What size pot

Ignite

Ignite

What size pots would you guys recommend for plants during the "intermediate" step?  I'm starting my seeds in rapid rooters, and plan on transferring them out of my dome and into soil once they sprout and are 2-3 days old (too early?)...then they'll go into my raised beds for their permanent home.  I start my seedlings in February and they'll go in the ground around April 1.  
 
I'm thinking about using 4" pots to hold them over until they go outside, but I'm a little worried they'll be root bound by the time they get sent outdoors.  One gallon pots would be the next step up but they will cost me twice the money.  I definitely don't want to have to pot them twice in such a short span.
 
Thanks for any advice you guys can give.
 
Hey ignite! What is the intermediate step? A 4 inch pot will do well for a month then you may have to transplant in to biggjer ones. And 2 or 3 days my be a bit young. But I'm sure it will work if you harden them off well
 
You shoud be good with 4" pots.

I start my seeds in 72 cell trays then transfer to 4" square pots (about 1 to 2 weeks after they sprout). I leave them in 4" pots in a semi-shade environment until they are about 8" tall, then I harder them off for a few days and plant them in ground. I fertilize when the plants reach about 4 Inches tall and agian when I put them in the ground. Break the roots up a little when planting. They will stress if you leave them in 4" pots for an excessively long time, but should bounce back fairly quickly. I have also exparimented with 1 gal pots and find the positives are outweighed by the negatives (higher cost, more soil, more space, bigger to mover around and bigger hole needed when planting.)

I hope this helps makes your decision easier :) .... It's somthing I have also put much thought and effort into.
 
well that depends  if you are wanting to transfer them more than 1x.. with mine i get them  about 6-8 inches tall then transfer them to a 5 gallon pot.. that seems to work for me,
 
Room and lighting make a huge difference. The year I had 48 plant starts, I did not have sufficient room or lighting in the house to go from starters to full-size pots before warm enough weather hit, so had to repot a few times. But I am in OH, and you are in SC - big weather diff. So the real questions to ask yourself is how many plants do you have and do you have enough room and lighting to just pot up to their final pots now? As long as you keep the pot size limited and the temps not terribly warm, they won't grow very huge or very fast, so keep these in mind, too.
 
kylec said:
Hey ignite! What is the intermediate step? A 4 inch pot will do well for a month then you may have to transplant in to biggjer ones. And 2 or 3 days my be a bit young. But I'm sure it will work if you harden them off well
Click to expand...
I break my grow into 3 stages, the germination phase, grow / intermediate, and plant out phase. I know that's not technical, but it makes sense to me.

My 2-3 day estimate will probably be adjusted. I was told by some to get the seedlings out of the humidity dome as soon as show leaves, which means they would need to go into pots. Another guy told me he leaves his in the dome until all have sprouted, even if some sprout a week earlier. I don't see why they can't stay in the dome a few days since I'll be giving them plenty of light.

geeme said:
Room and lighting make a huge difference. The year I had 48 plant starts, I did not have sufficient room or lighting in the house to go from starters to full-size pots before warm enough weather hit, so had to repot a few times. But I am in OH, and you are in SC - big weather diff. So the real questions to ask yourself is how many plants do you have and do you have enough room and lighting to just pot up to their final pots now? As long as you keep the pot size limited and the temps not terribly warm, they won't grow very huge or very fast, so keep these in mind, too.
Click to expand...
I'm using a 4ft 8 lamp setup and plan to grow around 22 plants. If I have to repot before they go in the ground...then so be it. I think they'll be fine in 4" pots for 6 weeks or so. I'll be doing Epsom and fish emulsion on alternating weeks so they may grow faster but that's okay as long as they're healthy.
 
Trays of 4 in pots will be fine. Solo cups are a little bigger/cheaper.. Cut a few holes in the bottom of one cup. Put your mix and plant in it.. Then get another cup and put a little water in the bottom and place the cup with holes in it. The water will seep through the holes and you killed birds with one stone. Your plants are potted and your bottom watering buddy.
 
smileyguy697 said:
Trays of 4 in pots will be fine. Solo cups are a little bigger/cheaper.. Cut a few holes in the bottom of one cup. Put your mix and plant in it.. Then get another cup and put a little water in the bottom and place the cup with holes in it. The water will seep through the holes and you killed birds with one stone. Your plants are potted and your bottom watering buddy.
Click to expand...
 
Awesome idea.  Do you add anything between the cups for spacing or just add 1/8" to 1/4" of water to the cup and let it rip.  I have an ice pick or small 1/8" and 1/4" drill bits that I can use to poke holes in the bottom.  I'm imaging that 2 or 3 1/4" holes should do the trick.
 
Thanks again! 
 
Sounds good to me. You'll also learn when they need a drink by the weight of the cups. Soon as you see roots you might want to go to a bigger container tho. The bigger the container the bigger the plant... If you wait and they get root bound just bust up the roots before planting... Tiny seedlings can be easy to kill but once they get that sized they can take quit a but of punishment. Hell i planted one and smoked it with a weed eater and it came back.


Oh and to awnser your question.. Nope nothing between.. The top cup might float a little till the water absorbs. Maybe a quarter inch of water if not a little more won't hurt. You just don't want to drown them.
 
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