When to transplant autos

[Shaun]

WhAts the benefit of transplanting autos? And why is it worth the risk?

[IceCalibur]

WhAts the benefit of transplanting autos? And why is it worth the risk?

That's actually a great question Stokes.

I might be wrong here, but I believe there could be multiple reasons.

Firstly, watering seedlings (of any plant) in too large a pot for it's root system can cause issues with growers who have a difficult time with watering, watering the entire pot of soil (in a very large pot) can literally starve the roots of oxygen, because the seedling doesn't need that amount of water that is available in the larger pot and won't be able to pull it out of the medium. Starting the seedling with a small pot can help with that, although it's still possible to overwater if you're overzealous.

This is why when a seedling is planted in a very large pot, it's best not to saturate the entire soil, instead giving just enough in a ring around the seedling.

The other reason is that it's believed that it encourages a better root system, with seedlings in larger final pots, the roots just go as far as they can then start wrapping around the circumference of the pot, so if you start in smaller pots, wait until the roots fill it nicely and then transplant them, they have already filled that smaller central area, and then start filling the new space once you transplant them. A better root system, which is using more of the pot space often gives great results. Could be this happens even without transplanting, I really can't say for sure.

Some also find they don't have to start nutrients so soon when transplanting, so you can use a light mix soil in smaller pots, then pot them up into a more nutrient rich soil (you can mix a too rich soil with a lighter mix depending on age of the auto) extending the time until you need to introduce nutrients. With photos you can do this multiple times before switching to 12/12.

I have no 'scientific evidence' of all of this so please take it as just my opinion and feel free to experiment for yourselves.

I don't bother transplanting autos any more, they go straight into their final pots and I have no issues with watering them as I'm used to knowing how much to use depending on my environment, and I get results that I'm personally happy with.


As always, I'd encourage growers to try it both ways (as I did), to see which they prefer for themselves.

[Shaun]

I transplant photos without thinking twice, ive seen them take a few days to perk up so i never considered doing it with autos. But on the flipside i top autos without thinking twice, doing exactly what i thought to avoid transplanting.

[IceCalibur]

I transplant photos without thinking twice, ive seen them take a few days to perk up so i never considered doing it with autos. But on the flipside i top autos without thinking twice, doing exactly what i thought to avoid transplanting.

Yeah I almost always top my autos Stokes, and have topped an auto three times before..on a rare occasion I will let them go 'au naturel'.

[LethallMonkey]

Yeah I almost always top my autos Stokes, and have topped an auto three times before..on a rare occasion I will let them go 'au naturel'.

When do you top them ?

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[MadJohn]

When do you top them ?

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FWIW

I topped my Blue Dream on day 20 above node 5 (I count that from the day I planted the seedling into the coco. That works out day 28 from planting the seed)
I topped the Formula 1 on day 18(26) above node 4

It's a very small window for auto's but I'd estimate any time between day 16 to day 24 after potting on and you'd be fine.

Neither auto seemed to get affected at all.

MJ

[B1unt]

His post says he knows he shouldn't transplant autos so you should have started there really.

He doesn't know he shouldn't transplant auto's at all. He jest read it on the internet (because its been perpetuated so much as if it's a fact that, that's how it's received).

When do you top them ?

Once they hit 5 nodes is a good shout, by this point they have enough root mass to handle it. You can top at (above) the 5th node & then a few days later remove the first two mains & be left with 8 main colas. Which may well be around day 17?

You might want to pot them up around day 12, how big is the pot they're currently in?


FYI I am not telling anyone to do anything, I am just stating that you can pot up auto's fine. As bud mentioned starting a seedling in a 10+ litre pot makes it hard to not flood the media & a new grower will probably run more risk of saturating the media & stunting the plant by preventing the roots from developing, than they would from transplanting. By the time they're ready to transplant the plant will have roots & a be able to drink a reasonable volume making it more suited to a larger container.

Starting a seedling in a small container means it the media will dry back faster, the roots will hunt for moisture & therefore will colonise the small volume of media more effectively (as well being able to keep smaller containers in a veg tent for a couple of weeks, which larger containers prevents you from doing).

Again both can work, I never said there's anything wrong with starting a seedling in the final container (but I don't think it's as practical). The point I am making is the only people who say you can't / shouldn't transplant auto's have typically never done it (so are basing their information on a myth).

Remember when forums were full of "fem seeds will herm & not be as potent" being perpetuated? Not heard that one for a while?


Also as Bud (& I) say, Great White on transplant for the win

[LethallMonkey]

He doesn't know he shouldn't transplant auto's at all. He jest read it on the internet (because its been perpetuated so much as if it's a fact that, that's how it's received).




Once they hit 5 nodes is a good shout, by this point they have enough root mass to handle it. You can top at (above) the 5th node & then a few days later remove the first two mains & be left with 8 main colas. Which may well be around day 17?

You might want to pot them up around day 12, how big is the pot they're currently in?


FYI I am not telling anyone to do anything, I am just stating that you can pot up auto's fine. As bud mentioned starting a seedling in a 10+ litre pot makes it hard to not flood the media & a new grower will probably run more risk of saturating the media & stunting the plant by preventing the roots from developing, than they would from transplanting. By the time they're ready to transplant the plant will have roots & a be able to drink a reasonable volume making it more suited to a larger container.

Starting a seedling in a small container means it the media will dry back faster, the roots will hunt for moisture & therefore will colonise the small volume of media more effectively (as well being able to keep smaller containers in a veg tent for a couple of weeks, which larger containers prevents you from doing).

Again both can work, I never said there's anything wrong with starting a seedling in the final container (but I don't think it's as practical). The point I am making is the only people who say you can't / shouldn't transplant auto's have typically never done it (so are basing their information on a myth).

Remember when forums were full of "fem seeds will herm & not be as potent" being perpetuated? Not heard that one for a while?


Also as Bud (& I) say, Great White on transplant for the win

Thanks for the info B1unt,
I'm sure the pots are 1L pots they are in now, what size pot would you say is ideal for an auto when I pot up?
And you say add great white, is it the photo I've attached ? What does that do?

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Attachment 431862

[barney_b]

WhAts the benefit of transplanting autos? And why is it worth the risk?

I'll add to Ice's response with my own experience. When I was doing perpetual auto harvests, I'd pop 2 or 3 seeds, wait for the strongest pheno to present itself, then cull the rest. So it saves on space and materials not having to fill 3 full 3 gallon pots.

I tend to pot up before some so as to avoid root bound conditions prior to the final pot.



The one time I did see stunted growth from transplanting was when I tried to transplant and top a plant on the same day. I wouldn't do that again probably.

Cheers
B

[B1unt]

Thanks for the info B1unt,
I'm sure the pots are 1L pots they are in now, what size pot would you say is ideal for an auto when I pot up?
And you say add great white, is it the photo I've attached ? What does that do?

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Attachment 431862

Great White is made by a company called plant sucess, they do it in a 100g salt shaker for about £11. It’s an inoculation of fungus & bacteria that form a symbiotic relationship with the roots, grow throw the soil & be able to draw nutrients to the roots etc.

Just sprinkle a little over the root ball, so the excess falls into the hole in the transplant container. If you're really worried about transplant shock, line the base of the pot with enough soil to sit the rootball at the height you want the stem & then lightly backfill around with soil (when you water it’ll sink a little so you may need to add more on top afterwards).

Soil is a different animal to coco…

Your container of soil contains feed that needs to be broken down into plant available form (by microbes etc).
“People” refer to pot size as the plants “battery”, so the bigger the pot, the more soil & the longer the battery will last.
A larger pot is a bigger battery & requires less maintenance as the larger volume of soil will dry out slower meaning less frequent waterings.

How big should the pot be? I could guess but you’d be better off talking to people who grow auto’s in soil. They’ll have a better idea of the pots to use, the strength of the soil & when a plant is likely to need a top dress or amendment etc.

With a nutritional soil (that isn’t so strong it cooks the plant) you should be able to just add water (which I’d pH to 6.5, although a healthy soil would buffer it). I am going a bit on a tangent here but you mentioned nutrients & feeding & that’s what the soil’s for…

I think you might do better trying to top dress in dry amendments to the soil & water them in to be broken down by the microbes (which is a juggling act as if it takes a couple off for them to become plant available you need to be on top of adding it before the soil battery starts going flat).

To me balancing feed in the soil & trying to also feed nutrients seems overly complicated. You could flatten the soils battery & then feed nutes, but you might as well be running coco?

Food for though, like I say find the completed mentored thread section & read through the soil grows, after a few you’ll get a feel for what people do (especially if it’s the same mentor).