Bucket/ net pot??

What size bucket/ net pot would I want if I'm looking to achieve plants of about 3 feet high? Any help or tips would be great.

I use 2" pot only and have some strains that hit 5-6'.

superstoner1 said:

I use 2" pot only and have some strains that hit 5-6'.

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Been trying to do this myself, how do you get such a large plant in just 2" pots with collars?

All my plants that are a foot or larger fall over.

I try and push the pots snug in the hole but they just slide back out and the plant falls over again.

In the aero rails the plants support each other. In buckets i tie them to the bucket using pull to length twist tie.

What size buckets are you using when your strains hit 5-6'? And are they sativa or indica?

I'm using a 6" net pot bucket lid right now and my girl is ~3-4' tall. It's all about training your plant in what u want her to do. Oops, also forgot to mention I'm using a 25 gallon container during flowering. During veg I grew her in a 3.5 gal bubbleboy single shot.

jonboy30 said:

View attachment 2763021I'm using a 6" net pot bucket lid right now and my girl is ~3-4' tall. It's all about training your plant in what u want her to do. Oops, also forgot to mention I'm using a 25 gallon container during flowering. During veg I grew her in a 3.5 gal bubbleboy single shot.

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That things massive bro, so what if I used a 6" net pot in a 5 gal bucket the whole way through? Would this work? Cause I think that would keep it around the height I want it. I was thinking of setting up a scrog.

beginner420 said:

That things massive bro, so what if I used a 6" net pot in a 5 gal bucket the whole way through? Would this work? Cause I think that would keep it around the height I want it. I was thinking of setting up a scrog.

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Here's my theory...instead of growing multiple plants, I devote my time and energy into one single plant. A plant that is 3-4' tall will easily consume 1-2 gallons per day. This requires more frequent res changes, fluctuations in nutes/ph, more work for you. I'd say a 5 gallon bucket is sufficient for a 2' plant. Keep in mind that a 5 gallon res does not have a 5 gallon nutrient solution capacity while the plants root system is submerged. You're going to be kicking yourself in the ass and be surprised as to how much work it's going to be. So, tbh IMO, 5 gallon reservoirs are not suitable for the size of the plants u wish to grow.

Jonboy, good to see your handy work. I got the 6" net pots, yeah there huge so they want fall, plus I scrog, so it does not matter. But didn't a bunch of folks say that they get better side root development with the smaller net pots??? I got mostly bottom focused roots, I'll take a pic when I am done this run, as the scrog keeps me from getting in.

sbirch said:

Jonboy, good to see your handy work. I got the 6" net pots, yeah there huge so they want fall, plus I scrog, so it does not matter. But didn't a bunch of folks say that they get better side root development with the smaller net pots??? I got mostly bottom focused roots, I'll take a pic when I am done this run, as the scrog keeps me from getting in.

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I catch what you're pitching there sbirch...my theory has me keeping the nutrient solution level about 1" past the bottom of the net pot (so that some of the hydroton is submerged). The hydroton is porous and retains moisture well. There's sufficient nutrient and water available so long you're consistently topping off your res keeping it at an ideal level. When I top off my res, I only use tap water and when doing so, I pour the water at the stem of the plant as it makes me feel like I am rinsing any extraneous salt/nute buildup from the rootzone/hydroton. I hope this makes any sense to anyone reading this. I just try to keep things as simple as possible. Less work, less over thinking=greater yields, healthier plants=stoned ass farmer :0)

jonboy30 said:

I catch what you're pitching there sbirch...my theory has me keeping the nutrient solution level about 1" past the bottom of the net pot (so that some of the hydroton is submerged). The hydroton is porous and retains moisture well. There's sufficient nutrient and water available so long you're consistently topping off your res keeping it at an ideal level. When I top off my res, I only use tap water and when doing so, I pour the water at the stem of the plant as it makes me feel like I am rinsing any extraneous salt/nute buildup from the rootzone/hydroton. I hope this makes any sense to anyone reading this. I just try to keep things as simple as possible. Less work, less over thinking=greater yields, healthier plants=stoned ass farmer :0)

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How wide is the plant you have in that picture? I was thinking about buying the 2' x 2' 1\2 x 5'11 Gorilla grow tent but wasnt sure if it would be big enough

I use 3" but would recommend 5" or 6" for your size plant. i would never use 2" my stalks are around 1" base
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jonboy30 said:

Here's my theory...instead of growing multiple plants, I devote my time and energy into one single plant. A plant that is 3-4' tall will easily consume 1-2 gallons per day. This requires more frequent res changes, fluctuations in nutes/ph, more work for you. I'd say a 5 gallon bucket is sufficient for a 2' plant. Keep in mind that a 5 gallon res does not have a 5 gallon nutrient solution capacity while the plants root system is submerged. You're going to be kicking yourself in the ass and be surprised as to how much work it's going to be. So, tbh IMO, 5 gallon reservoirs are not suitable for the size of the plants u wish to grow.

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Also if you use a big net basket, subtract more water from your res. I use 2" net pots... you don't need hydroton in DWC but you do have to use twisty ties or tomato cage or bamboo or scrog or something for support if you go without media.

Have any of you tried several sized net pots? I found with 8" pots with hydroton the roots got a slower start than with 3" pots with hydroton and 2" pots with no media and neoprene collars are even faster. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this or if it was just something I was doing.

With a 2" netpot i can alwayys start with 5gal in the bucket and have longer res life and stability. Netpots do not limit plant size, i also will have 1"+ stalks.

Malevolence, I think it was you and some folks talking about root growth/lateral root growth etc with respect to size?? Can't remember if it was you or someone else? But anyway, I guess it seems to make sense. My theory is that the drier the root zone, i.e. the longer the bottom of net, the thicker and less amount of roots from sides etc. I would venture to say that is why aero does so well, high moisture and O2, where DWC submersion of roots 100% does not really work well so we keep the level a bit lower than submerged. Just a theory!

I don't really worry about water level below net pot... I just top up and in a few days the water level starts getting low and I have to top up again. The water level is always changing, at least in flower. But you are right: I think you need an air gap in DWC because there is not enough DO in the water to provide 100% of the O[SUB]2 [/SUB]​roots need.

I went from 3" net pots with rockwool/hydroton to 8" net pots that hold like 1 gallon of hydroton. The root growth was super slow and like 4-5 weeks from seed I had to top water so basically it wasn't DWC at all that whole time. It was just watering a basket of hydroton which was a pain in the ass to do with 6 or 8 buckets. I thought all the extra air contact in the hydroton would create explosive root growth and then fat tap roots would ball up in the res and infuse the plant with highly oxygenated nute water. It did not turn out that way. I have switched to 2" collars with no media the past 2 times and get fast growth from the start because nothing is faster than putting the roots directly in the water (other than aero) which is the whole point of DWC. The hydroton is just for support which you can get from a scrog, wire, etc.