The importance of a continuous canopy: It's all about EFFICIENCY, baby!

I wanted to write a thread about efficiency.

We often see new growers planting a seed into a huge pot 'to avoid transplanting', assuming that the act of transplanting is traumatic to the plant.

So first off, I'd like to say... IT'S NOT! As long as you do it correctly, the plant will benefit from a correct transplant schedule.

So, why do we transplant? There are several reasons, and you should understand the theory behind all of them.
First up is the plant's ability to use all the soil moisture in its pot. A plant that is MUCH too small for its pot can't get to the corners of the pot with its small root system, and as a result, moisture may sit and stagnate, causing root rot, anaerobic/reducing conditions in the soil, and unwanted interactions between fertilizer components. A plant too LARGE for its pot will use water so fast that you can't keep up with watering, and any slight changes in the soil chemistry can lead to wild pH fluctuations.

Second, the soil itself changes over time, as particles break down, buffering ability is used up, and nutrients are leached out by the activity of roots or flushing action. Old soil in a pot will get to a point where pH changes (usually drops, since most commerical media are peat-based and peat haas a natural pH around 5.0-5.5). As larger pieces of soil material break down, the interstitial spaces between them also get smaller, and the soil holds water very differently. Drainage starts to slow, and the roots again end up sitting wet and stagnant.

Third, and this is what I want to show pics of, plants potted in large pots simply don't make effective use of either light or space. The goal of an indoor or greenhouse grower is to maintain a continuous canopy so that no light is lost to the soil surface. This is illustrated in the pictures attached, and called 'supercropping' in the nursery world.

First we see a flat of vegetables sown directly into a tray. This is broadleaf sage BTW. These will be pricked off into their own pots shortly.
Next, is some young heirloom tomatoes "Mortgage Lifter" sown in nursery 6-pax.
Next is cannabis given the same 6-pax treatment.
Then we have a bunch of cannabis seedlings that have been potted-up to 3" pots.
Finally, some vegging cannabis in 6" pots.

Notice that the space BETWEEN the plants under the light is always minimized!

Not only seedlings should be treated this way. Any plant, regardless of propagation method, should be allowed to get just a hair rootbound, then allowed to dry out a bit, before gently upending the pot while supporting the soil and stem with a flat hand, rapping it on the bottom, and letting the intact rootball slide out.

Shown is what your root ball should look like when you transplant.
The next pic is a bunch of clones that have just been potted into 2.5" peat pots and can be carried around in a tray and stuck wherever there's a 1x2 foot bright spot in the grow room. I do the hardening-off during this period; the ones with domes are a week 'younger' than the ones without.
Next, is those same clones given a week or so of veg time to establish a healthy root system and stuck under a HPS1000 to grow on and flower- I don't want to re-pot them until they NEED it, so they are still in those little pots! lol
Finally, 2 pics of a flower room that shows new arrivals, month-flowering plants, and a few large retired moms in the back corners blocking off those dark edges of the room.

great post :thumbsup: very informative, i wondered about starting in 4" pots versus jiffy cubes but i think you answered my questions :)

excellent job....are those one gallon pots your flowering in or bigger?

Those are 1 gallons that fairly recently-rooted clones are flowering in.
In the background, retired moms are flowering in 3 gallon squares.

so its ok to have them standing close together, a friend said to do that too, because the plants race each other to get the light which makes them grow faster.
thanks stinky, always with the good info.

I totally agree, letting the plants get rootbound before transplanting really seems to make them enjoy the larger environment more. And it really helps when trying to get them out of the smaller pots... you don't have clumps of soil falling out everywhere and disturbing underdeveloped roots.

Great post! I'd rep ya for it (like you really need more reps anyway ;)), but I gotta spread some around first.

Great post stinky. So what in general are your recommended repotting intervals and what size pots should be used?

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Originally Posted by killerweed420

Great post stinky. So what in general are your recommended repotting intervals and what size pots should be used?

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Okay well I wish I could give precise times but this is something that you have to get a feel for yourself.
Light, temps, strain, water, medium, drainage/lightness, food, CO2, humidity all impact how the plants' roots will spread out in the pot they are given. You will learn over time how fast your plants grow into their homes. I would definitely recommend re-potting every 6 weeks or less, so choosing a pot that your plant will fill with roots in a month is a good start.
I go from 2oz per cell 6-pax to 3" pots to 6" quart pots to 3 gallon pots with from-seed plants.
I go from rapidrooters to 2.5" or 3" pots to gallon pots for flower for from-clone plants running SOG, or if given 2+ weeks' veg time, there is another re-pot step up to 3 gallon pots at about week 3 of flower, when stretch is ended and I can tell the ultimate size of the plant.

Nice info, Stinkster. :thumbsup:
All the way up to 1 gallon pots, I slide out the plant from the pot to check the root conditions. Slide back into pot when done checking.
Using care, it's never caused a problem. (unless I drop the darned thing, lol)
Quick, easy, no guesswork.