Transplanting tips.

[Screwnuts33]

Last night I transplanted my kids from 1/2 gallon starter pots to 5-gallon buckets they will finish in. Way bigger project than I would have guessed. Be sure you are ready before you begin. Plan on at least one gallon of PH'd water per 5-gallon bucket. Have a large tub to mix your soil in. Trying to mix pearlite and vermiculite into the the soil in the bucket is a huge pain. Mix in a big tub then fill your buckets. Be sure your buckets have drain holes. Each bag of Fox Farms soil will fill 2ea 5-gallon buckets. I bought way more soil than I ended up needing. I have enough for another complete grow. lol. PH your water ahead of time so it is ready to use. Have a dedicated "wet" area or use drip pans. Wet the new soil before transplanting the plant. Let the existing pots dry out. Trying to get a plant out of freshly watered soil is a huge pain and very messy. Use a knife or something similar that is long enough to reach the bottom of your current pots. Run the knife around the edge of the pot to loose the root ball from the pot. Slip the plant stem between your fingers and turn the pot upside down and give it a little shake. The plant and root ball should pop right out. Transfer it to the new bucket ensuring that all roots are covered in soil. Add some additional water around the plant.

My plants were started in 1/2 gallon pots and after 3 weeks they were very root bound. I should have transplanted last week.

I also made the mistake of not having enough water ready to go when I started. Huge pain to PH water as you are using it. Do it ahead of time. My time to transplant all 16 plants was about 4 hours. Take your time and handle the plants with care. Be sure your hands are clean before starting or wear latex gloves. Any oil residue or contaminates on your hands will be transfered directly on to the roots. Not good.

 

[Hightide805]

good tips.. its better to have too much soil then not enough lol
that way you don't have to go back as often too