My plan is to germinate indoors in early April then move outdoors with final transplant into #7 pots in organic soil. Is becoming root bound after so many months a plant health issue or just size limiting?
You'll be able to rock that 7 gal pot for a good month or so after germinating, but once the above ground bio mass grows larger than the root mass itself problems begin to arise like stress and stunting. Every strain or pheno type has a certain amount of genetic potential basically, and we can never add to this plant's final yield potential - no matter how much money we spend on bloom boosters or other things of that nature. It's all about mitigating stress/shock, because every time the plant is stressed (like when root bound) it deducts a certain % of the plant's yield. So in reality we can never add to the yield, but we can do things to prevent yields from being lost... if that makes sense. With this being said, it is VITAL to transplant before that plant becomes root bound. Get em in the ground and out of the 7 gals within a month or 45 days tops. I usually go from beer cups inside, then transplant into 5 gallon pots for a few weeks until my holes have composted the organic amendments I mixed in them the week prior. If I get an early jump on the soil mixing I skip the 5 gallon pots all together and go directly into 60 gallon holes to prevent stress - the 5 gal pots are solely used to hold the plants until the soil is broken down and ready to be transplanted into
Planting in the ground is out of the question. People grow & harvest in pots all the time. Not looking for massive yields but if all goes well with proper training and depending on the strain, can I expect a few ounces per plant? How do container growers contend with root growth?
Pots tend to yield less than in the ground due to the faster drying periods - the heat and sun can dry a pot's soil out a lot faster than a mulched hole in the ground. So if you can keep up with the water demands, and supply the plant with enough space to grow and mature without being stressed from becoming root bound - I bet you can yield up to 10 oz per plant (depending on strain). My buddy just grew 20 plants last year in 30 gallon pots and grabbed 8-14 oz from each one! The main challenge is water though like I've said, a plant that's in a wet marsh with unlimited water will yield up to 3x as much as a plant that has been deprived of water. For this reason I try to plant my set and forget plots in swamps and other wetland habitats, and only do pots when I have to. Usually I won't even bother unless I have a reservoir dug out and connected to drip irrigation, because the amount of visits necessary to water would most likely compromise that location by the end of the summer
Thanks for your response. 10oz per potted plant! Nice. I've got my sights set lower, especially with #7 pots This is a simple 2-3 plant grow in my little backyard in an LA suburb. Tending the plants won't be an issue. My issue will be the teenagers next door! Aurora Indica is a low growing strain (so I've read). So maybe it doesn't need as much root space? I'd like to find a container grow journal or two here. I'll have to give a shout out somewhere here to find someone who has backyard container experience. This is one of the better forums I've participated in over the years. Flame wars are nonexistent here. Just an occasional brush fire that's quickly stamped out