Potting up with autos

Hey. Is it true that you should put your seed right into final pot with autos? Having a seed in a 5g pot off the hop seems dicey to me.

I used to to do ... straight to pot but most the root mass circled the bottom as primary root hit bottom instead of root out laterally. So I begin all in smaller containers to start the root mass then transplant as a PLUG into its final container.

Sometimes I make small holes in sides to provide air pruning like an AirPot.

This graph explains it.

It shows straight to pot vs. simple transplant.

Budzbuddha said:

I used to to do ... straight to pot but most the root mass circled the bottom as primary root hit bottom instead of root out laterally. So I begin all in smaller containers to start the root mass then transplant as a PLUG into its final container.

Sometimes I make small holes in sides to provide air pruning like an AirPot.

This graph explains it.

It shows straight to pot vs. simple transplant.

View attachment 4317087

Click to expand...

You think it's an advanced technique? Just thinking with transplant shock on a sick plant transplanted poorly...??.. for folks that don't communicate with their plants that well.??

I moved up from 5 gal fabric to 10 gal plastic pots with autos this year. I only water the center with the seed till it grows then I expand watering. Inthin of it as an air prune technique.. will see when I recycle after the grow..

Anyway.. cool. Proper and good transplanting is a good thing!!

in 7 years i have not once repot my autos, they start in the same pot they finish, and the roots are everywhere by the end , i wouldnt pay too much attention to everything you see and read.

iNFID3L said:

in 7 years i have not once repot my autos, they start in the same pot they finish, and the roots are everywhere by the end , i wouldnt pay too much attention to everything you see and read.

Click to expand...

What size pots?
My thinking bigger pots (5 to 10 gallon)less root circling. I have not been transplanting autos. But I do feel transplanting is important with photo plants, and smaller pots though. Transplant shock is a risk though.

Skill is needed to not over water small plants in bigger pots, but skill is also needed to transplant exactly at the right time to avoid transplant shock.

Both take experience.

20 gal

“ SHOCK “ is a subjective term ..... a healthy plant will recover as it becomes acclimated to new space and medium. Nothing different than up potting any plant.

As growers go .... a million ways to skin a cat. Autos can and often do fine from seed to final pot.
But average pot sizes range from 1/3/5/7 gallon. However the biggest autos are from hydro , DWC , Dutch buckets , Sip ......... as roots are not defined by medium.

Yes , plants don’t like to be fussed with .... autos are no exceptions. But you can do fine by transplanting autos like a plug. Whether rooted in a rock cube , rooter , solo or whatever. I prep container by pressing an empty solo to make hole .... sprinkle root hormone in it and transplant , then water . No magic involved. Even a simple watering of diluted simple sugar water ( molasses ) or kelp works fantastic.

I stopped using 5 gallon smart pots as tap would penetrate the base. Airpots eliminated this and has worked well , as did regular containers and grow bags. For me the choice was using a highly aerated mix . Whether mixing a blend of 50/50 EB Stone / FFOF with a scoop of HF fruit and Veg dry fertilizer then water diet only ( 6.4 ). Or a layer of hydroton at base then top fill with soil.

Autos are only restricted by their “short veg stage “ ..... impede that and your yield will reflect it.
They are plug and play ..... stupid simple . Sow seed .... reap harvest.

GL

As a vegetable farmer I use thousands and thousands of 3 inch jiffy peat pots for starts.

I suppose if I were growing marijuana commercially, and using lights for starts I would for sure use transplants even for autos. $$ saved.

Ya I am done with 5 gallon fabric pots. A decent size auto fills the pot quick, and needs babysitting then..

Wow 20 gallon pots. Nothing like a big pot if you have the room. Just filled a dozen 10 gallon bags.

currently my tallest plant is almost 1 meter tall in a 20 gal pot

I start mine in rapid rooters. Prior to this I mix my soil in 3 gallon fabric pots, amended. In the center of the pot I bury a solo cup 2/3rds deep with the bottom cut out of the cup. The solo cup is just base soil with a little azomite.

When the roots start growing out of the rr, I make a hole in the solo cup, sprinkle mycorrhizae in the hole and on the rr, transplant and water. Water the solo cup only for the first 10 days. After that, you can water the entire pot. Helps to make sure it’s getting watered properly the first couple weeks and speeds up growth.

Here’s pictures of what I’m talking about:

The powder you see is diatomaceous earth. While my soil was cooking some gnats started kicking it in my soil so applied it few days ago. Haven’t seen any today though.

I haven’t ran my autos yet but I will do almost the same thing with them as my photos. Solo cup root out, 1g pot root out, then to the 5g cloth grocery bag until harvest. But for the autos I will skip the 1g and go solo cup right to the 5g. Hope it works!

Way2-High said:

I haven’t ran my autos yet but I will do almost the same thing with them as my photos. Solo cup root out, 1g pot root out, then to the 5g cloth grocery bag until harvest. But for the autos I will skip the 1g and go solo cup right to the 5g. Hope it works!

Click to expand...

Yeah be careful with the repot. Not sure if you’re an organic grower but make sure to use something to reduce shock during transplant. My Blue Mystic autos, pictured above, had no issues. Mycorrhizae helps in this regard, so does kelp.