in ground, or grow bag?

M

Mark24688m

Well-Known Member
when it comes time to plant my plants, i basically have two options because of the poor soil where m growing. I can dig holes the size of 5 gallon buckets and fill them with potting soil, then plant in the holes. Or plant in 5 gallon grow bags wth potting soil then place the bags in the holes. My reasoning for growing straght in the ground is because it will give the roots more room to grow and overall make the plants bigger. The reasoning for growing in the grow bags which are then put in the holes is because the soil is very poor, and im afraid that if I just put them in the ground wiht good potting soil, eventually the roots will extend out of the "batch" of potting soil i put in the ground and go into the shitty soil. Im not sure what to do. what do you guys think?
 
7xstall

7xstall

Well-Known Member
what strain are you growing?

indicas won't need much room but sativas will take everything you give them.

make each hole a little bigger than 5g. buckets and fill them with good dirt, don't just use potting soil. make potting soil one of your ingredients but also use premium top soil, composted manure, perlite, vermiculite, make Super soil. :)

i understand your reasoning on the inclination to bind the roots and keep them from the "bad dirt" but the plants will get over it.

if you've got a lot of aggressive native plants nearby (blackberry, privett, johnson grass (<-actually this one is exotic), etc.) and you think they will tap into your good soil just place the super soil in a 5gal and drill "tap" holes around the side to let your trees find their way out if they want too. it's much less likely that an invader will find a way in to the nutes that way...

$.02
 
purplegorillas

purplegorillas

Active Member
If you are not limited by space or have privacy concerns i suggest buying 20 gallon containers drilling four to six 3/4 inch wide holes in the bottom (make sure the holes are evenly spaced out) then dig a hole in the ground a little deeper then the containers place two to three inches of gravel in the hole you just dug then put the container with whatever soil you chose in the hole. This method grows monsters as the plant has a lot of room to grow, good drainage, and as long as you have soil with a ph around 7, fertilize and water correctly youll grow dank and a lot of it.
 
videoman40

videoman40

Well-Known Member
Heres a novel idea for you that I've seen implemented, go to wally world and pick up one of those kiddy pools, you know the ones about 2' deep....bury it in the ground and depending on the diameter....fill it up with however many plants, you could buy several pools. This is great for yr roots to stretch out into too.
 
M

Mark24688m

Well-Known Member
interesting idea with the baby pools videoman. but I think that may end up being too expensive for a guerilla grow. (by the way im growing a mix of indicas and sativas.) im still unsure about what to do with the soil though. The soil in my grow spot is just absolutly terrible. I dont know what to do besides buy potting soil. even mixing the potting soil with the soil there may not be a good idea because its just that bad.
 
videoman40

videoman40

Well-Known Member
I liked the pool idea when I saw it. You can fit alot into a kiddie pool too. they are only about $15.00 for the plastic pools. Other than that, just dig yr holes and fill it in with yr homemade soil, if it outgrows a 5 gallon hole...more power to you! Even if it does, it'll still do just fine. What you may consider doing is digging the hole deeper, not wider, roots tend to grow down.
 
purplegorillas

purplegorillas

Active Member
A small swimming pool like videoman suggested would actually be a great growing border for your plants because female plants tap roots are not that long and the majority of the side roots only go a foot to two feet deep (at the most) but they spread out very far. As far as your soil just talk to your local hydroponics shops or nurserys about good growing soils. Also check into worm castings as this is one of the most nutrient rich soils around but it is somewhat expensive
 
7xstall

7xstall

Well-Known Member
im still unsure about what to do with the soil though.


"don't just use potting soil. make potting soil one of your ingredients but also use premium top soil, composted manure, perlite, vermiculite, make Super soil."

4 parts premium top soil from any store
2-4 parts premium composted manure or even worm castings if you can find them, some of each, whatever you like.
1-4 parts potting soil
.5 part perlite
.5-1 part vermiculite (depending on how much moisure you need to hold - how much you intend to water)

mix in a little dolomitic lime and get pH to 6.5-6.8, remember that the dolomitic lime will not react until you get it soaked with water a couple times. use pulverized if you want faster results.

you have to keep in mind that even though you think your soil is so bad the plants will not be damaged by it if they have plenty of good dirt to do most of their growing in. binding the roots will not be a big help unless you want smaller plants.

good luck.
 
V

vulrath

Active Member
wow that is one nice set up wit that... I was thinking that one of the tubes used for pouring concrete might work well because you can get as deep as you want and put gravel san etc on the bottom
 
M

Mark24688m

Well-Known Member
vulrath said:
wow that is one nice set up wit that... I was thinking that one of the tubes used for pouring concrete might work well because you can get as deep as you want and put gravel san etc on the bottom
Click to expand...
What the hell are you talking about?
 
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