Im a bit confused whether its better to start auto flower plants in small pots and then transplant or just start in the big pots i've heard a lot of different answers to this question and i just wanted to make sure i know the best choice. I have 5 inch plastic pots and 5 gal smart pots and have light warrior seed starter soil and roots organic soil. If i where to start the auto flowers in the 5 gal i was thinking put the roots organic soil on the bottom and put some light warrior soil on top so the seeds can use the light warrior first. What do you guys think i should do? Im starting my first grow this week when my auto mazar seeds come in so any info would be great.
My opinion after trial and error, mostly error here recently is: Auto's grow so fast, the taproot shoots to the bottom fast, as deep as your pot is. Start and finish in a larger pot. I am using root pots as well. 2 gallon minimum. I totally botched some cheese and fruit due to thinking a sog would work with 1 gallon pots. They stalled and it was a huge waste of time. Luckily, they were freebies. I currently have 3 white widows and 1 pakistan ryder in 1.75 gallon pots, and 2 fruit, 1 cheese and 1 white widow in 2 gallon root pots. 100% better! They are greatful for the larger pots. Day 3 of flower!
Oh and as far as soil goes, I am using 2 parts happy frog to 1 part big chunk perlite. Nutes are The Guano Co's Super Tea Mix for veg (will not burn) and Budswell for flower.
I never bother with transplanting with any auto or photoperiod plant. Germinate and straight to the pot. Never had a issue either.
I like to start all plants in smaller pots and then transplant into big pots when they need it, I just like the idea of the roots having some nice new soil to grow into that hasn't had nutes run through it. I know people who use one big pot from startto finish though, I'd say both methods work well
I was thinking to put the root organic soil on the bottom and a few inches of light warrior seed starter soil on the top of the pot so the seeds can penetrate the soil made for seeds first and by the time they start growing they will have a soil that works better for growth, is that a good idea?
I've read that autos can stress from transplanting. Of course I read that after starting in solo cups. I just transplanted yesterday after 2 weeks from sprout, and the roots were barely showing on the bottom of the solo cups, so hopefully I transplanted at a good time.
Ive got 3 auto mazar seeds in a cup of water that are going to be in there for 24 hours . Then when i take them out I'm putting them in the 5 gal smart pot. Will a half a bottle of water be good for the first watering after i put the seeds in their pots? It seems like you guys grow auto before and i just want to have an idea of how much to water the seeds when i first stick them in the pots in terms of normal sized water bottles. Im sticking them in their pot tomorrow so any info on this would be great.
I pre water my soil as I am prepering my pots. Not soggy, just damp. After seeded, just mist like every 8 hours or so until on the second true set of leaves, or put a clear plastic cup over the seedling to keep humidity high and light gets through. I have 4 fruit auto's on day 1 in 5 gallon smart pots as we speak.