Should I repot my autoflowers into bigger pots?

[BibbyMcBuds]

Hi all, I'm growing two White Widow Autoflowers in a 60x60x140cm grow tent with a mars hydro ts600 led light. My girls are currently in 3.8 litre (1 gallon) grow bags in Coco & perlite mix. This is my second attempt, my first attempt was embarrassingly bad. I had real trouble with my first attempt because I planted the germinated seedlings straight into the final pot which was way too big for them so they were stunted terribly plus the soil wasn't right so this time I put the germinated seedlings into a small peat pot then into the 3.8 litre grow bags but now I'm worried the pot is too small as they are growing much quicker now. One of my girls is about 9 days older than the other and her leaves are twisting up against the pot, she's exactly 4 weeks old and the other is about 2 and a half weeks old. I dont think I planted them high enough in the pot unfortunately so now I am unsure whether I should put them into the 18 litre (5 gallon) grow bags that I have or get slightly smaller ones like 11 litre (3 gallon) to put them in as their final pot or should they stay in the pots they are in. I have read that transplanting autos isnt possible without stressing them right out and I've also read that it can be done if done correctly. I am very new to autoflowers and also new to growing indoors, I live in Melbourne so growing outside really isn't an option unless we get a perfect summer which we haven't had for a while now. If anyone can help with any kind of advice that would be great, thanks very much

 

[Gentlemencorpse]

Personally Id keep them in the current pots. Autos dont really like being repotted and it can trigger premature flowering and stunt their growth. As you mentioned, it can be done, but its very strain dependent, so not being super familiar with the strain your growing it seems like an unneeded risk.

Plus one of the major advantages to coco as a grow medium is you can grow some rather large plants even in small pots. In case you didnt know, you can (and really should) feed plants in coco every day.

 

[Gentlemencorpse]

Also, not for nothing, new growers often worry about doing things the "best" way possible right off the bat, but honestly, I believe its better to just get a successful grow under your belt. Dont over complicate things in the pursuit of perfection right away, keep it simple and get some bud in some jars and build on that solid foundation.

Autos are actually kind of a pain for new growers because you have no leeway to correct mistakes. For example, with photos if you burn your plants in veg you just veg longer so they have time to recover. Thats not an option with autos. Right now your plants look healthy and happy so just keep doing what your doing.

 

[go go kid]

how many of you plant autos into large pot's to start with? im finding im getting 1 foot tall plants and no bigger. i was led to believe that they grew larger then that.
im wondering if people are growing XXL AUTOS/SEMI AUTOS OR SUPER AUTO'S and saying there ordinary auto's
fat colas are no problem, small cocacola bottle size colas every time with some to no bottom branches. but no height to them

 

[Gentlemencorpse]

how many of you plant autos into large pot's to start with? im finding im getting 1 foot tall plants and no bigger. i was led to believe that they grew larger then that.
im wondering if people are growing XXL AUTOS/SEMI AUTOS OR SUPER AUTO'S and saying there ordinary auto's
fat colas are no problem, small cocacola bottle size colas every time with some to no bottom branches. but no height to them

Thats totally dependent on genetics and environment, just like with photos. This is a tent with 9 autos in 1.5L square pots of coco and perlite. All the same nutrient regime. All different sizes.

Some autos are bred intentionally to stay small for stealth grows and small spaces. Some are bred to grow big and fast for quick turn around.

Ive grown autos in everything from 7 gallon pots of super soil to half gallon pots of coco. Ive had 4ft tall plants crowing my lights and shorties that never got over a foot tall. As I mentioned, one of the drawbacks to autos is the lack of control. You cant just veg it to the size you want. So researching your genetics is key to ending up with the plant you want, though even then there will be phenotypical variation.

But to answer your first question, I always go directly into my final pot with autos, whether its a 5 gallon or 1 gallon. I start in root riots and plant them as soon as they shed their helmet. Autos dont become stunted because the pot is too big, its typically because theyre being overwatered due to the mass of the medium or in a medium thats too hot.

 

[WintersBones]

If you're growing in coco you'll be fine. Just need to water more often if anything. And like Gentlemancorpse mentioned, make sure you'll fertilizing with every watering with coco, very important. Read up on growing with coco if you haven't already, cocoforcannabis.com is a great resource and explains watering/fertilizer in coco very well. Next time I would just transplant straight into the 3 gallon pot after the seedlings are established. 3 gallon is my favorite pot size for auto.

 

[Budzbuddha]

Autoflowers do not need “ special handling “. Those pots are fine - I would worry more about their health - color is off. Not sure if your feeding regime but something is going on.

Those lower leaves ( 3 finger ) are nothing to lose sleep over - they are early leaf set and will be exhausted over the grow anyways. I tend to clip those off.

Fix the issue with their feeding over anything else .

I grow them in 1 - 2 or 3 gallon . Depending on medium used.

These are 1 gallon grow bags ( soil ).

 

[MickFoster]

Your plants look hungry and your coco look dry.
What is your feeding schedule?

 

[BibbyMcBuds]

how many of you plant autos into large pot's to start with? im finding im getting 1 foot tall plants and no bigger. i was led to believe that they grew larger then that.
im wondering if people are growing XXL AUTOS/SEMI AUTOS OR SUPER AUTO'S and saying there ordinary auto's
fat colas are no problem, small cocacola bottle size colas every time with some to no bottom branches. but no height to them

That's what happened to me but mine only got to about 20cm tall but that was totally because I ruined the grow by just assuming they would grow the way I used to grow from seeds in the bottom of the bag, definitely not the same lol. Apparently they can get 2ft tall.

 

[BibbyMcBuds]

Your plants look hungry and your coco look dry.
What is your feeding schedule?

I have been scared to over feed them because last time my media wouldn't dry out so I got a really bad fungal gnat problem which was a nightmare, I've been giving them a litre of professor nutrients every couple days, should I be doing this everyday? I noticed today the fan leaves are looking a bit light green

 

[BibbyMcBuds]

Thats totally dependent on genetics and environment, just like with photos. This is a tent with 9 autos in 1.5L square pots of coco and perlite. All the same nutrient regime. All different sizes.View attachment 5293860

Some autos are bred intentionally to stay small for stealth grows and small spaces. Some are bred to grow big and fast for quick turn around.

Ive grown autos in everything from 7 gallon pots of super soil to half gallon pots of coco. Ive had 4ft tall plants crowing my lights and shorties that never got over a foot tall. As I mentioned, one of the drawbacks to autos is the lack of control. You cant just veg it to the size you want. So researching your genetics is key to ending up with the plant you want, though even then there will be phenotypical variation.

But to answer your first question, I always go directly into my final pot with autos, whether its a 5 gallon or 1 gallon. I start in root riots and plant them as soon as they shed their helmet. Autos dont become stunted because the pot is too big, its typically because theyre being overwatered due to the mass of the medium or in a medium thats too hot.

That makes total sense because I couldn't get the soil to dry out in the huge pots, it was my first go at it but I learnt alot at least

 

[BibbyMcBuds]

Also, not for nothing, new growers often worry about doing things the "best" way possible right off the bat, but honestly, I believe its better to just get a successful grow under your belt. Dont over complicate things in the pursuit of perfection right away, keep it simple and get some bud in some jars and build on that solid foundation.

Autos are actually kind of a pain for new growers because you have no leeway to correct mistakes. For example, with photos if you burn your plants in veg you just veg longer so they have time to recover. Thats not an option with autos. Right now your plants look healthy and happy so just keep doing what your doing.

Thanks for saying they look healthy, do you think I'm over worrying about them? I feel like they look a bit light green. I actually ordered some seeds for my next grow of Kandy Kush photos so I'm hoping that will go better as you say they will have the time to recover if I mese something up.

 

[go go kid]

ah,so if theres more indica in them, they will be smaler and vice versa, more sativa, taller plants. sound right

 

[BibbyMcBuds]

If you're growing in coco you'll be fine. Just need to water more often if anything. And like Gentlemancorpse mentioned, make sure you'll fertilizing with every watering with coco, very important. Read up on growing with coco if you haven't already, cocoforcannabis.com is a great resource and explains watering/fertilizer in coco very well. Next time I would just transplant straight into the 3 gallon pot after the seedlings are established. 3 gallon is my favorite pot size for auto.

Thankyou for the website tip. So I will start watering every day now for sure, would you happen to know how much nutrients to give autos at this stage? Also how much should I be giving them, should I be watering until it comes out of the bottom of the pot every time? Is giving them a litre each every day sufficient? I use spring water as our tap water has alot of flouride and other things in it that I don't think the plants will enjoy and I put half strength professors nutrients part a & part b. The hydro guy said I didn't need to change the nutrients as these ones are designed to be fed all the way from veg to flower. Which I guess means the npk is the same all the way through, it just occurred to me that might not be correct?

 

[Gentlemencorpse]

I have been scared to over feed them because last time my media wouldn't dry out so I got a really bad fungal gnat problem which was a nightmare, I've been giving them a litre of professor nutrients every couple days, should I be doing this everyday? I noticed today the fan leaves are looking a bit light green

So I dont know what medium you used the first time but coco is very different than soil or peat. Its essentially hydroponics. You want to feed every day because the coco is inert and doesnt retain nutrients well. Fungus gnats tend to be less of an issue than with soil but can still breed in coco so be vigilant, keep sticky traps around and dont leave standing water in the tent. A decent drench isnt a bad idea either.

Thanks for saying they look healthy, do you think I'm over worrying about them? I feel like they look a bit light green. I actually ordered some seeds for my next grow of Kandy Kush photos so I'm hoping that will go better as you say they will have the time to recover if I mese something up.

I do think you need to feed more. After reading @budzbuddah comment about the color being off I took a better look at the pictures and they look a little off. Nothing to freak out about but you'll get better results if you address it now. Also keep in mind coco needs a different pH for the nute solution than soil and you can get lockouts if its too far out of whack.

 

[Gentlemencorpse]

would you happen to know how much nutrients to give autos at this stage

Its completely dependent on what nutrient line your using. Best bet is to follow the companies feeding instructions and adjust as needed, or fins a grow journal of someone using the same nutes in coco and copy them.

 

[BibbyMcBuds]

So I dont know what medium you used the first time but coco is very different than soil or peat. Its essentially hydroponics. You want to feed every day because the coco is inert and doesnt retain nutrients well. Fungus gnats tend to be less of an issue than with soil but can still breed in coco so be vigilant, keep sticky traps around and dont leave standing water in the tent. A decent drench isnt a bad idea either.



I do think you need to feed more. After reading @budzbuddah comment about the color being off I took a better look at the pictures and they look a little off. Nothing to freak out about but you'll get better results if you address it now. Also keep in mind coco needs a different pH for the nute solution than soil and you can get lockouts if its too far out of whack.

Thanks very much for your advice and taking time to answer my questions I appreciate it alot. So the first time I used a mixture of Coco, perlite and organic soil because I read that's what was best for autoflowers but I got the fungus gnats really bad because the pots were too big for the tiny little seedlings and I couldn't get the soil to dry plus the pH was constantly off and the weather turned bad, everything went terribly so I will say this time I am definitely doing better especially now with getting proper advice from people that actually grow. I have the yellow sticky traps up. I have been getting the nute solution to exactly 6.0 pH, is that right? I've read that for Coco between 6 & 7 is right but then I've also read between 5 & 6 is right so it gets confusing. I only have a water pH test kit, I did get a soil test kit but I am unsure on if it will test Coco correctly or not. I am going to get a digital soil tester as soon as I can afford one. So about the colour of the plants, they were originally a nice dark green but then they started getting a lighter green tint. The bigger fan leaves are the main concern as they are getting a yellow sort of line inbetween the veins of the leaf. I think it could be an iron or magnesium deficiency but both of those deficiencies seem to present the same way. Do you think now that I'm feeding every day that will fix the problem? I have also been using the professor's nutrients cloning accelerator foliar spray just before lights out every few days to make sure their roots are nice and strong. I'm feeding with "The professors original" part A and part B which I mix together in the water then test the pH. I always have to lower the pH with the pH down to get it to a perfect 6. I thought I was supposed to use half the recommended dose for autoflowers, is this also incorrect? I was told to water until the water comes out of the bottom of the pot every time I water which now is everyday. Thanks again for getting back to me

 

[curious2garden]

Thanks very much for your advice and taking time to answer my questions I appreciate it alot. So the first time I used a mixture of Coco, perlite and organic soil because I read that's what was best for autoflowers but I got the fungus gnats really bad because the pots were too big for the tiny little seedlings and I couldn't get the soil to dry plus the pH was constantly off and the weather turned bad, everything went terribly so I will say this time I am definitely doing better especially now with getting proper advice from people that actually grow. I have the yellow sticky traps up. I have been getting the nute solution to exactly 6.0 pH, is that right? I've read that for Coco between 6 & 7 is right but then I've also read between 5 & 6 is right so it gets confusing. I only have a water pH test kit, I did get a soil test kit but I am unsure on if it will test Coco correctly or not. I am going to get a digital soil tester as soon as I can afford one. So about the colour of the plants, they were originally a nice dark green but then they started getting a lighter green tint. The bigger fan leaves are the main concern as they are getting a yellow sort of line inbetween the veins of the leaf. I think it could be an iron or magnesium deficiency but both of those deficiencies seem to present the same way. Do you think now that I'm feeding every day that will fix the problem? I have also been using the professor's nutrients cloning accelerator foliar spray just before lights out every few days to make sure their roots are nice and strong. I'm feeding with "The professors original" part A and part B which I mix together in the water then test the pH. I always have to lower the pH with the pH down to get it to a perfect 6. I thought I was supposed to use half the recommended dose for autoflowers, is this also incorrect? I was told to water until the water comes out of the bottom of the pot every time I water which now is everyday. Thanks again for getting back to me

Coco 5.8 - 6.5 is about right.

 

[raratt]

Hydroponic applies to Coco.

 

[BibbyMcBuds]

Coco 5.8 - 6.5 is about right.

Thanks very much