Would you recommend pots or earth?

[staples29]

I am going to be growing 2 different outdoor gardens in 2010.

One is going to be autoflowering strains and the other is going to be regular. I am looking to go organic and I have a few questions about pots.

1. Should I grow in pots or the earth?

2. Should I use different pots in different stages of growth?

3. If so what size pots should I use?

If anyone had any recommendations on organic nutrients please let me know also,

Thanks,
Justice

 

[Texas Kid]

40-65 gallons of soil minimum per flowering plant is killer, so if ya don't have some big ass pots I would put them in the ground..

My pots next season will be approx. 265 gallons (35 cu.ft.) a piece,

Tex

 

[7rayos]

If you want big plants, nothing like earth. I dunno about the auto flowering ones 'cos i've never planted them, but definitely the transplants will increase the root ball and therefore the general strength of the plant. If using pots, for the regulars at least i'd do two transplants, starting with small ones for seedlings until the roots colonize the pot, should be in two weeks top, then on to 1/2 gallon or so until sexing them, then into the final pot once they start flowering. After this, it's no good to make transplants as the roots don't grow much more and you'd waste substrate. As for nutes, i'm spanish and dunno most brands you've got access to, but i wish Fox Farm would be available in Spain. I use a mixture of black and white turba, worm casts, perlite and vermiculite with a drainage of arlite, adding some extra algae for the growing stage and other additives such enzymes. Then to the flowering pots i add bat guano to the mix.
If growing on earth, i also keep them first for a couple of weeks in pots. Good luck with your project, nothing like organic(ish) bud.

 

[Rolln J]

if I was growing outside it be in the ground in a prepared raised bed!

many factors to consider though - where I live there are many gophers and ground squirrels - those suck...

if you live someplace where it may be beneficial to move plants indoors at night pots are the way...

and maybe you dont want the monster sized plants if you dont want to draw attention to yourself.

 

[WilliamsWonder]

Short answer... You should put them right into the ground, unless you want to keep a close eye on them for a couple of weeks. If you choose to put them in pots first, just use solo cups, then cut them out of that. Test the soil to see how much clay it has and how long it holds water. Depending on how long your soil holds water, and how hard the ground is, you need to decide whether you want a raised bed, as Rolln J said, or what I call, craters. The craters are good for self watering, so you can just fill the bowl and you're all set.

If I were you I would use subcools organic mix for soil and nutes. You can always adjust his mix to meet your needs. Just go to google or yahoo and type in "subcools soil mix".

Just work your ground and soil before arriving with your plants.

All the best
WilliamsWonder

 

[staples29]

Thanks alot for all the info :yes

I think I am going to start them in pots than right to ground, my spot is squirrel/gopher resistant I would say so I think I'm in the clear (:

 

[Rolln J]

good luck and happy growin - keep us posted!

 

[biotechbill]

I'm surpised most of you recommended earth over pots. I ran my own experiment a while back, and the potted plants out grew the plants I chunked right into the ground everytime. Same strain, same water, day light etc. Granted, the ground was heavy with clay (east coast), so that may have made a difference??

With that being said, if I wanted to grow in the ground. How would you recommend I prepare a bed?

 

[l33t]

biotechbill

if you want good results outdoors you need to dig a hole.(The bigger the better)

This way you can prepare the soil as usual and then the plant will have a good soil with good aeration thats not too much packed down. You can even use perlite if you want . You can even partially or completely replace the soil.

 

[Rolln J]

yep like l33t said - dig a big ass hole, great if you can sift the dirt through a gardening screen and add amendments to it after - worm castings, blood meal, bone meal, oyster shell lime, mulch and sphagnum moss are all good.

 

[tonto]

some say that for auto flowering plants pots are better. their less bushy an can help the yield

 

[dequelo]

I we have to up some photos to my gallery, I grow outside in the nice weather and inside in the winter

I grow in pots outside so I can move them around (light,security,etc) if want or need to

I never use anything bigger then a seven gallon pot and I grew some pretty big plants in them

but there comes a time when I need to water them twice a day and my mix is light so I need to stake or weight them down

I like pots because I can put them in a shader spot and cut their light to get them flowering earlier

I only have so much before frost

the best in your grows and stay safe

Dequelo

 

[l33t]

in my opinion root restriction methods can't increase yield outdoors

 

[dequelo]

in my opinion root restriction methods can't increase yield outdoors

this is true for me sometime I need to move my stuff around so I have no choice in the end

I wish I could grow monsters in the middle of garden but here in the state of confusion

it is not a good idea

be safe and be free

Dequelo

 

[tonto]

people say that root bound plants flower quicker, if you transplanted a root-bound early flowering plant in to soil would it keep flowering or go in to shock or re veg?

 

[Rolln J]

it should stay in flower even if it did go into shock - if its truly root bound and your gentle when you transplant it - she should be fine, if anything it will just delay harvest a little...

I see little benefit to transplanting if your in bloom mode though.

 

[tonto]

it should stay in flower even if it did go into shock - if its truly root bound and your gentle when you transplant it - she should be fine, if anything it will just delay harvest a little...

I see little benefit to transplanting if your in bloom mode though.

i know it sounds weird but im not in the most friendly of canna environments.

what im saving is that root bound plants when they detect that the day lights hours are getting shorter they kick in to flowering mode quicker (read it a while ago) than the non root bound. then when you see the sighs of flowering you then transplant it in to ground/larger pot.

that being said has anyone any experience with quicker root bound auto-flowering plants?


or am i a newbie pissing in to the winds of wisdom.

 

[shamus dolan]

it depends!!!

are you going for high quality head stash ,or are you going for the bucks. If its the bucks..go four foot diameter holes,semi raised beds.I use mushroom substrate,TH1,soil repair for water retention,pulverized! lime and dont add nutes until your ready to plant.head stash.....I go three gallon buckets with heavier soil mix,but more buckets.Its a lot easier on your back and the yield is just as nice a big containers.try both options this year and most of all keep it simple and be safe........shamus:sun2:

 

[ReelBusy1]

I am going to be growing 2 different outdoor gardens in 2010.

One is going to be autoflowering strains and the other is going to be regular. I am looking to go organic and I have a few questions about pots.

1. Should I grow in pots or the earth?

2. Should I use different pots in different stages of growth?

3. If so what size pots should I use?

If anyone had any recommendations on organic nutrients please let me know also,

Thanks,
Justice

Pots, big ones or raised beds.

 

[7rayos]

Most agree in the hole on earth system, which is obvious. But it's no use to dig a 4ft deep hole for an unwanted male if you're using regulars, consider it as a mixture of pot and earth, perfect for not prepared soils (most of them). You're airing and feeding that substrate for the roots to grow easier, so they'll have difficulty going beyond the prepared earth as it won't be so attractive for roots, (but they will if hungry). Therefore, the bigger the better.
If the weather looks ahead very hot, you can dig a bit deeper and throw a plastic bag on the bottom covered with a good layer of stones, which will help to keep moisture. If it's going to be cold, adding some clean hay to the mix will generate some heat to the roots.
Adding dolomite will help the ph balance of the used earth.
What about rising or deep earth? I've never considered they'd have an overall effect, other than keep or release moisture. Could anyone explain the difference?