Question - need advise on veg/flower transition

[thehitman]

I am a rookie with questions - have mother plants now at 18" or 20" tall, very bushy and healthy. Have taken clones off and started them.

The mother plants (Pineapple Express) are in 6"pots in soil. I would like to take a couple of them and move into the flower room (getting crowded in the veg room) . Is it possible to transition from soil to hydroponic?

Can I take the pots and just drill additional holes on the sides, put into the clay pellets and start them on ebb and flow in the flower room? Or should I take the pots off, rinse off the soil and put into the hydro pellets? or would that be too much shock? Or just leave in the 6"pots and continue with drip irrigation?

Thanks in advance for the help!

thehitman

 

[Antics]

It sounds like those pots are too small. Right now, they should be in at least 3 gallon pots. 5 gallon preferred.

Not sure about how to transition from soil to hydro, I imagine it shouldn't be too difficult, a more experience grower should be in to help with that.

I'm also unsure about the last question, I grow in soil myself.. Good luck!

In the meantime, this might have some answers for you: How to Grow Marijuana Everything You Need to Know

 

[thehitman]

Thanks - I could put them into larger pots. But they are so happy now! Very vigorous, bushy, (had to pinch back a couple of the tallest) and with a thick stems at the base (3/8" or more ) . I use two fans 24/7, feed PBPG, plants are deep green and sturdy.

Eager to get some clones into flower, and/or flower a couple of the large mother plants as they are going to really crowd the veg garden.

 

[Antics]

Keeping a plant in too small of a pot you will risk the plant becoming rootbound. I would repot ASAP.

 

[thehitman]

ok, I accepted the advise and transplanted into larger pots. Will give them a few days to stabilize after the shock and then will select a few to begin the flowering phase (600 watt HPS). Will stick with soil for the remainder of this grow and see how it goes. The clones will be ready for the next cycle if they are all female.

 

[Antics]

Did you transplant the whole soil, or did you break it apart? When done correctly a transplant should cause little to no shock on the plant.

 

[thehitman]

yes - basically, I slipped off the old pot, placed the root/soil ball into the larger pot, placed some clay pellets in the bottom and new potting soil around the outside edge to fill the gap, and watered them. Very little disturbance to the root ball. They look good and healthy, no evidence of stress.

clones look ok too, no root showing yet, perhaps another week.

Should I flush with plain water prior to moving into flower room? Then switch to the bloom nutrient.

Since my plants are now 20 - 22" in height, how big will they get when fully bloomed (I have pinched the tops to force some branching)?

 

[Antics]

Oh man that was perfect then. There should be little to no shock at all to the plant with a perfect transplant like that.

You don't have to flush before flower, but I have seen it suggested by a few people. The reason is that a good heavy flush before flowering removes excess salts on the roots, which exposes the roots more to water/nutrient uptake. So when you start flower your roots are clean and new, and can absorb tons of water and nutrients to support bigger flowers.

I did this same thing on my last grow, and I think it helped a lot, and I plan to continue flushing before flower on every grow.

There is a period of "Stretch" in flower, but it can vary by strains and phenotypes. If you don't want stretch, or don't have room for it, you can LST your branches in place, and keep them more where you want. You should see on average, between 2"-8" of stretch. But usually around the 4"-6" level is what I see most people say.

Pinching the tops would basically turn that single end of a branch, into two ends on the same branch.

So when are we going to see some pictures of your hard work?

 

[thehitman]

thanks for the comments! Think I may begin the flower phase soon, anxious to see the real deal!!

Been using Botanicare pure grow, happy with the result so far. Switch to the pure bloom for the next step - was recommended by the local hydroponic store. Maybe usable Bud by Xmass? We'll see.

 

[thehitman]

also, will I need to trellis or make some type of supports for the plants in the bloom phase since I'm starting with 20" plants? I am concerned that these babies will grow into something too large for my bloom space (4x5x8'tall)?

kinda paranoid about posting photos???

 

[Antics]

thanks for the comments! Think I may begin the flower phase soon, anxious to see the real deal!!

Been using Botanicare pure grow, happy with the result so far. Switch to the pure bloom for the next step - was recommended by the local hydroponic store. Maybe usable Bud by Xmass? We'll see.

Flowering time ranges between 8-12 weeks usually. Some strains go shorter, some go longer. So keep that in mind. If you have a 12 week flower period, that takes you to December 15, plus about 1 week to dry, and you're past the 25th. If the strain flowers in 8-9 weeks, That takes you to the middle of November, plus a week to dry, and at least 1 week to cure. You'll have plenty of time if its a shorter flower period. You can find the flower information on the breeder or seedbanks website.

also, will I need to trellis or make some type of supports for the plants in the bloom phase since I'm starting with 20" plants? I am concerned that these babies will grow into something too large for my bloom space (4x5x8'tall)?

kinda paranoid about posting photos???

Maybe not a trellis, but some bamboo supports, or a tomato cage would work great. Keep it simple. Although I don't think you'll exceed 8' tall. You'll hit a short period of stretch in flower, and after that there won't be much vertical growth at all.

As long as your pictures have no identifying information, names, locations, computer names, you'll be fine.

I would guess there are hundreds of thousands of Cannabis pictures uploaded every day to the internet with no problem at all.