Can you start your plant in a 20gal pot?

keysmachine

Well-Known Member
Just wondering. i've constructed my growbox which is just a crude version of the rubbermaid growbox i got 6 cfls. I'm going to want to grow one plant at a time so 6 cfls is more than enough. Especially with the lumen calculation.

ANYWAYS

i've read a good guide on how to grow ganja but that method has me putting a seed into a plastic party cup and letting it sprout then after a little bi transfer it to its final resting place.

Can i just SKIP that whole transferring step and just start in say a 20 gallon pot? By the way i'm going to be using autoflower feminized seeds. Because space is a concern and i heard those are the best simply because they stay small. This will be personal use so i'm not interested in mad tyte yields
 

HomeGrown&Smoked

Active Member
With autoflower it is best to plant them in the pot they will be maturing in. Reg plants are better to transplant because flowering goes off the light cycle, autoflowers go off the plants age. In short, that plant will only be alive for 10 weeks or so, and if it spends 5 days in transplant shock that can greatly affect your yield. If you have it in the same container throughout the grow, no shock, more you will harvest.
 

keysmachine

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the quick response, i was hoping to eliminate the extra step. Another question i was listening to a guy that usually sticks with autoflowering plants simply because he's lazy (must be the weed) :P

ANYWAY

anyways as you have stated he says the same thing in that it really doesn't matter the light cycle. be it 12/12 or 24 But to conserve energy at his place he just goes 12/12 and it gives him a decent supply to last him a few months. Does he carry any validity in his claim?
 

khm916

Active Member
Why would you want 20 gallon pots for a plant that will only be a few feet tall. You will be costing yourself more in ferts and soil then you need to. Also they dont need that much space. I would use 5 gallon pots.
 

khm916

Active Member
Oh the other part...you start in smaller pots (i start in 1 gallons) so that you can make a nice root ball you dont get that when you go straight to a big pot.
 

keysmachine

Well-Known Member
Why would you want 20 gallon pots for a plant that will only be a few feet tall. You will be costing yourself more in ferts and soil then you need to. Also they dont need that much space. I would use 5 gallon pots.
Thanks for the insight i hadn't actually bought the pot yet so i'll make sure to get a 5 gallon one. any special type of pot i should get?
 

upthearsenal

Well-Known Member
20 gal? really? that seems like overkill at least... i think you should be fine with 1/4 that size. i've used 3 gal pot for autos and have had amazing results.
 

khm916

Active Member
Nope any pot should work even home depot buckets with holes drilled in the bottom work well. The 5 gallon homer buckets are cheaper then there 5 gallon plant pots.
 

HomeGrown&Smoked

Active Member
It might not be a bad idea to run them at 12/12. The tought is that the plant will detect the lower amounts of light and start trying to add more buds because it thinks the growing season is coming to a close. I grew mine in 18/6 and got a fairly decent yield (about an ounce per plant) for a 4" rockwool cube, but I didn't try a 12 cycle to compare results.
 

khm916

Active Member
Dont run 12/12 they want more like then that to flower and yield well....i bet you would get roughly 2/3 the yield if you ran 12/12
 

HomeGrown&Smoked

Active Member
2 and a half might not be enough space because you have to account for the container the plant is in and the height of the light. Of ccourse, if you tie down the branches, then that should be enough space, you just don't want to burn the tops.
 

keysmachine

Well-Known Member
yeah i never thought about the container LOL!

but i went ahead and ordered some seeds from nirvana 5 of them. lets see if the man kicks me in the nuts or allows my purchase to come to me. I got some auto flowering bubblegum i'll have to research how to tie branches down. Any suggestions?
 

Spanishfly

Well-Known Member
You can start in anything you want but roots of these autoflower midgets won´t come anywhere near to filling 20 gallons.
 
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