Plant Moisture Stress - Symptoms and Solutions

Uncle Ben said:

They need a smaller pot.

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Yes sir!

If someone....not me, but someone like me....was to be a stubborn ass and not put them in a smaller pot, would watering them more often help until the roots reached the bottom?

Of course, I'm going to put them in smaller pots tomorrow.....just curious.

I know you've heard it before, but I've been reading non-stop about growing weed for the last month....my wife thinks I've become totally obsessed (she's right) and with all the books and thousands of pages on the NET, I'd have to say your thread here is worth 80% of the other stuff out there.

Had I found this first, I'd have saved untold amounts of time.

Thank You!

Katatawnic said:

Quite the opposite; it's very easy to over water when using a pot too large.

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Even in perlite? No soil, just perlite and a little vermiculite.

Katatawnic said:

Can't answer that, as I've not used just perlite. I am now, however, using coco in my newer pots, and it's "virtually impossible" to over water. (Many say impossible, but nothing is. lol)

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That's what they say about perlite too....Uncle Ben has the right answer...smaller pot to start means the roots will reach the moisture faster, less stress to the plant.....happy all around.

DocBud said:

Yes sir!

If someone....not me, but someone like me....was to be a stubborn ass and not put them in a smaller pot, would watering them more often help until the roots reached the bottom?

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Not sure how that plays into anything. Overwatering is more of a concern in large pots. Shouldn't have a problem in perlite and vermiculite, all depends on the grade. You need to use a hydroponic food that contains 16 essential elements.

I know you've heard it before, but I've been reading non-stop about growing weed for the last month....

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You should be reading non-stop about what makes a plant tick, regular plants. Weed is weed, give it the same treatment that you'd give an indoor grown tomato , pepper, ficus, etc. For example, my basic principles written on page one applies to most plant material with the exception of stuff like cactus, epiphytes, etc. There's way too much useless hocus pocus on the internet regarding growing cannabis.

my wife thinks I've become totally obsessed (she's right) and with all the books and thousands of pages on the NET, I'd have to say your thread here is worth 80% of the other stuff out there.

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Thanks. I just try to shoot past the hoopla and go straight common sense regarding all of the factors involved in growing indoor plants.

Had I found this first, I'd have saved untold amounts of time.

Thank You!

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You're welcome, and.....

Good luck,
UB

Very helpful, thank you very much

thanx vary nice lots of help

hey UB does a bigger pot = bigger flowers ??? I been wondering for a LONG time , i just never knew who to ask... (that would possibly know) i mean i know what im doin but i just wondered if there is a restriction on small pots, I know roots are just as important as water but does that mean smaller pots dont let the roots get to their FULL potential ? My own opinion and experience says pot size does not matter (specially after i just seen a Gypsy monster in a shot glass) But i think its a really good question.

ps Thank you for being there for all of us UB ........ you have been an Asset to site !

DocBud said:

Even in perlite? No soil, just perlite and a little vermiculite.

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Just perlite and vermiculite only ? hows that goin ? thats kinda hydro aint it ?

wyteboi said:

Just perlite and vermiculite only ? hows that goin ? thats kinda hydro aint it ?

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Well, if you had asked me 4 days ago.....I'd say it's a little sketchy. If you ask me today, it's amazing. I was going to re-pot this afternoon, per Uncle Ben's instructions.

However, it is quite obvious that the roots have hit the resevoir....the plants are looking fantastic and have all kinds of new growth.

I believe this method can be considered passive hydro, or "shallow water culture."

It's easy, that's for sure. It's inexpensive....and I'm told the yields are top notch. We'll see.

This is a good question and one I've just started to work out.

When I grew many years ago I found that waiting till the roots come out the bottom to be the best indication of when to repot. I'd start out in large dixie cups then graduate to 1/2 gal milk cartons (paper, these worked crazy good!) then after several months the plant would be about 1.5' tall and I'd switch to 5 gal containers. Seems the tap root probably grows to be as long as the plant is tall. Of course it's best to keep the nutes at a 20-20-20 with plenty of magnesium and other micro nutes as well when vegging to ensure good root growth and overall plant developement.

But with the new way of flowering after just 1 month of vegging I think the pot size matters more than ever. I tried to move up the pot sizes a little too quickly (root mass was barely grown to the size of the 1 gal pot) and wound up overwatering a few when I switched to a 3 gal pot (don't think a 5 gal is necessary with the plants being so small with this speed of flowering). I had to re-pot a few with dry dirt and I hope the moisture in the root ball gets carried out into the new soil. I'll know in a day or so if this helps them recover. This is done with Super Soil which worked well for me in the past. It seems to be a good PH (around 7) though next time I'm trying coco.

But lesson learned. I'll stick to the root ball determining when the plant needs to be transplanted and I'll check next time before I do re-pot.

wyteboi said:

hey UB does a bigger pot = bigger flowers ??? I been wondering for a LONG time , i just never knew who to ask... (that would possibly know) i mean i know what im doin but i just wondered if there is a restriction on small pots, I know roots are just as important as water but does that mean smaller pots dont let the roots get to their FULL potential ? My own opinion and experience says pot size does not matter (specially after i just seen a Gypsy monster in a shot glass) But i think its a really good question.

ps Thank you for being there for all of us UB ........ you have been an Asset to site !

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wyteboi said:

hey UB does a bigger pot = bigger flowers ???

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Only as it relates to the potential of producing more root mass, which sustains more foliage thru increased water and salts uptake, which produces more flowers, etc.

I been wondering for a LONG time , i just never knew who to ask... (that would possibly know) i mean i know what im doin but i just wondered if there is a restriction on small pots, I know roots are just as important as water

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Roots are the plant unit that provides for the uptake for water.

but does that mean smaller pots dont let the roots get to their FULL potential ?

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Got a 9 size shoe and 12 size foot? If you do, something tells me you aint taking too many steps without fallin' down.

My own opinion and experience says pot size does not matter (specially after i just seen a Gypsy monster in a shot glass) But i think its a really good question.

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It's all relative. Begs the question, what would his plants' production been like in double the size of the pot, all things considered (no issue of root rot, etc)?

ps Thank you for being there for all of us UB ........ you have been an Asset to site !

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Thanks for the kind words.

Good luck,
Tio

looks good to me just slow it down a lil bit water every 4-5 days... when the roots get dry and you water em they reach for growth.. which of course is good cause if your roots are growing so are your plants.... dont under water... im high man... who knows

RemeberMe said:

This is a good question and one I've just started to work out.

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Bingo! There is no black and white.

You've learned that there is an art of when to upcan, that's a big step to becoming a master gardener. Prime time is just when there is bit of root spin-out. Too early and the rootball falls apart. Too late and you've stunted the plant (compared to being in a larger pot) plus you have the issue of dealing with the spin-out issue. Spin-out can be dealt with by scoring the rootball vertically with a knife to mechanically induce root branching behind the cuts you made during the scoring process.

There is no stress, no setback to a plant that has a decent intact rootball by popping it out of the pot to check on the rootball's condition/health/mass.

Uncle Ben gets Nemo's stamp of approval, two thumbs and big toes up! You've been very helpful in my endeavors and I appreciate it!

Uncle Ben said:

Thanks for the kind words.

Good luck,
Tio

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Thanks for the help man.

Grow hard!

ub, just got some stuff called microkote from the people that make spinout. supposed to do the same as spinout just has micro nutrients in it. i just coated a container last night and transplanted so i'll let you know how it goes in a week or two (if interested).

badness said:

ub, just got some stuff called microkote from the people that make spinout. supposed to do the same as spinout just has micro nutrients in it. i just coated a container last night and transplanted so i'll let you know how it goes in a week or two (if interested).

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I would definately be interested. I've heard of the product. Interesting that is not only terminates root tips but provides micros too.