Container or straighten the ground?

Both. I start in pots and cut the bottoms out and leave the rest when putting it in the ground. This forces my roots to go deep.

Ive done both as well , if i wasnt sure what i was standing on id go pots and ammend the ground for future grows

My logic is if i have to dig a monster hole and fill with premium soil i might as well fill the pot and leave the shovel in the shed. I understand this may not work in a guerrilla grow

I also think the more important choice is where said pot or hole is located

I treat the hole in the ground as if it were a pot, and fill with loose ammended soil.

I tend to put my late finishers in a pot, keep them smaller so I can move them to a covered area when it rains in October. My early finishers I prefer to put in the ground.

I thought this was going to be another flat earther thread...

In my opinion planting in the ground is better unless your native soil is completely terrible, or if you want/need to be able to move your plants for whatever reason. Even if your native soil is not very good as long as the drainage is reasonably good you can dig a hole and fill it with amended soil.

Growing in the ground is far more water-efficient as well, which makes growing easier and cheaper. More responsible water usage is becoming increasingly more important on the west coast with our mega-drought going on. I get frustrated by people growing crops like almonds that have high water needs here in California. I feel we should all be working towards lessening the impacts that growing pot has on our resources, if for no other reason than for the image of the pot-growing community to those who wish to delegitimize your right to grow your own weed. Growing in the ground is a way of lessening water usage without sacrificing quality or quantity. If you have good enough drainage growing in the ground can sometimes result in bigger plants as your plants will never become rootbound.

A third option to the two already discussed(in a pot or digging a hole and putting it straight into the ground) and probably the best in my opinion is growing on mounds. The biggest plants I see are grown in/on mounds of amended soil on top of the native soil, with drip irrigation coiled around the mounds. You get infinite root space, as well as better aeration and superior drainage compared to growing in pots or in the ground, and mounds are easier to keep evenly moist than fabric pots at a far lower cost.

The only downside to growing on mounds as opposed to growing in the ground is if you have height restrictions. The same height issues apply to growing in pots also.

SidV said:

Both. I start in pots and cut the bottoms out and leave the rest when putting it in the ground. This forces my roots to go deep.

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Hi Sid, For your technique of cutting the holes out of the bottom I just wanted to know how deep do you place into the ground?

Right to the rim. I actually like to have an almost bowl impression then the top of the pot level with the dirt at the bottom of the bowl. This way when I water I can fill the planter top and the dip around the planter. But I live in an extreme area with 105+f temps and lots of 60mph winds. It helps keep them cool and stops a lot of the wind from just sucking the moisture from my pot.

Oh okay thanks. Im trying to figure out if that would be beneficial for me. I don’t have that extreme heat and wind here in eastern ontario but perhaps regarding what you mentioned above with getting the roots deeper I think I would like to do that. Thanks so much for your help.

You can always just cut the bottom off and set it on the prepped soil like you're double potting. That's how I do my fabric pot transplants.It looks like this.
You don't have to cut off the bottom but it's just faster for the roots to get through and I was really late getting plants outside this year.

Oh awesome okay that is what I shall do, looks great!!

You can just leave them right on the prepped bed and then the roots will grow right through the bag no problem. Just anchor the fabric pot if it's small. Cutting the bottom off ruins the pot, I try to avoid it so I can rinse it and reuse it. Good luck with your grow.

Thanks so much, good luck to you as well!