Clear Solo Cups?

ThatBlondGuy101

ThatBlondGuy101

So I seem to be posting in here quite a bit, but heck, isn't that what this forum's about? (Aside from everything else...)
 
But anyway, would there be anything wrong with using clear solo cups? To grow plants in, not to drink out of lol
 
 
Maybe I should start my own thread in here "Blonde Questions With TBG" :rofl:
 
Anyway, thanks in advance!
 
Hey TBG
 
I grew a tomato in a clear container wick method and has some growth issues as soon as the roots were exposed to sun. My old boss (who is a good gardener) said that sunlight affected the efficiency of nutrient uptake. His example was look at roots that are not soil covered in bonsai trees. They turn bark like and loose their furriness. Also mentioned they were negative phototropic and positive geotropic (growing to centre of gravity). Long story short - covered the container in foil and plant growth improved.
 
For the purpose of growing with a view to repotting I don't think there will be any issues.
 
KAOS said:
Hey TBG
 
I grew a tomato in a clear container wick method and has some growth issues as soon as the roots were exposed to sun. My old boss (who is a good gardener) said that sunlight affected the efficiency of nutrient uptake. His example was look at roots that are not soil covered in bonsai trees. They turn bark like and loose their furriness. Also mentioned they were negative phototropic and positive geotropic (growing to centre of gravity). Long story short - covered the container in foil and plant growth improved.
 
For the purpose of growing with a view to repotting I don't think there will be any issues.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the answer. 
So it would be preferable to not use clear cups?
 
I have been using clear plastic cups for a couple of years, and I actually prefer them over the colored ones now. With the clear cups, I can see if a plant is getting too rootbound. I can also tell at a glance how dry the soil is. At first I was a bit concerned about light possibly harming the roots somehow, so I used to put the clear cups inside an opaque cup to "protect" them but I have found no real benefit to this, so I stopped doing it. Indoors under lights, the opaque cup makes no difference that I can tell. Outdoors in sunlight, then yes, the opaque cup seems to help prevent the growth of algae in the cups, but since I pot up my plants as soon as they are hardened off that hasn't been an issue anyway. 
 
ThatBlondGuy101 said:
 
Thanks for the answer. 
So it would be preferable to not use clear cups?
Click to expand...
 

No, clear cups are fine until they start getting rootbound and by then you would have repotted.
 
You could always opt for BF's idea of clear cup in opaque cup if there's concern.
 
This idea I do like - "With the clear cups, I can see if a plant is getting too rootbound"
 
Is the algae even supposed to be harmful?  I too like clear, for the reasons listed above.  The inevitable green growth looks startling, but I can't see any sign that it's hurting the pepper.  If anything, a little extra O2 in the soil is probably going to stimulate the micro-bugs living there.
 
I've never heard of light being bad for roots. I'm growing a few PIs and ornamentals at my lab in pipette tip boxes, most of which are clear. I think its fun to look at the roots.
The pots are really small so the plants are super stunted, but they're pretty to look at.
 
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