transplanting....

ok, i know this is probably a stupid question but that's not stopping me.... you see, i started my plant after germinating by placing it directly into a 3.5 gallon plastic container filled with a mixture of hyponex soil, perlite and peat moss. since then i have not transplanted because i have had no need to transplant, i have plenty of room. however, the more i read these forums the more i read about transplanting, people talk about it as a necessity but i assumed that it was just because the plants outgrew their current containers. obviously a pot ful of brand new, fresh soil probably sounds mouthwatering to any plant, but is it absolutely necessary? i'm fairly certain the pot i have is large enough to hold a full size plant, so do i really need to transplant? or can i just keep adding ferts and flushing and adding more without changing the soil?

Well...no need to transplant once started in a 3.5 gallon pot...but...

The advantage of starting in 4 oz pots or 16 oz plastic cups and transplanting into larger pots is...you get a chance to observe root growth and easier to control light and moisture levels. IMO.

word. i see