Why do we grow in buckets, why limit our plants growth?

[ryan1918]

I was kinda thinking about things and yeah I was like since the main reason a plant doesn't grow large or huge is due to that one factor alone, but what if I created a sandbox type thing but for the entire place they can grow so mainly the entire room, 14x11 would there be any disadvances or advantages of doing this? has anyone ever done this? Not only would it save on buckets it just seems like it would be overall better.. what do you guys think??

I was thinking of doing six or eight plants in each bed to keep them a little separate, would I need a drain to flush things out, or would I have a problem with water sitting or anything?

ryan1918 Reviewed by ryan1918 on 06-12-2012. Why do we grow in buckets, why limit our plants growth? I was kinda thinking about things and yeah I was like since the main reason a plant doesn't grow large or huge is due to that one factor alone, but what if I created a sandbox type thing but for the entire place they can grow so mainly the entire room, 14x11 would there be any disadvances or advantages of doing this? has anyone ever done this? Not only would it save on buckets it just seems like it would be overall better.. what do you guys think?? I was thinking of doing six or eight plants Rating: 5

[ryan1918]

250 views and no reply?

[EasyToRemember]

Sounds messy as shit.

I don't even use pots, but I bet they're a lot easier than maintaining a huge box of dirt in my house.

Hey, if it sounds better to you, go nuts.

[MASuperSkunkTLO]

I was kinda thinking about things and yeah I was like since the main reason a plant doesn't grow large or huge is due to that one factor alone, but what if I created a sandbox type thing but for the entire place they can grow so mainly the entire room, 14x11 would there be any disadvances or advantages of doing this? has anyone ever done this? Not only would it save on buckets it just seems like it would be overall better.. what do you guys think??

I was thinking of doing six or eight plants in each bed to keep them a little separate, would I need a drain to flush things out, or would I have a problem with water sitting or anything?

My buddy actually used to grow right in his basement floor.. It was an old house dirt basement. He obviously bought soil, but basically did the same thing your saying. If I remember correctly he had 6 beds with 4 plants in each bed and each bed had it's own 600 or 1000 over it can't remember exactly, but his bud is and was always amazing. I think while reading a little organic grow book by Soma, Organic Marijuana Soma Style: The Pleasures of Cultivating Connoisseur Cannabis, in which he details how to build these beds and all the specs for size, drain, watering etc. I'm sure if you do a little research you might be able to find an excerpt from this book regarding your questions. Or find a barnes n noble, borders, or order online. It's only like 10 15$ if I'm thinking correctly and it was a very easy read if you already have some cannabis related knowledge, and it seems as though you do.. Good luck man I know the whole posting thing can be frustrating when a 1000 ppl have viewed and no one replies, but half the people don't know and others are looking for the same answers you are. So dont get discouraged if that happens occasionally. Let me know how this goes, or if that read is any help to ya. Stay green bro!!

[BamaGrower]

ryan--

I think that in theory, your idea is great. The plants would have tons of room, drainage would be better, and soil would not compact as easily. This is in a world of "perfects". Here in the "real" world are the drawbacks--
1) if you ever want to move your plants you are just in a bind. If you decide to do any construction/addition of equipment/change your grow medium or method then you would have to transplant or wait till you harvested your girls to make these changes. As a relatively new indoor grower, I can ASSURE you that you will make many many changes and/or additions to your grow area, lights, vent sys, CO2--the list could go on and on. These changes create dangerous conditions to your plants that are best handled by moving your ladies to another room or area while working & testing the new improvements to your grow room.
2) PESTS= ever noticed a critter on ONE of your babies? If its in a container you can simply move it away from you healthy plants to prevent spread. This also is applicable to male plants. if, like me, you intend to produce your own seeds, then you cannot use any males that happend to sprout in the same area as your girls.
3) FLUSHING--depending on your set up, Im gonna assume that flushing would be very tough if not impossible with your proposed method.
I have a few other reasons but I think you get the point. The reason I could fire these off is because I did some research on this method because I truly liked the idea. I even had a baby pool picked out that was 8ft in diameter and about 2ft deep. I had intended to drill 1/8 inch holes for drainage all over the bottom and then put about 1.5 inches of pea gravel to make sure it had great drainage. I was gonna build a frame out of 2x4 lumber to support the pool over top of another pool to catch the drainage. You could use a very small pump and filter to remove any water from the drainage catch pool. I was all set to start and then I chickened out. I have a room that would just leave me no room to move around in if I would have used this setup. I am very happy with the 5 gallon bucket grow method. The roots have AMPLE room to grow and currently my papaya strain girls are 3ft tall and almost 3ft wide with no stakes or strings to hold them up. This lets you know they have healthy roots and are not constrained at all.

If you decide to do this, I would be happy to email you my detailed plans with drawings. I even have 2 different sizes planned out and materials priced. Let me know.

BamaGrower

[growmaxx]

Here's my two cents: The root mass doesn't have to be huge in order to support the size that most indoor growers need their plants to reach. Therefore buckets work just fine. Personally I use three gallon pots, and set them on 4x4 trays to catch the runoff.

Also as others have said it is pretty crucial if you have a confined space to be able to shuffle the plants around in order to leaf them and do other occasional maintenance, and cleanup after a round is a breeze, you can just dump the pots into trash bags.

I guess maybe it would work with a smaller setup, but the plants do just fine in 3 or 5 gallon pots at heights of 3-5 feet, and i can't imagine why you'd want to go bigger than that under lights, as the lower branches won't produce much weight and will take away energy from the top colas, therefore creating a headache for you upon harvest when you have to trim those small buds from the bottom and the yield there won't be worth it.

I would never grow in anything but containers but if you do, let me know how it goes.

Maxx

[CFLhydro]

I'd say it's not the best idea. You can grow larger plants by simply extending the veg period. It's not really practical in an indoor environment due to limitations of lighting, air circulation and various other things mentioned already. Bigger is not always better. Obviously, soil grown plants would benefit more from larger root space than hydroponics if you're not using chemical nutrients though. The buckets or pots generally used already provide ample room for either.
Providing the optimum environment from start to finish to suit the entire plant from the root zone to the tips will provide the best results.
Personally if I were to be growing in a large space I'd be doing my best to replicate or improve on the following style/setup.
Eight weeks S.AG.E. grow in 4 minutes - YouTube