transplanting from cups to containers

ive seen several people here start germinated seeds in regular plastic cups, then transplant them into slight larger containers, and then again transplant them into 2+ gallon containers. my question is why is this done? im guessing for spacing issues rather than sticking 10+ 2 gallon containers in the grow room? or is there a benefit to the plant somehow of transplanting plants?

del taco lover said:

ive seen several people here start germinated seeds in regular plastic cups, then transplant them into slight larger containers, and then again transplant them into 2+ gallon containers. my question is why is this done? im guessing for spacing issues rather than sticking 10+ 2 gallon containers in the grow room? or is there a benefit to the plant somehow of transplanting plants?

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i like to keep my seeds warm as they germ, and gl doing that with a 5 gallon bucket of dirt lol

No, transplanting isn't good for the plants, as it does cause stress to some degree, always. Like you mentioned, I think most do it because of space issues. If I could go from rooted clones, straight to my final sized pots, I would do it for sure. I just don't have enough lights to cover that space, so they go to one gallon pots first, then to 3 gallon, about a week before i plan to move them to bloom.

cups are good for seedlings, make sure they're not clear tho coz roots dont deal with light well.

there isn't any benefit to the plant from it, more for the grower. i personally start with quite a few and weed out any that are weak so for me it's a space issue.
if you have the space and inclination to go from cup to large pot then it will probably be better for the plant than an extra transfer.

i like to transplant twice. once from peat pellet to gallon jug. then from jug to ground.

I think its for space. I've heard theories about your plants builiding a denser root ball by starting them small and moving up in container size, but I really don't think it matters(at least for indica strains). Trial and error is what its all about though, test for yourself, with your seeds.

At the rate my mother plant grows and needs trimming I use the cups to hold back the flow as I don't have the room and cant bear to toss a viable branch or growth. I find its a bit easier for space and also holding back the growth rate a bit by being in the small cup. When I am ready and have an available pot to transplant into I do it. On perpetual I dont want to buy more pots then I know I am getting out of control lol

If they are seeds...saves soil on males if force sex.

For cuttings, I find that they will shoot roots to the bottom of the pot and not utilize the upper root zone until they spin out and back up the pot.

And like above, keeping in small pots can slow cuttings down to keep from having monsters go into flower...and saves space, and the root zone dries out more often giving better gas exchange.

In general the less times you can transplant the better it is for the plant and the faster it will grow, so if you could provide optimal conditions to a seedling in your final pot then thats always better, but most transplant twice like mentioned above. Personally I like to take my rooted cubes and plant them directly into their 3gl pot, but I have plenty of extra room/lights to cover the amount I want to grow. Its all what your able to provide for...Peace

thanks guys, one last question. ive decided to start growing from plastic cups(the red ones that are common). how many drain holes should i create in each cup and how big should they be?

del taco lover said:

thanks guys, one last question. ive decided to start growing from plastic cups(the red ones that are common). how many drain holes should i create in each cup and how big should they be?

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It really doesn't matter...more than less.

I have a 1/8" bit that is just on my cordless all the time...I use it for holes around rims of pots for LST and also on the beer cups. I drill 5 or 6 on bottom of cup, and then there are two indentions on the side/bottom of solo's and just for the hell of it...I stick a hole in both of those.

You want them to drain well.