From Hydroponics to dirt - For semi-adult plants

[msdt]

Hi all,
I'm growing in Aerogardens before I read that they are not suitable for flowering. I've resolved the problem by adding higher powered and full spectrum lights, along with adding nutrients meant for flowering. Many of the plants are about two feet tall. (I have 4 Aerogardens.) I have one auto plant that is flowering.

My intention had been to transistion to dirt, at an earlier stage. I've bought all of the supplies needed for the grow room. My procrastination and poor health has me in this situation.

I've seen much about changing from dirt to hydroponics, but not the other way around. I had planned to grow, the non-auto plants, to six feet tall before inducing flowering.

I have a mix of strains, with Northern Light #5 being the most common. But, I have Kush, Herner, Pakistan Valley, Delicious Candy, 60 Day Wonder and Auto CA Kush. All of which, are doing great.

Should I go to dirt or buy/build a larger hydro system?

Thanks...

 

[Croatsan]

Is there any specific reason you'd want to switch to soil?

 

[Vestrimatrik]

I've actually seen this done a couple times before.

If you truly do want to go soil then what you should do is pull your plant carefully out of your hydro medium and try not to damage the roots too much.

Rinse them with room temperature water, and once they are hanging down to a point, start lowering the root mass in a circular motion staying about an inch away from the sides of the pot into your soil.

Cover with more soil and make sure the stem is centered in your pot. Water it in and stake it. If you notice it start to wilt, water it a little more because that means it went into shock.

If it does go into shock then wait a couple hours for her to adjust to her new home and it should take anywhere from 7-14 days for her to fully stabilize.

I can upload a couple demonstration pictures for you a little later with a junk plant so you can see exactly what I'm trying to say.

Hope this helps you

 

[msdt]

Is there any specific reason you'd want to switch to soil?

Yes and thanks for the reply. Besides buying 5 and 10 gallon pots, a large roll of reflective material, etc., The Aerogardens are on a long semi-desk. There is a limit to how high the Aerogarden's LED panel can go.

That is about 2 inches higher than the shelf. This shelf is abnormally high and it would be a pain to remove the contents. Because of the shelf, I can't hang LED lighting above the shelf.

To put the Aerogardens in my, unmade, grow room, I wonder if it will work. The opening is fairly large, but I have one plant that has filled that opening. I think, in terms of root space, that a 10 gallon dirt pot will give me a wider plant than the current space. Plus, the massive root system(s) can fill the Aerogarden's available space. The plant might be near one end, then the plant will not spread out in that direction.

 

[msdt]

I've actually seen this done a couple times before.

If you truly do want to go soil then what you should do is pull your plant carefully out of your hydro medium and try not to damage the roots too much.

Rinse them with room temperature water, and once they are hanging down to a point, start lowering the root mass in a circular motion staying about an inch away from the sides of the pot into your soil.

Cover with more soil and make sure the stem is centered in your pot. Water it in and stake it. If you notice it start to wilt, water it a little more because that means it went into shock.

If it does go into shock then wait a couple hours for her to adjust to her new home and it should take anywhere from 7-14 days for her to fully stabilize.

I can upload a couple demonstration pictures for you a little later with a junk plant so you can see exactly what I'm trying to say.

Hope this helps you

Thank you for your response. Obviously you have done this as you know how long the root system can be!. I would like to add that when you spray the roots, do not use water with chlorine.

 

[TheFrizz]

I would recommend moving them into a deep water culture system. I actually did this for 7 tomato plants in my classroom last year- let them grow in an Aerogarden until their roots touched the bottom, then transferred them into hydroton filled net pots in DWC buckets. They took about 2 days to recover but were never in serious harm at all. All 7 plants thrived and we had a wonderful harvest at the end of the school year

DWC is the system I am using for my current grow because I believe it is the sweet spot between ease of use and effectiveness of results.

 

[Vestrimatrik]

Thank you for your response. Obviously you have done this as you know how long the root system can be!. I would like to add that when you spray the roots, do not use water with chlorine.

Great point

You want to remove your plant from the hydro medium, I'm using hydroton. Yes I know my roots are a bit small on this clone but I hope you get the general point....

Next you want to fill a pot about halfway with your selected soil (I'm using straight backyard dirt because I don't care about this plant.)
It's hard to see with such short roots but swirl your roots in a circular motion around the pot.

Fill the rest of the space in the pot with your selected soil making sure the stem is centered and water away....

I took these pictures just for demonstration purposes but it really didn't have any transplant shock. Even after being topped 2 days ago.

I really hope this helps you in your journey to make your girls the best they can be.

Good luck!
Vestri