Solo Cup Prep

[Trump]

Most growers like to use solo cups as a seedling cup. They also like to use the cup in a cup method to be able to see the root development using a clear cup and red solo as the sleeve to keep light out.

My question is instead of poking holes only on the bottom why not poke holes all over the cup to mimic an airpot or is there some reason why this is not a good idea? I would think the earlier the root development the better and we all know airpots are great at developing roots.

This would mean you would have to poke holes in both the clear AND red cups and line them up to get the perceived benefit. I guess you could forego the inner clear cup and just go all red with holes poked all over the cup but you would miss out on being able to slide out the inner to see how roots are doing. Just curious how much benefit you would receive from using an "airpot" solo this early or if it's not worth the trouble.

 

[Phytoplankton]

It would certainly work, I use nursery cups, which are black, I wait until I see roots coming out the bottom, then wait a couple more days.

 

[Roy Growin]

Not with seedlings where you are trying to keep roots moist to develop tho

 

[Phytoplankton]

Not with seedlings where you are trying to keep roots moist to develop tho

I set my cups on top of the damp soil of their final pot, so the roots don’t dry out, and I haven’t yet had them grow into the soil underneath. You can normally tell how the roots are doing by looking at the vegetative growth.

 

[Sueet]

Someone posted here recently that they were doing exactly that. Hopefully that person will see this thread and chime in with the actual results.

 

[Keffka]

You mean like this? It works really well, and prevents overwatering. You need to stay on top of watering though because it dries out quickly

I use a soldering iron, was a tip from Az and someone else. I can knock out 10 cups in 5-10 minutes. Makes the cups stronger too. There’s quite a few of us who do it.. @Gee64 and @Azimuth off the top of my head

I covered it in the journal in my signature. Works well and I’ll be doing variations as I go, to see which design is best.

 

[Keffka]

Not with seedlings where you are trying to keep roots moist to develop tho

That wasn’t as much of an issue as was root balling. Normally in a solo the roots will begin balling quickly and will build up a dense root ball with minimal time.

With the added airflow the roots do not ball up as quickly. Instead they grow like normal and auto prune themselves. So if you’re trying to build a dense root ball quickly, this will slow you down. However if you’re doing organic/los stuff you’re not looking for a dense root ball in a solo cup anyway, you’re just making sure the plant is strong enough to take the active soil in your big containers.

 

[Trump]

You mean like this? It works really well, and prevents overwatering. You need to stay on top of watering though because it dries out quickly

I use a soldering iron, was a tip from Az and someone else. I can knock out 10 cups in 5-10 minutes. Makes the cups stronger too. There’s quite a few of us who do it.. @Gee64 and @Azimuth off the top of my head

I covered it in the journal in my signature. Works well and I’ll be doing variations as I go, to see which design is best.

I should have figured you'd be ahead of the curve........

 

[Keffka]

I should have figured you'd be ahead of the curve........

I had the exact train of thought you did. “If smart pots are so much more effective and beneficial, then extra holes in a solo cup should be just as helpful as well”