Rule of Thumb for Transplanting?

I go by how fast the soil dries between waterings. Oece there are substantial roots in the soil, they will suck up much more water resulting in additional watering. This is a sign that the root ball should be ready to pop out and into the larger home.

 

may not be too relevent to you now as plants are smaller, but a rough guide for plant growth is 1 gallon of soil is equal to about 1 foot in hight/growth, so a 2 gal pot would be good for 2 foot plant & so on, also a good sign that they need transplanting or they are over due a transplant is roots coming out of the drainage holes

hope thats of some use/help

 

Personally, I would rather transplant as soon as possible rather than waiting. If you already know where they are going, transplanting when they are small will help reduce shock and risk of root damage.

 

well my rule of thumb is when the plant slows in growth or the bottom nodes start wilting/dying the roots are probably root bound from seed plants grow roots fast and hit the bottom quick clones for me can use smaller pots I usually go from 32 ounce cups for 3 weeks to 3-4 gal if its indoors a lot depends on veg time i would start with always being one up of the roots hitting the bottom so your plant has good nodes for when you start flowering

 

What kind of shock could i expect if i wanted to transplant into Hempy Buckets from soil, they're about 2 weeks old now. Should i wash the soil off the roots? Is this even a good idea?

 

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! DO NOT wash the roots off!!! Never heard of hempy buckets. Are you talking about SmartPots?
For Transplanting, What you want to do is wait until you need to water them. ALWAYS water in the morning(just makes it easier).
Spray(spraybottle) the top of soil until its soaked, approx. 10-15 sprays. Then give them a nice drink...mine took about 1/2 cup- 1 cup.
Next, start prepping the next containers. I always wash them with soap and hot water, then dry.
For the #2 transplant, Nitrogen is a key element in the veg stage, so I sprinkle about a 1/4 cup of bone meal on top of about an inch and a half of this great potting soil(which contains guano, worm castings, fir bark, peat moss, dolomite lime, etc) my local nursery(Navlet's) has, and then mix.
Then add another 2 inches of potting soil on top of that.
After 30 minutes or so of having watered the trees, and all excess water has drained, place one tree in your hand and gently cup the top and turn it over(like trying to pop a cake out of a mold or something) and gently sqeeze the sides to loosen the soil from the container. After a few rotations and squeezes, the tree should fall an inch to your cupped hand that's been waiting to catch her.
Immediately, place it into one of the prepped, larger containers. Keep a hand on it as to try to keep the soil and root ball intact.
With your other hand, scoop your mixed soil [which should contain a good potting soil and perlite(I do bout a 60-40 ratio), to let it aerate] and place it around the tree until the soil is even with the trees soil.
Press down on the soil about a 2 inch diameter around the tree, so the soil makes good contact with the roots.
Then even out the soil on top, spray her topsoil down(15-20 sprays), and you're good to go.
Just keep an eye on em after switching to HPS.
***Get used to their weight before watering and after!***
This is by far the best way to gauge whether or not to water. Forget all the 'stick ur finger 2 inches into the topsoil' CRAP! You can even keep track by using a scale!
Hope this helps. Time to pack a bowl. haaaaaa
Check out my gallery for my first grow.

 

Thanks, i appreciate it. I'm at this point trying to get them to flower and get smokeable results before i have to leave Jan. 5 and won't be able to tend them for 3 weeks. I'm going to start them on an 11/13 light cycle to try to speed up the process a little and then maybe switch to 10/14 or 8/16, which will sacrifice yield but will be better than nothing. I want to minimize the shock on my plants so i'm just going to stick with soil at this point and see where it goes. Thanks for the advice!

 

mav 173 if your plant is 2 weeks old, you wont be able to have any smokeable results jan 5. dont even waste your time speeding that process up, it will only hurt you. are u even sure the plants you have are females because with the inconsistant light scheduals you might incourage them to turn hermi..youll need around 7-10 weeks for most plants to flower and then time to dry...i would suggest either letting someone else take care of them for the time you are gone or start over again when you get back from where you are leaving. itll piss you off more to kill off a half way done plant then it will to get rid of them now. i suggest you read more and learn more about the time it takes to complete a full cycle of a plant and go for it again.

 

just thought i would throw in this tid bit. if you are re-using pots i always wipe down pot with peroxide before replanting in it. after a through wash. there is a lot of good tips in this thread steph.

 

This is a great read. I've got 4 plants now http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-grow-journals/511334-late-grow-journal-pics-56k-warning.html and my two older ones are in 3 gal with the other two in 2 gal. I've got 4 gal buckets ready to go. I'm just holding out for no real apparent reason. I watered them last night and today so I think a transplant may be in the near future for them all.

I definitely got some knowledge here today. thanks!!