When should I transport my plant to a larger pot?

[Bimmer85]

I currently have them in small 6 inch containers... one is doing great but still has plenty of grow room while the other is half the size if not worse. Im also going to plant 4 more in a day or two once they germinate. should I wait as long as I can and transport into large pots or can I wait. What would be a good indication of them being ready to be moved? Also is there is there any benefit to planting directly to large pots from the start? The way I see it is having smaller pots I can keep them closer together in small pots allowing me to focus the lights on one small area instead of spreading them out if I had lager pots. Once there are more leaves and the plants are bigger the lights spread out will still be able to reach all the plants but if they are still small its harder to focus all the light on them.

*note:these are earlier pics, plants have gained much size since these were taken. will post more later*

[Jimmycricket]

You dont need to put them in a bigger pot till they are about this big

They can even go a little bigger.

But once you see roots popping out the holes on the bottom, you should transplant them within 10 days or less.

[exile19]

Maybe even bigger than that ive transplanted a couple and that pot depending on how long you wanna veg, could last entire grow

[nibec]

in soil, i start mine in those red "party cups" or "beer cups" they get a little bigger than the ones in the pic above before they start to get root bound.

i normally judge it by - is it growing? yes? then its not root bound
how often to do i have to water it? 3-4 days? then its still ok
is there roots poking out the holes? no? then its still ok.

if 2 of those statements become the opposite, then its time.

might make it a little easier for you to jugde it. keep in mind this isnt a fool proof list. its just my suggestion.