Pot Size for Autopots?

[Jams67]

Hey folks, looking for some advice on pot sizes. I have regretted not getting the round autopots as being able to turn the pots would have helped a lot with getting access to the plants but they only do the round pots in either 20 or 25l sizes, so Ive decided to try some round pots in my square trays and I will make a cover or a skirt to fit round the pot and over the tray.

 

I’m just trying to figure out what size I should go for. The square pots are 15l but I was considering going for the 8.5l pots before i started looking at round pots. The lemon drizzle I have grown in the 15l pots are too big for the space really, thats why I was considering going for smaller pots but i realise there are lot other factors such as veg time and just the strain can make a massive difference as well as the pots. The biggest diameter I can fit is 20cm, I have a few pots that are a bit smaller (17cm) im thinking they might be a bit too small though (sure they are 5l)

 

I will be using coco as the medium with an inch of clay pebbles at the bottom. If I go with the 5l pots will that plants be too small to get the most out of the space or should I be looking to go with something closer to 10l?

 

I will be using 2 tents (70cmx70cmx160cm and 100cmx100cmx180cm) not sure exactly how many plants but probably 3 or 4 in the big tent and 2 or 3 in the smaller tent.

 

Any suggestions on what size I should go for, or do you think the 5l pots are worth trying?

 

Cheers

 

 

[KC]

I don't use autopots or coco so I'm just going on what I've seen in diaries but the coco growers do use smaller pots compared to what I use for compost. I generally finish in 10/11ltr pots. I reckon you'd be fine in 5's mate, although you could go for 7.5's as a happy medium. The only thing that puts me off small pots is the constant watering but your autopots will take care of that.

[Jams67]

@KC cheers for the reply bud. I think I will try the 5l pots unless I find something better before I move the seedlings into them (if all goes to plan by the end of the week). Like you say the watering side of things shouldn’t be too big a deal as  the autopots system will do most of that for me. Im thinking of running the autopots without a timer this grow but not 100% on that one yet. When the plants are in veg and still small I will be hand watering, but im hoping using the smaller pots will mean I can switch on the autopots a bit earlier than when using the standard 15l pots.

[KC]

Yeah they should root out much faster than a 15L pot and be a lot more manageable too. I get some right monsters sometimes in large pots and they're a pita to move about so I feel where you are coming from.

 

Best of luck with it

[Jams67]

@KCcheers bud 

 

It was the lemon drizzle (only 1st grow so maybe just the strain) buts its so hard to get in about them for maintenance and checking for hermits etc that I wanted to reduce the size down and make them more manageable. Im doing a few mock ups to alter the existing autopot trays so I will see how they do on the next grow and if all good I will use the 5l in the big tent too, if the smaller round pots work as intended I could probably stick with 4. I just need to find the happy medium of utilising the space available but not so packed that working in the tent becomes too awkward and unenjoyable. 

 

Appreciate the input as always mate

[golf.007]

Used all sort of pot sizes (8.5 litre being the biggest) with no problems just make sure they flat on the bottom with decent amount of holes and when using smaller pots I always fill the gaps with as much clay pebbles as possible so the tray refills more often. 

 

G.

[Jams67]

13 minutes ago, golf.007 said:

Used all sort of pot sizes (8.5 litre being the biggest) with no problems just make sure they flat on the bottom with decent amount of holes and when using smaller pots I always fill the gaps with as much clay pebbles as possible so the tray refills more often. 

 

G.

@golf.007Hey bud, cheers for your input. Thats good to hear, have you used 5l or smaller and had good results, or how did they compare to 8.5l? 

 

The pots I have are flat bottomed with big holes around the side at the bottom not actually on the underside like the original autopots. I was thinking to cut or drill holes to mimic the bottom of the original autopots. Not sure if the holes along the side will be an issue but I can always blank them off with something. 

 

When you say you fill the gaps with clay pebbles do yo mean the 4 corners of the tray that are left open space after changing from square to round pots? Never thought about that, good idea. Do you run your autopot system natively or do you use a timer? My first grow ive gone with a timer and it seems to have worked well for me regards feed and its also stopped a flood after one aqua valve got stuck in the open position (if I wasnt on a timer it would have emptied the tank into the tent before I got a chance to fix it) so im not sure wether to try without or not.

 

Cheers, J

[Exhale]

Small pots even with 40% coco content can produce big plants, this is a 2.4L pot with a grid bottom the sides of the pot direct the roots down and they get air pruned, takes a while to water 500ml each irrigation the root mass is that thick! 1L per day split over 2 feeds, plant is about 150cm tall the pots about 19/20cm tall. Gonna be interesting to see what this plant yields I'm really impressed with the size and the form for such a small pot.

 

[Jams67]

@Exhale Wow man thats crazy, i doff my cap sir! How many weeks in is that? While im not expecting those kind of results its good to see that the 5l pot size should be fine for what im after

 

Funny you mention air pruning as thats what im moving onto next. I was going to buy the airport things but I had these pots kicking around so thought id use them first. Im thinking about drilling some small air holes in the sides of the pot, I already use  a small airstone with the autopot airdome but thought some holes around the side walls might work for pruning in the same way as the airpots.

 

Cheers, J

[Exhale]

3 weeks in @Jams67

 

There is a 5L tomato pot on the little table behind it, not a great more amount of room for roots but I do like them for topping plants - more than enough room to root out by the time you've managed to train a few tops!

[Jams67]

@ExhaleNice, she is going to be looking even more amazing in a few weeks, do you have a diary going with that one? Would love to see how she turns out

 

 

Here is what ive been messing about with today, getting the autopot trays ready for the round pots, will be looking to do something better, maybe 3d printed, in the future but just messing about with some scrap wood for now. Will probably just stick with the existing cover that goes over valve but I had some wee hinges lying about so thought id add a hinged lid (been a bit bored today )

 

Taken a picture of the pot I will be using. It has some big holes around the side at the bottom but im thinking to drill or cut out the bottom to resemble the autopots and make blank off the holes on the sides. Im also thinking to drill some air holes to give them a cheap diy airpots makeover, is this something worthwhile? Anyone tried it before and noticed any benefit?

 

Im going to get some of the copper root control discs autopot use, does anyone know where I can buy a big sheet or roll of it so I can make my own, cut to size?

 

 

 

[Jams67]

Morning folks, looking at the picture above showing the holes at the bottom around the side of the 5l pot, what would you recommend I do to make it work best with the autopot system?

 

1, Do nothing use as is

2, Leave the holes at bottom around the side but add holes to the bottom that resemble the original autopots

3, Cover the existing holes (super glue or melt some plastic to block the holes) and add holes to bottom that resemble the original autopots

 

Ive got a separate question thats not really related to autopots, but il ask here in case I can get a quick answer. Ive looked at an old thread with similar question but the guy was at a slightly different stage than I am at the moment. So I planted the seeds in the jiffy pellets Monday morning, theres no sign of them yet this morning. My missus wants to go away for the weekend (Thursday evening to Sunday evening) What would be the best way to get away at this stage?

 

1, Take the jiffy pellets with me (2 hour drive) 

2, Leave in jiffy pellets in propagator, give them a a good few sprays before I leave

3, Pot up to either final pot or a smaller 0.5l pot 

 

Appreciate all the help folks, cheers