GreenthumbUPMI
Active Member
I imagine I'll get answers all over the map (but trending to LARGE) - but for next year I'm trying 3 plants outside, and am considering 30 or 50 gallon pots. Ideas?
Pot size?
- Thread starter GreenthumbUPMI
- Start date
ganga gurl420
Well-Known Member
If you want bigger yields go with the bigger pots.
Joedank
Well-Known Member
As big as you can afford
Sir Napsalot
Well-Known Member
It depends on if you want to be able to move them
Romulanman
Well-Known Member
If you aren't planning on moving them and you want big fucking plants, get 100-150 gal smart pots. Get your self a few commercial bags of perlite, soil of some kind, and a few bricks of coco coir. This is what I used time and time again. Its a lot of work with the dirt and mixing but it will produce big.
GreenthumbUPMI
Active Member
Thanks! About what I was expecting, lol. Producing compost right now, planning 3-4 plants with about 5-7 gallons of compost, 20 gallons of bottomland soil, and up to 10 gallons of peat moss, perlite, and worm castings. Now if the bugs will leave me alone....
GreenthumbUPMI
Active Member
Yeah, moving to avoid the snowplow is a DEFINITE requirement. Thanks!
GreenthumbUPMI
Active Member
Yeah, preparing compost & have a 4-5 c.y. pile of "bottomland" soil, plus perlite, worm castings and potting soil. This hobby is addictive - unlike the finished product, lol...
GreenthumbUPMI
Active Member
Yup. As expected, lol! If I don't buy the pots this fall it kinda depends on how much compost I can produce before "The Freeze" (which could happen in early November up here)....
dunphy
Well-Known Member
I think my soil mix cost me about $450 or so total for everything, the fabric pots 100gals were a 6 pack for like 65 bucks I think, took a while of searching on amazon but they're great quality just as good as the smart pot brand for 40 each or whatever they're at these days.
Didnt have enough compost finished in time, but had hundreds of pounds of worm castings finished, I only added about 50lbs at first, and top dress and make teas with the rest.
The main part of the soil is about 2 cu. yds of the best quality compost I could get delivered, ran me a little under $150 with delivery IIRC. Then I added I think 4 or 6 bags of commercial sized (4-6 cu ft each bag) perlite. I did throw two 11lb. bricks of coco peat in there too but I dont think it made any difference, wouldnt waste the money. From there I forget the amounts but normal sized boxes of down to earth organics, maybe 200 bucks or so on that stuff and other random additives like mycorrhizal fungi and azomite and stuff. For down to earth products, I think it was fish bone meal,, kelp meal, crab meal, alfalfa meal, and Im probably forgetting others as well.. Once mixed it sat for about a month or so before transplant. The soil will be saved at the end of season, root balls will stay in there and decompose (hopefully add some beneficial root exudates to the next crop or something) and then will be re-amended and sit until next year where Ill probably double it, and go for 200-300 gal pots next year if I can move my location to somewhere with full sun.
But anyway, no need to spend a ridiculous amount on soil and shit.. especially small bags of soil marketed toward weed growers....
If I had the time to finish out the compost this would be even cheaper... Not to mention this setup requires no further nutes added during feed... just straight water... and i do preventative spraying weekly for bugs but no feeding of the plants at least. Then a couple weeks before flower Ill top dress with a bunch of earth worm castings (again, home made) and worms to the pots. and that is all the plants will require until harvest, no need to flush.
The bacteria in the soil will handle all the work, you just have to make sure you keep up with watering, bugs and WPM/diseases and molds.
Easiest way Ive found to grow... over the years as Ive learned more and more Ive become way more hands off.. theres no need to use marketed synthetic nutes when you can get better results for free.. and with less work..
Same line of thought for my experiment of not topping vs. topping this year... I have a sneaking suspicion that natural xmas tree style no topping will yield the same if not more, than a topped plant grown outdoors, and have better airflow..
Humans arent used to being on a time scale as plants, we usually dont have the patience, and want to intervene so often and so quickly, we want instant results.. I feel like natures thousands of years of evolution has probably figured a better way to maximize growth than we have in a few short years since discovering marijuana. We have been selecting for quality/size so we do have to help them along and make sure the environment stays safe, and add support for the extra bud size, but for the most part Ive learned I get better results being more hands off of a lot of things.
With that being said, when growing indoors, topping and flattening your canopy seems more beneficial since your light source is fixed in one position above the plant usually, also the height restrictions most people have indoors.... But when growing outdoors, and the sun moves across the sky, I feel like the natural xmas tree style gets better exposure, better air flow, and will have more surface area of the buds exposed to the air so hopefully they will dry out quicker in the mornings and after rains.
/end of morning smoke ramble.
Didnt have enough compost finished in time, but had hundreds of pounds of worm castings finished, I only added about 50lbs at first, and top dress and make teas with the rest.
The main part of the soil is about 2 cu. yds of the best quality compost I could get delivered, ran me a little under $150 with delivery IIRC. Then I added I think 4 or 6 bags of commercial sized (4-6 cu ft each bag) perlite. I did throw two 11lb. bricks of coco peat in there too but I dont think it made any difference, wouldnt waste the money. From there I forget the amounts but normal sized boxes of down to earth organics, maybe 200 bucks or so on that stuff and other random additives like mycorrhizal fungi and azomite and stuff. For down to earth products, I think it was fish bone meal,, kelp meal, crab meal, alfalfa meal, and Im probably forgetting others as well.. Once mixed it sat for about a month or so before transplant. The soil will be saved at the end of season, root balls will stay in there and decompose (hopefully add some beneficial root exudates to the next crop or something) and then will be re-amended and sit until next year where Ill probably double it, and go for 200-300 gal pots next year if I can move my location to somewhere with full sun.
But anyway, no need to spend a ridiculous amount on soil and shit.. especially small bags of soil marketed toward weed growers....
If I had the time to finish out the compost this would be even cheaper... Not to mention this setup requires no further nutes added during feed... just straight water... and i do preventative spraying weekly for bugs but no feeding of the plants at least. Then a couple weeks before flower Ill top dress with a bunch of earth worm castings (again, home made) and worms to the pots. and that is all the plants will require until harvest, no need to flush.
The bacteria in the soil will handle all the work, you just have to make sure you keep up with watering, bugs and WPM/diseases and molds.
Easiest way Ive found to grow... over the years as Ive learned more and more Ive become way more hands off.. theres no need to use marketed synthetic nutes when you can get better results for free.. and with less work..
Same line of thought for my experiment of not topping vs. topping this year... I have a sneaking suspicion that natural xmas tree style no topping will yield the same if not more, than a topped plant grown outdoors, and have better airflow..
Humans arent used to being on a time scale as plants, we usually dont have the patience, and want to intervene so often and so quickly, we want instant results.. I feel like natures thousands of years of evolution has probably figured a better way to maximize growth than we have in a few short years since discovering marijuana. We have been selecting for quality/size so we do have to help them along and make sure the environment stays safe, and add support for the extra bud size, but for the most part Ive learned I get better results being more hands off of a lot of things.
With that being said, when growing indoors, topping and flattening your canopy seems more beneficial since your light source is fixed in one position above the plant usually, also the height restrictions most people have indoors.... But when growing outdoors, and the sun moves across the sky, I feel like the natural xmas tree style gets better exposure, better air flow, and will have more surface area of the buds exposed to the air so hopefully they will dry out quicker in the mornings and after rains.
/end of morning smoke ramble.
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GreenthumbUPMI
Active Member
Awesome! Thanks for the comprehensive reply. I'm saving it in my "how-to" folder. While I'd love to see how much I could produce in 3-4 100-gallon pots, I'm not Carlos Escobar, lol. ONE of those would satisfy me, my family members, and all my friends I bet! I'll probably go with 30-gallon pots this first time, and can produce enough compost ("perking" all winter) for them. Add in lots of organic-rich black dirt, perlite, worm castings, and potting soil - and I'll see what I get. Also planning a two-plant hydro experiment this winter.
Suggestions on bug sprays I need to have next summer?
Suggestions on bug sprays I need to have next summer?
ganga gurl420
Well-Known Member
See this yr I even did it cheaper by getting a roll of chicken wire and garden fabric. Cost me like 30 bucks to make 14 100 gallon fabric pots.
And you have the right idea like me....it costs next to nothing to do it the way we do. It's the best way!
ganga gurl420
Well-Known Member
The best method is a preventative. Lady bugs and green lacewing larve is an awesome start. Weekly neem ..... if you have caterpillars using bt helps.
GreenthumbUPMI
Active Member
Thanks! Noting it all. Have Neem Oil for indoor grows, but only bug problem has been Fungus gnats (which I "encouraged" by daily watering - ANOTHER MISTAKE, lesson learned)...
ganga gurl420
Well-Known Member
Beneficial nematodes in the soil helps greatly.... infect I added them to my soil before I even transplanted.....they are amazing
dunphy
Well-Known Member
For sure! I swear these nutrient companies want this information suppressed..... Its crazy how much the weed growing scene is overrun with overpriced shitty synth. nutes with a cool looking label... They make a killing off of this idea and all it does is burn peoples plants, require tons more work and make the barrier to entry for learning how to grow so much more confusing and expensive than it has to be...and above all.. for arguably worse quality.
I saw your grow at the beginning of this year and knew you had the right idea making your own pots... I was thinking of doing the same actually, but I had thought of just buying a roll of felt, the landscape fabric sounds like itd actually provide better airflow though... Im def doing that next year. What was the size mesh of the chicken wire you used? Do you notice theres a limit to how big you can go before the weight starts distorting the chicken wire or bursting apart from the weight? Like lets say I wanted to make a big 400-600 gal pot 8-10 feet diameter, with some stakes and the chicken wire (probably the half inch squares I would think?) You think that would work? Also, do you put the fabric on the bottom as well or just leave it open to allow the roots to penetrate the ground? Thanks
dunphy
Well-Known Member
@GreenthumbUPMI Definitely these, Im a big fan of the yellow sticky traps too, they work well, I got a bunch that I check daily and I've only had to help one lady bug out of the stickytrap all year, the rest were earwigs, and mostly fungus gnats getting caught up.
A fan on your plants helps with the gnats that hang out on the tops of plants too, they dont like a strong breeze.
For any ants and earwigs I use bowls with canola oil and soy sauce mixed(1:1)... put em out near the ants main area and the next day they have hundreds of ants floating in there. A cut up piece of hose laid down and emptied daily will attract earwig/pincher bugs to hide inside the hose, then you can just empty them away from your plants or kill them. A bowl with old beer will attract slugs.
You can take Japanese rose beetles off your plants, during the hottest time of day they're active, and then make a tea with them I heard.. (dont use the jap.beetle pheromone traps youll just attract way more from neighboring yards)
My favorites are neem (gives me a small annoying rash though..) B.t., and H202 for preventative spraying, Also Diatomaceous Earth for any soft bodied insects. Compost and worm teas will help boost beneficial bacteria and fungi also, which will allow the plants to be able to defend from any sort of infestation/disease/viruses/etc.
Lady bugs, green lacewigs, spiders!, bunch of beneficial nematodes, dragonflies, preying mantis, etc.
Try to learn what bugs are beneficial for your area, and what their larvae look like... and when you inspect your plants you can allow those to live and promote their colonies to grow in your plot. Spiders are great to leave around the plants, they handle most of my pest protection.
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GreenthumbUPMI
Active Member
Alright. I'll tolerate spiders until they try to GET me - then all bets are off. LOL
dunphy
Well-Known Member
Lol, I talk to them every once in a while, sometimes you gotta 'take em out' though... Like Ill legit be squishing it and say:
"Listen, I let you hang around here and eat, but you cant be making your web in my leaves, curling them up and hiding in there... You can use anything else around you, but not my plants..."
*SQUISH*
"But you've ruined it..."
*Wipe spider guts in an open area to send a message to the rest of them... *
"Sorry buddy, hopefully your brothers and sisters will learn from your mistakes..."
Does that make me crazy? (seriously wondering... lol)