New Grower First time grower, need transplanting advice.

[manuherbalist]

Dear all, first time posting on this forum although I have been using it a lot to help with my first time grow. I am now at a stage where I need help!! I purchased fast and vast, and afghan kush ryder seeds grom Gorilla-Seeds and they also sent me 3 more random ones which i germinated a little over a month ago now. I have been doing the grow with an experienced horticulturalist but not with autoflowes and they insisted on transplanting them, first into 1L pots and then into the 5L pots they are in now. They have started to come into flower the last couple of days and I have a bit of a dillema.

The question I have is wether they should be potted on again, as the first roots are showing at the bottom of some of the pots (of the afghan kush ryder), or should I leave them in the 5L pots as I might lose more than I would gain from transplanting them. If the transplant is done well how much growing time would be lost? I feel I have already lost a lot of yield due to not having ideal conditions during the grow so this is important to save them!. Any help is appreciated. Also I wasnt exactly sure when to change their feed to flowering feed, I heard I should still be giving them nitrogen based until they have finished growing verticaly to maximise yield?

I posted more information in another thread before realising this would be a more appropriate place to ask my question. Here is a link which shows a picture and has a bit more info about my grow. https://www.autoflower.org/f6/first-time-outdoor-greenhouse-growing-need-help-35303.html

 

[namvet25]

Welcome to our forum,glad to have you join.I wouldnot recommend you transplant them seeing you did it once already it will only stunt them more.I recommend you plant your next seeds directly it its finalpot after you germ it.I would also recommend you use at leasta 3 gal pot on your next grow,this will give your roots more room and you will have a much better yield.

 

[manuherbalist]

thanks namvet, ill leave them then! I wanted to put them strait into the final pot as I had read online but my partner was determined not to saying it was going to waste his compost and he could 'transplant them without disturbing the roots'. Will have to wait until next summer to have another go now.

 

[Muddy]

While we generally don't recommend that new growers transplant, it can be done. I always start my plants in 1/2 gallon juice containers and transplant them to 3 gallon pots after they show sex. I mostly grow with regular seeds so this saves me from having to commit a full 3 gallon pot to what may turn to be a male. So I transplant all the time, but bear in mind that I've been a home gardener all my life so am very adept at transplanting. If you let the pots dry out before transplanting it's usually easier to get the whole root ball out without disturbing the roots much, which is the key to a successful transplant. I never experience any stunting problems and my plants are back to growing within 34 - 36 hours of transplanting.

Yes, keep you plants on veg nutes until vertical growth stops, usually during weeks 5 or 6. More info on that here: https://www.autoflower.org/f44/life-cycle-auto-flowering-cannabis-5113.html