When should I switch to 12/12?

Flowering is totally up to the grower. You can flip the switch anytime. Seven inches is kind of short but it would work. Are you growing in a smaller space and can't have them get too high or whatever? If space is a concern you can try LST or scrog methods which will increase yield and not take up much more space. Any pics of your setup?

 

Do your pots do something special? Actually kinda cool looking but just for show isn't really a big deal.

 

There highly effective pots and superior in every way I can think of to normal one. A good example is right now I have 3 OG Kush 18s going. 1 is in a 1 gallon airpot and its 40 inches tall now. The others are in 2 gallon airpots. Ones about 34 inches the other 37.

You get superior root growth, superior oxygen to your plants. I think it is literally impossible to over water them as well unless you submerge them in a bucket or something. I can flush mine and its not even dripping water 2 months later.

How they work is the holes "air prune" the roots. The root grows gets pruned by the air since roots do not grow when exposed to light and air. Then what occurs is the plant along that root grows internally. When you take it apart after harvest and smash up the soil your roots are a fine root mesh.

The only downfall is do the added surface area to air they tent to try out quicker.

Im sure its done but try getting a 40 inch plant out of 1 gallon pot from Walmart. I dont think you could.

 

Thats up to you. I only vegged my current 3 ladies to 8 inches. There all 34 inches to 40 inches tall now. Thats a 5x factor of growth I experienced in flowering. Don't know what you will get but I just grow for myself and will have plenty of bud for some time now.

 

Good looking setup. Go ahead and flower....they look to be healthy and ready!

 

Hey rh ,
Have you ever used a smart pot-type aeration pot? If so, I would be interested in knowing how you would compare the two. Thanks!

 

I just transplanted into my first cloth pot, had a great 2 gal root mass, went into 7gal

can't wait to see the roots take over!

 

As a rule of thumb i usually figure that whatever height your plant is when you flip to 12/12. It will be approx 3 times that height when done, so i veg accordingly.

 

Yes I have did one grow where I used 3 of them last year. I finished the grow and threw them out.

1. You have have to have a caddy to put under it. The containers trap water and take literally days to dry out. If you placed it on the ground without one youd have a nice big wet mess and most likely mold.

2. The roots grow out some and get air pruned as well but moving them by the handles can damage the roots they break off. Always had to pick them up by the caddy.

3. They say you can reuse them but I dont see how. Was a total pain the ass to clean them. Airpots I simply take out back spray with a hose throw it in a bucket with bleach water and done.

All in all I didnt like them especially with the retention of water issue. Like it would be sopping wet. Air pots on the other hand 30-40 min in my tub ready to throw back into my tent.

 

Interesting. Thanks rh. I am using smart pot knockoffs right now and I have noticed that the fabric seems to be thicker on the bottom and water doesn't drain as well out the bottom. I also have a mat of thin pieces of bamboo spaced about 2" apart on the floor that I set mine out so that air can get to the bottoms, I can see how you might run into problems without something like that. Although I haven't had problems with them taking too long to dry out. I also use big ones for veggies outside and they are excellent for that purpose.

You are definitely right about the handles and not being able to move it without damaging the roots, it's kind of a pain. Although I will say that most of the time I just pick em up and move them without worrying about it but those are my mama plants and they are a little more hardy. With my flowering girls I have to get my hand under the bottom of the pot.

They are a pain to clean. I've just been dumping my soil out and reusing them without washing, but I do an organic grow and reuse my soil and leave the roots in there. I can see how that would be in issue in a different kind of grow. I have taken my big ones to the laundromat before and thrown them in the big washing machine with some dr bronners soap and that worked pretty well, but it's still a pain.

Thanks for the feedback, you have convinced me to buy a couple air pots and give those a try. For some reason I was thinking that the air pots weren't very durable and would be hard to reuse. I'm going to pick up a couple and give them a try. Again, thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it!

 

There made of very rigid plastic. Very durable. I would imagine they last years. There connected together with this plastic thumbscrew. I have lost some..but zip ties work the same.