Should I re-plant these or wait ?

[baddog]

I have 13 plants planted about a month ago and are starting to get root bound I believe , a few of the plants where planted a week later and a little behind . Thinking of putting them in 5 gallon fabric pots . I realize the stress of re-potting , so should I move them now or wait another week or so ?

[Chefbjy]

I would re pot now. It can be stressful but they will thank you for giving them a proper home. Make sure you soak the medium in the new pot so roots don't have to search for water. You can cut that pot down 2 sides and place it in the new one...think that will reduce some stress.

[BlueBudz]

Woah roots through the bottom? Do you leave these pots in standing water? Definitely time for a transplant. My last harvested plant had a tangled rockhard root ball in a 3gal fabric pot but still none through the bottom or sides. I thought it was root bound... maybe not after seeing this

[baddog]

Not in standing water but in a plastic container to help keep things clean . Hate to plant new seeds in any bigger container ... but hate to re-pot small plants any sooner than need be . Have some 5/7 gallon pots ordered now . Also just noticed we had the sides of the pot rolled over , maybe roots couldn't go sideways so they went down ?

[BlueBudz]

I use these. They are about 2-3” high and a drip saucer under them. $3.99 at hardware store

[BlueBudz]

7gal pots hang over and I just use a bigger saucer. I’ve been told you must elevate fabric pots. So I just do lol

[Chefbjy]

I don't think it's necessary for risers but it won't hurt either. May help prevent mold if saucers aren't drained properly. I'm just using saucers the added height is too much for my grow space. I use a shop vac to get rid of run off...even lifted pots to see if they are still soggy but the pots dry out fast.

[Dutchman1]

Nice !

[baddog]

Thanks for the pic's ! I wondered if fabric plant pots shouldn't be elevated .

[BlueBudz]

No problem. I’m no pro but I’m here to help as best as I can

[Mountainhigh]

No expert here, either, but I thought I'd pass along some advice: Don't use fabric pots until they're the last home for your plants. Root damage always occurs when re-potting from fabric pots, as you can see in your second photo-- roots are going to be torn off and broken. I know all the stuff about more air to the roots, etc., but there's a price to pay later...

[Chefbjy]

I agree it's so much easier to transplant from plastic to fabric.

[DingusKhan]

You don't have to remove the old smart pot. You can just bury it in a bigger one, and your roots will grow right through.

[Dutchman1]

Never heard of that. Not doubting you, just never heard of it.

[DingusKhan]

What's funny is that I learned it from a YouTube video by "Dutchman's medical marijuana grow", and for the longest time, I wondered if you were him. He called his method "hydrosoil", where he would start in 3gal of Coco for the speed of hydroponic, and then set those bags in soil for flavor.

I did it last year outdoors, and when they were done, I unwrapped them, and the roots did grow through.

[Dutchman1]

Interesting.

[GreenhouseEffect]

One reason to elevate fabric pot's, is to keep air on all sides of the pot, the air is what prevents the roots from growing through like that. I started using the plastic beer cups, like people play beer pong and flip cup with, they are relatively cheap, deep enough for a good long tap root, and plants slide out really well do to the conical shape. You can sanitize in between grows, and get at least 2, maybe 3 uses before the recycling bin. Just have to dole the water out at first by the tablespoon, so they can dry out enough to have good air to there roots.

[BlueBudz]

This is also my understanding of fabric pots.

[baddog]

I've had a little different experience with the plastic cups so we went to the fabric with the logic we can leave them in there longer and have a bigger /hardier plant to transplant . But we are going to figure out a way to elevate .