grass clippings, but don't let them touch the main stem.

veggiegardener said:

I'm just trying to cover the bases on what can happen, using small pots with a plant that likes SPACE.

The first plant I ever saw was seven feet tall in a ONE gallon pot. My friend got two ounces, in 1969.

He is a farmer's son and knows what a plant needs.

I've taken many plants to full maturity in one to five gallon pots. Some years, I can mostly get away with watering every other day.

Other years it's more work.

A couple shots of some recently matured in one gallon pots...

Click to expand...

Wow, nice plants. What were those? Kinda have the shape of a blue haze grow that I followed on this site. I've seen some awesome results from people with plants that have a small root ball/structure. Just check out the party cup thread.

pabloesqobar said:

Wow, nice plants. What were those? Kinda have the shape of a blue haze grow that I followed on this site. I've seen some awesome results from people with plants that have a small root ball/structure. Just check out the party cup thread.

Click to expand...

The 1st pic is of a cross of Durban and a strain called Chronix(different from "Chronic"). This was a fortuitous cross which far outshines both parent strains. Since the initial cross, I've been trying to stabilize the flavor, which in some individuals is very much like the taste of Starburst candy. Starburst will be its name, once stabilized.

The second is an F2 Celticberry, which originates at Celtic Stone seeds.

The Celtic Stone lines produce some of the heaviest producing plants I've seen.

I'm also looking into growing a few in five gallon buckets, but I wouldn't be able to get out to water everyday. What if you dig a hole the size of the bucket and put some gravel at the bottom of the hole for drainage along with some mulch on top for water retention. I figure this may give it a few days in between watering's depending on the weather. I want them in buckets because they will need to move out of the cornfield if the farmer needs to pick his corn in the fall. I have an alternate location for them to finish if need be. So would burying them help lower the frequency of watering or is this a waste of time?

If you put the pot in a hole and mulch, I think you'll be able to go three days in average conditions(no rain, but in the eighties).

If you go to that much trouble, why not just plant them?

veggiegardener said:

Thank you!

Are you a friend from elsewhere?

Click to expand...

kind of, lol, im in the midwest by lake michigan so my climate is alot milder, and really humid some years.

veggiegardener said:

Jorge knows his stuff.(I think he was reaching with that recommendation, or has ties with its manufacturer.)

I'm not familiar with hydroton.(I looked it up. Hydroton is really designed for hydro grows and shouldn't be mixed with soil. They never go away, and provide nothing to a plant in soil.)

I just think an organic mulch provides as much water retention AND as it breaks down, nutrients.

Leave room in the pot for two or three inches of organic mulch. I like grass clippings, but don't let them touch the main stem.

Click to expand...

hydrton should be good for a water retension mulch I would think (not using it to mix with soil or nutrient value), it is very porous and holds water very well. Thus it should keep most water vapor from escaping. I mean if it's used as a medium for plants it should work as a mulch right?

darkdestruction420 said:

kind of, lol, im in the midwest by lake michigan so my climate is alot milder, and really humid some years.

Click to expand...

I grew up in the Grand Rapids area (Grandville and Hudsonville). Not too far from the lake. I miss that huge fresh water lake. I've been out there when it's been huge mounds of ice glaciers when it was frozen over.

veggiegardener said:

If you put the pot in a hole and mulch, I think you'll be able to go three days in average conditions(no rain, but in the eighties).

If you go to that much trouble, why not just plant them?

Click to expand...

I know, it's tons of work, but for a good reason! I plan to plant most in the ground like normal, but where i live the farmers use up all the open ground, so It is very hard to find a spot to grow my plants. Growing them in buckets gives me the flexibility to plant them out in the corn fields and then remove them to a different spot to finish when the corn is picked out of the fields in the fall.

veggiegardener said:

You're probably going, "WTF?"
[...]
A bigger pot is insurance against a bunch of bad stuff.

A fifteen gallon pot full of wet soil can weigh 70 pounds. A thief would have a hard time carrying it away.

Click to expand...

FWIW the weight of your soil/size of your pot will not increase your security - it will be just as easy to chop down the plant and steal regardless. I'm just sayin lol...thieves don't carry away pots of soil lol...