hi so I live in California and it gets hot like 90-100 degrees in these summers and I wanted to grow some auto flowering seeds next summer (this will be my first grow ever). I wanted to use fabric pots because they keep the soil/roots a little cooler since its so hot in the summer but now I'm debating between what size fabric pot to use and wether or not to use plastic pots. I don't want to use too much soil. So I guess my question is, should I use plastic or fabric pots? What size pot? And how often would I have to water them? For growing autos in 90 degree weather. Sorry I'm still very new to growing. Thanks
Fabric is better . Autos beat new growers up. Better to get to know cannabis growing photo strains as they are way more forgiving. As far as watering..that depends usually the weight of the pot in question indicates if it needs to be watered or not. GFP Sent from my SM-G600FY using Tapatalk
Well, do you think I would need to water everyday in 90 degree weather? If u could just give me like a rough estimate
"probably" depending on the environment and the size of the root system and the size of the pot..and of course the size of the plant. GFP Sent from my SM-G600FY using Tapatalk
Fabric is great to warm to mild climates, as in most cases the water just runs out but for your situation , you are correct the water vapes out far to quick having a larger than normal pot say 5 us gallon plus another say 3 us gallons offer the roots some barrier against the heat, in Russia we use the same against the cold Autos at best run for 90 days, means you should get 2-4 grows in before summers end for that extra heat use extra soil as insulation do note Lift the pot THINK Then water good luck
I don't mean to start an argument but why do u say don't lift pots. Always willing to learn something new. On mine I lifted them like 4 times a day for 2 months straight (indoors to outdoors, then back indoors, also moved then to get most light) and never had issues. Would my plant have been bigger had I not done that?
OP I live in Baja California in the desert where it gets 1fucking20 degrees farenheit. Fabric pots will definitely need more man hours compared to a plastic but that's the price u pay for cooler temps. Whether cooler temps actually make a significant difference I can't definitively answer. I ran out of fabric pots and had to put one in plastic. Funny thing too was that it grew at faster pace and till this day hasn't been passed with regards to trunk thickness. They all started at the same time/size
id say that if you already have plastic pots, then use them. but if you can get fabric and dont mind the increased frequency of watering then fabric. what I like about fabric is that I can just slice the sides with a knife, and pull flaps down and tranplant without ever having to flip the plant upside down and ruining the root ring at the bottom that sense gravity. Plants dont ever flip upside down in nature (unless you count earth spinning lol). that causes unwanted stress which robs veg production time which then lowers yield. btw this stress that im talking can be negligible but with my grow Im trying to squeezeevery last mm of growth
wrap a cloth around the plastic pots to shield them from direct sunlight. and when it gets hot just wet the fabric to add some cooling. thats what I always do with plastic
another pro for plastic is that you can move it with ease and without disturbing roots. with fabric you have to hold it perfectly from the sides and kinda pull out the tension so that the rootball shape doesnt distort. found it to be way more work on the back especially with 10galloners. i liked to move my fabric pots after watering them to solidify the root ball a bit more and avoid meshing the dirt around.(this also made them heavier but preserved rootball shape).btw, after two months of doing that with 6 plants, 4 times a day each, i now have popeye forearms lmao
don't lift pots...? do note, (NOT. DO NOT) Lift the pot (do I need to water this babe?) THINK (was it this heavy before..?) Then water (no it is lighter, So I'll water this babe) do not use finger insert or same like tool Thanks
my bad man, you kinda lost me there. I just looked back and it looks like I made the mistake of reading it wrong. i must have seen "do not lift", instead of "do note lift". Ive been smoking too much, I think I gotta lay off of it for a bit haha
but yea, i was also lifting them to see if they needed more water. is that what u meant? confused me there
I live in NorCal foothills and grow in 100 gal tan fabric pots. It's been really hot (triple digits) lately and of course they need more water during those times. It all depends on your expectation for your yield. I usually yield 2-3 lbs per plant. With fabric Smart pots your root system won't get root bound. Not so much for plastic. I am growing in soil mixture with perlite added for proper drainage. If you are a first time grower, I would suggest going with an easy to grow sativa strain to get some experience under your belt. Especially in California. They like the heat and are pretty forgiving. In the beginning I water when the soil is dry down to a few inches. Every 2-3 days. Once they are rooted and growing they start to require more water. Now I am Watering every other day. I am in week 5. Good luck to you with your endeavor next season. Research, Research, Research, is the whole key.