pots vs. ground

what are the advantages and disadvantages of growin in a pot or in the ground and vice versa

Well if you grow in a pot you have the capability to move your plants if need be where growing in the ground you can't move them.The plant isn't going to get as big in a pot either.This is what i do.I go to my distributor and purchase a pallet of promix worm castings and a little pete moss.I dig like a 6 inch deep bed mix the soil and i use 1 bale of promix per plant.Like a raised planting bed if you will.It saves a shit ton of time as you don't have to dig a monster hole and the plants grow awesome.I've had 9-12 footers 2-4lbs a plant.I also use heavy harvest from advanced nutes and that stuff works awesome only have to feed like every three weeks

Well in a pot you can move your plants and don't have to really worry about underground pests eating your roots. But you really have to make sure you give the plants a big enough container or they will get root bound. And having a big ass container makes them VERY difficult to move.

Having them in the ground let's the roots grow out as far thay want and you never have to transplant them but you can also never move them. Well you could but digging up a plant is a bitch and it will most certainly damage the plant.

If you can, plant in the ground. I have had some seriously MASSIVE, healthy plants when they are fully outdoors. I don't know if the earth has a lot more micronutrients or what not but your yields will double if put into the ground outside!

I prefer growing straight in the ground... it has some draw backs like not being able to move em but if you amended the soil well they will be huge by harvest.

cannaman2.5 said:

Well if you grow in a pot you have the capability to move your plants if need be where growing in the ground you can't move them.The plant isn't going to get as big in a pot either.This is what i do.I go to my distributor and purchase a pallet of promix worm castings and a little pete moss.I dig like a 6 inch deep bed mix the soil and i use 1 bale of promix per plant.Like a raised planting bed if you will.It saves a shit ton of time as you don't have to dig a monster hole and the plants grow awesome.I've had 9-12 footers 2-4lbs a plant.I also use heavy harvest from advanced nutes and that stuff works awesome only have to feed like every three weeks

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hate to diagree with you Cannaman, but I grow in 20 gallon pots and have humungous plants, some 7-8' tall. smaller pots, yes they won't get as big for they get root bound, plus I cut out larger drain holes in the bottoms and bury my pots flush with the top of the ground , thus letting it take root in the earth itself. I've had 2-3'' diameter in the base stalk.

I grow a dozen 4 four footers in 1 gallon pots last grow as an experiment. They grow just about the same size as the ones in the 5 gallon buckets. I would say that the only reason a plant would be smaller in a smaller pot is becasue it's hard to stay on them and make sure conditons remain good. Rootbound isn't as bad as some make it seem. I mean shit, I wouldn't use a small pot for outside thought. Just wanted to let you know that you don't have to use 20 gallons of soil to grow a plant, more like 4 or 5. I did have to water those 1 gallons almost everyday though. But to claim rootbound when you plants grow slows isn't always the case. Infact, its' usually another issue that isn't solved by transplanting into bigger posts.

well i think im gonna plant my beans straight into the ground. oh are worms a good sign of good soil because today i went to one of my sites and checked the soild and it had a few worms a few inches below the ground

Good question. There is about 10 things off hand.
In Pots. If the rooting system is restricted, the overall growing goal of the Plant has to make a drasic change, to deal with the restriction, serious stunting of growth. In Babies, this causes prodominate males. Of course the sight of pots setting on the ground is more easily seen, the container itself, than a plant in the ground. The pot denies moisture from surrounding soil moisture, which induces palnt stress more often if the soil gets too dry. The bigger the root system, the bigger the plant has a chance to grow. Some plant in pots so they can be moved... some plants need a 25 gal. or more size pot for maz. grow. I can't move a pot that size. Full Sun steadily heats the pot, causing max transpiring, this happens in Pro. Green Houses where watering is needed 3 to 4 times per day. For smaller plants, double the recommended size, and they will do well. I can't dig in this clay shit around here, so I found a hole, where water drains. I just got back from there. took pics. Hang tight. For a Monster plant, I don't think a 55 gal. drum is big enough.

IslandGreenGuy said:

I grow a dozen 4 four footers in 1 gallon pots last grow as an experiment. They grow just about the same size as the ones in the 5 gallon buckets. I would say that the only reason a plant would be smaller in a smaller pot is becasue it's hard to stay on them and make sure conditons remain good. Rootbound isn't as bad as some make it seem. I mean shit, I wouldn't use a small pot for outside thought. Just wanted to let you know that you don't have to use 20 gallons of soil to grow a plant, more like 4 or 5. I did have to water those 1 gallons almost everyday though. But to claim rootbound when you plants grow slows isn't always the case. Infact, its' usually another issue that isn't solved by transplanting into bigger posts.

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I was just making a point that smaller pot don't mean smaller plants, but every year I have 5-20 gallon pots with organic and they produce x-mas tree like plants (i bury them semi flush to the ground and leave them there to use the following year) where as my smaller pots produce somewhat smaller plants 4'-5', but I get alot of weed off of them anyhow.

South Texas said:

Good question. There is about 10 things off hand.
In Pots. If the rooting system is restricted, the overall growing goal of the Plant has to make a drasic change, to deal with the restriction, serious stunting of growth. In Babies, this causes prodominate males. Of course the sight of pots setting on the ground is more easily seen, the container itself, than a plant in the ground. The pot denies moisture from surrounding soil moisture, which induces palnt stress more often if the soil gets too dry. The bigger the root system, the bigger the plant has a chance to grow. Some plant in pots so they can be moved... some plants need a 25 gal. or more size pot for maz. grow. I can't move a pot that size. Full Sun steadily heats the pot, causing max transpiring, this happens in Pro. Green Houses where watering is needed 3 to 4 times per day. For smaller plants, double the recommended size, and they will do well. I can't dig in this clay shit around here, so I found a hole, where water drains. I just got back from there. took pics. Hang tight. For a Monster plant, I don't think a 55 gal. drum is big enough.

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bigger pots will produce bigger plants! I've done it for 30 years and each year..... same results! I use organic soil each time whereas same strain in smaller pot, they plant was smaller. my 20 gallon pots are more than big enough for monsters! come harvest or thereabouts, I'll show you the proof with the plants in the pots themselves, I guess!!!

and how about growing in bags?

I would like to know which method holds water the longest. straight in the ground, pots or grow bags.
thanks

I would like ot think that depends highly on the surrounding soil greenuggets.


For growing directly in the ground (w/o pots/bags)
If your surrounding soil is very dry, then its going to wick moisture from your wet soil that your mary jane is growing in. Thus makign hte situation worse

If your surrounding soil is wet, then its going to provide moisture to your plant and hte osil its growing in.

If you just grow in a bag in the ground (brown dirt warriors style)

Then you have a lot of control over the moisture content of the soil.

Growing in pots (above ground) is the worst for moisture, as the sun hits the pots, heating them up, creating a lot of evaporation, and your soil will lose water probably 5 or 6 times faster than if it were planted in the ground. This can be solved however, by placing your pots in the ground, thus giving you the benfit of mobility, and also that of good water retention.


I prefer personally to plant directly into the ground, as it rains a fair bit around here, and the soil stays relatively moist. It also gives the plant unlimited growing space letting its roots venture out wherever they please. Resulting it humangous plants.

Its always wise to dig as big of a hole as you can when your planting directly into earth, as your own soil is almost always better than the earths soil.