Would it be ok to do that? can you use the same pot and or soil to go from veg to flower?
also, is there a particular common brand of soil that would even be sold at Wal-Mart? how can you tell if the soil is "properly" aerated?

is there a "better" pot to get to use as a planter?

also, what would i need to get food-wise, to get started?

also anything you can recommend for a first time grower would be very welcome. i have looked at the FAQ's, but some things are not directly answered, thus the questions. unless i missed it, i mean the FAQ's are very thorough.

thank you very much in advance guys, i need to get one going as it is becoming more expensive as it gets dryer around here. i use mmj to treat my anxiety and PTSD, so it is more than just a joy ride though i do enjoy it.

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i dont change. but im relatively new to indoor stuff. you can change pots before flowering to a 'flowering' soil mix. i guess it wont hurt because plants usually still doubly in size once on 12/12. you'll just have to 'time' the pot/mix change to coincide with the plants growth i guess. not too hard just flower them when you change to the final pot and mix.

very logical

square pots usually work best because they save and use the available space more efficiently

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to change pots.
growbags are cool.

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"Her life was okay. Sometimes she wished she were sleeping with the right man instead of with her dog, but she never felt she was sleeping with the wrong dog."

good points, i hadnt considered the plants increasing in size, thus increasing the size of the pot. square pots, i hadnt thought of that either.

what kind of food would you recommend?

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I don't think it is a good idea to change pots during flower. When you transplant you are stressing the plant and it needs to get used to its new environment before it resumes rapid growth. I don't like to transplant within a week of flower. So I transplant to my final pot size 1-2 weeks before flower, that way they plant is totally over any transplant stress and ready for rapid growth.


My favorite mix, is technically hydroponic. It is made of Spaghnum Peatmoss and Perlite, pHed with dolomite lime, has a wetting agent and is colonized with beneficial bacteria. It is sold as, "HP Promix." I add in additional perlite and Earth Worm Castings so that the mix is 50% peatmoss, 40% perlite and 10% EWC.

Along with that, I feed using Botanicare nutrients, liquid bat guano, silica, gravity, and molasses, different levels of each throughout different stages of flowering.

There are about a million ways to do it successfully.

personally i think you can change pots whenever the roots need space. in flower or not. people generally dont for precautionary reasons. best not muck up at that time. but once you have experience with growing in pots and understand the way of the root (that would make a great movie title) you can just about repot any time.

but what we were suggesting is that sprocket change just prior to flowering so that the roots have space to grow in the final month or so of flowering. which makes perfect sense given that the plant depending on genetics will still increase considerably in size.

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if a plant is root bound you should just pot it up and then flower when it resumes rapid growth. I have plenty of experience in potted plants and I would never pot up in flower, even if the plant was needing to be fed every day, I'd rather keep up with its nutritional needs however rapid of feedings that means, then delay growth by transplanting. That's just been my experience.

.. exactly. you hit the nail on the head

.

ive never experienced any delay in growth after transplant. they never even notice.

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When you pot a plant up it will send its roots out to the edge of the new pot and form a layer around the outer edge of its new medium. During flowering to have the plant redirect its energy into creating a new root zone within a new container is counterproductive in my opinion. It follows the same line of reasoning for why I strip the plant of its lowest leaves. Those leaves direct energy to the roots, something you just don't want when you're trying to create an optimal amount of flowers. Potting a plant up during flower will not only cause the plant to redirect energy toward forming a new root layer of roots, but also stress the plant, slowing this process (and every other), even if by an unnoticeable amount.

My personal guideline of potting when plants are root bound assumes you didn't flower a root bound plant. But I recommend that if for some reason that did occur, to not pot up and simply meet the plants watering needs.

fair enough. i still do it though and havent ever suffered for it.
but hell, there more than one way to skin a cat.

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That's about the only thing I am 100% sure about in growing, lol.

sure enough

going into the flowering phase when we decide on the size of the pots. We use a pot just big enuff for the plant to grow to the size we are aiming for, for flowering. I used to transfer pots as they grew, but with indoor lighting being what it is, I saw no reason to grow the plants any taller than a foot or two.

with the light is immediately overhead and other plants standing next to each other, the light can't get to the bottom of the plants to make bud, anyway, so we are just flowering them at 1 to 2 feet tall.

that way, we are only paying for lights and nutes for BUD and not for a large bottom portion that doesn't give bud because it doesn't get enought light.

So, we stay in the same pot the whole time. I love that part! Less work for me and more bud for our money! lol

Of course, it's different when you are vegging or flowering outdoors! Mr Sun can get all up in that plant and grow bud all over it!

Good Luck with your grow. I hope you end up with a really great harvest!

Peace and Love
DW

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in fact, i notice a "boost" in their growth and overall health and vigor of the plant after a transplant, especially if it has been root bound.

Outside we grew in a "raised bed" one year and dug big individual holes for the girls the next. There was no comparison! When the ground had been broken up all around them and they could spread their roots out all over, they grew twice as big as the girls we had put in big holes. Also, the girls that were in the "raised bed" had dirt in the mix. They loved that also.

growing pot is fun
Peace and Love
DW

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I'll be growing my first soil grow and want to grow them out in 3 gal pots only, will I be OK all the way through?
Thanks

start in plastic cup sized, then pot up to 1 gallon size, and finally into 3 gallons. By potting up you establish a much denser root zone, as the roots will grow along the edge of the container, so by giving it multiple edges (one for each new pot size) your root zone fills in better.

how much does a plant that size yield? roughly, i mean, i understand that he yield would depend upon many factors, such as the strain, lighting, co2, temperature, air flow, etc., but what would be a rough estimate? i'm just trying to get an idea, so i will know how many plants i will need. it's just me, that will be enjoying the fruits of my labors, so i just need enough for daily use and to last through to the next harvest. possibly an impossible question to answer, but i know if anyone can, the fine folks here can.

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If you are inducing flower at 1-2 feet due to the penetration capacity of HID lighting, the main factor (all other things being equal) which will determine your yield per plant is the square footage of canopy per plant. If you run a single main cola that is flowered at 18 inches on a strain that produces large single colas, you'd be looking at somewhere around an ounce. If you train that plant into a SCROG that flattens it out over 4 square feet, and then veg the vertical height to 18 inches above the SCROG before flipping, you could be looking at as much as 8 ounces.


If you just veg the plant up into a "christmas tree" shape and induce flowering at 18 inches of vertical height (and let's say 2 square feet of canopy) then I'd say you'd be limited to about 4 ounces per plant.

These are all rough estimates, assuming you can get 2 ounces per square foot, which is fairly optimal under HPS. Some people get even more than that in SCROGs, or less, so your mileage may vary.

about how much time is usually needed in each container? i have some babies in plastic cups for about 2 weeks, then i had planned on moving them up to 1gal pots this weekend when the 2 weeks is up.

think thats enough time or what? and how long in the 1gal? is 2 weeks enough there too?

thanks

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First Grow: Bag Seed
http://www.greenpassion.org/f15/buying-vs-trying-13054/

"Such holidays in the sun don't come without sacrifices"

That's about right. You want to establish a solid root system in the container before transplanting. This is indicated generally by needing to water more often than every other day. When they are wanting water every day, its time to move up.