Indoor autos in biodegradable cups to start

[dieselman74]

hi guys im new enough to autos my friend is starting a large auto grow around 150 plants ,his problem is he does not want to start them in the final 15lt buckets ,so here it is Can he start them in biodegradable cups and then carefully transplant the bio cup and plant into the final pot i cant see how this would stunt the growth ..has anyone done this or would it be advisable ????also he is going to use an automated water system with 1/2 inch lines and 1/4 inch lines running to each plant when he gets the grow up and running So what type of a pump would he need to get water to each plant ....it would really be handy if he could start them in the little bio cups and then pop them in the big pots when they get established but if not i guess he will have to sacrifice the room and start them in the final 15lt pots ...thanks guys hope someone can help us cheers...

 

[dieselman74]

wow great help here

 

[mauricem00]

wow great help here

I just started my second auto in an 8 ounce plastic cup and transplanted it into a 2 gallon pot with no problem. I made sure the soil was wet and squeezed the side of the cup to loosen it before removing it and handled it very gently so as not to disturb the root ball and saw no evidence of transplant shock I have done this many time with photos and as long as the soil is wet so it sticks together and the soil you are transplanting into the plant doesn't know its been transplanted if the root ball is not disturbed just be sure to transplant before they become root bound and handle very gently

 

[Anthropolis]

I dunno about the water, but I have started autos in those biodegradable cups ok, but they got really nasty and moldy on the outside (this apparently happened to many users here so it wasn't just me lol) and it was so gross that I didn't want to plant the cups. So I removed them from the cups to transplant, but this was bad too because the roots had begun to attach to the cup interiors, so I ripped a bunch of roots. Anyways, I think it would be fine with some plants, but with autos having a preset and shorter life, it may stunt them to have to fight through the cups. I left the cups outside after use and took months to biodegrade.

A better and maybe even cheaper idea is to start them in party cups, like red or blue plastic Solo cups. When its transplant time, you can remove them easily, or just cut the bottom 1/3 of the plastic off with a knife and plant the whole cup

 

[xyz]

I use peat pots with seedling soil mix for germinating and starting. As long as you keep the peat pot real moist the taproot will grow through real easy with little fight, then just plant them in the final pots, stress free.

 

[briman]

take 2 solo cups, cut the bottom out of one, put it inside the other solo cup, add medium. When you get ready to transplant, simply pull the inside cup out and go directly into medium, cup and all! Simplt tier method. Biodegradable cups DO get moldy and such like Anthropolis said, which is something I would not want around my plants and can cause stem rot!!

I would just germ them and go to final container myself. But what ever is easier for your friend would be optimal. I would also not set up a drip system, because 1 plants needs are not the same as another. Either way, 150 plants is going to be alot of work, no matter how you do it.On that scale, I would go to final container and find another way to water!

 

[A4]

If you do use cups make sure the soil is good and moist before separating the cups. The roots will stick to the bottom of the cup and can be damaged if it is dry. If that happens you have done more damage than transplanting.

 

[briman]

Well said A4! Great tip! Pop a few drainage holes in the bottom cup as well!!

 

[dieselman74]

thanks for the advise guys im planting directly into final pots to much bother with cups ..for watering i might have to do by hand with water tank ,good strong pump and long garden hose and a good quality wand ..i was gona set up a drip system but its proven to be harder then i thought ..any thoughts on watering 150 plants would greatly be appreciated ..thanks guys

 

[krazylicous]

with such a large scale project, i would get a big rain collector hook it up with osmosis system then can feed, save on bills hey