Please help - New Grower with Transplanting question

[Buddy McNugs]

Hi, I am working on my first grow(link to journal in signature) and my plants are currently in solo cups but it is time to transplant. I have limited space in my veg cabinet(about 5 or 6 square feet - there will be more room in the flower cabinet) and am trying to figure out the best way to conserve space and money. I was originally going to go from the solo cups to 3 gallon pots, but wouldn't that be a big waste of this expensive soil before I know the sex of the plants? Can you easily reuse soil from pots that had males in them? I of course will be killing any males but if I have 6 plants, and 3 of them end up being males, I would hate to waste the 9 gallons of soil used in their pots. Would it work for me to transplant from the solo cups into one gallon pots and use those through the rest of veg and into flowering until I know the sex and then after I know the sex and get rid of the males, transplant females into 3 gallon pots for the rest of flowering. Is that wise? Or if that is a bad idea, could I take the soil from the pots that had males in them and save it for my next grow? I would think the solo cups to 1 gallon pots to 3 gallon pots after sexing them would be the best choice, but I am new and don't know if that is a good idea or not. I also have read about some people taking clones of their plants and sexing the clones to know which are males that don't need to go into flower. I am really new and would rather not have to clone unless that is my only option.

Any advice would be appreciated. It would help to know this by tomorrow afternoon so I can go ahead and transplant because these plants aren't looking too happy in their current cups.

 

[Stealthboat]

Not sure on reusing the soil, its FF ocean forest right? I saw preflowers on my plants in about the 3rd week of veg (they were clones though), so you can find out the sex before flowering most likely. Hmm i guess I'd say transplant them to the 1 gallon containers, give it a few weeks and see if any preflowers pop up. Another tip is never flip a plant to 12/12 if it's been transplanted in the past 7 days.

 

[Stealthboat]

And a general transplanting rule is to transplant every 2 weeks or so to a container twice the size of the last one, won't get rootbound this way

 

[Buddy McNugs]

Thanks for the advice. It is Fox Farm Ocean Forest soil. I probably won't try to reuse the soil, I would just hate to use all that soil to fill a bunch of 3 gallon pots for half or more to end up being males and lose that. So, do you think 1 gallon pots would take me all the way to sexing them and then I could switch to 3 gallon pots after sexing? I have limited vertical space so I am planning to only veg until they are about 18" high so I am not sure if I will be able to see sex before then? I would rather not have to transplant again after they are in flower, but don't know if I will see the sex until then since I will be putting them in flower once they are that tall.

 

[Stealthboat]

Mine were under a foot when the preflowers showed up. I think the 1 gallon pots might take you up to the point of sexing, not sure though. My tallest plant at the time of the 12/12 flip was about 14 inches, maybe 16 inches at most.

 

[Buddy McNugs]

Awesome, I just answered your post in my Journal, but my plan is currently to go to one gallon pots tomorrow and then to three gallon pots in 2 weeks before flower. 2 weeks will be a month they have been in Veg and if I wait 7 days that will give them 5 weeks in Veg, think that is enough to get them to 16-18" ? How tall did your 14 - 16" veg plants get by harvest? I am hoping for around 3-4 feet tall in flower.

 

[Stealthboat]

I actually just measured mine a minute ago, my tallest ones are both 22 inches (56cm) after 50 days, 43 days of veg and 7 of flower. So I had 6 weeks of veg total from when I planted my clones. I think 5 weeks of veg will get them to 16 or 18 inches. My plants will likely top out at 3 feet, maybe 3.5 feet.

 

[Buddy McNugs]

Ok great thanks, that is good to know. I will let them veg for 5-6 weeks or until they run out of vertical room in the cabinet they are in.

 

[Stealthboat]

In case you didn't know, sativas will grow out tall and lanky while indicas will be shorter and bushier, so plan room space accordingly depending on what your plants look like

 

[Buddy McNugs]

Oh ok, thanks. I don't know what the three bag seed plants are but the other three I do know so I will look that up. Wish I had a little more room in the cabinet but will make do with what I have.