Over the years, I have grown plants in various shapes and sizes of pots. The size of your grow pot will vary depending on the age of your plant.  I would typically transplant a cutting from the propagator to a 0.5 litre pot for ten days.  After that I would transplant the plant into a 3.6 litre root pouch for ten to fourteen days and then into a 12-litre root pouch for ten to fourteen days and from that into the final 78 litre root pouch. In-between every transplant, I dust the roots with mycorrhizal powder also adding some into the hole where the plant will sit promoting healthy root growth.  New growers might not think that something so simple could make such a difference for final plant performance…

It’s important not to leave plants in small pots for too long as they will become root bound.  In addition, the plants will start to stretch becoming very tall and weak.  Not to mention, the smaller the pot the more you will need to water. 

My personal grow style means I like to take advantage of a 78-litre root pouch as I grow using one light per one plant technique aiming for maximum production from one plant. What I would call a normal grow technique would be four 20 litre pots under a 600w light in a grow room.

Over the years, I have experimented with a favourite Dutch technique.  This technique uses sixteen to twenty-five 3.6 litre plants under one 600w light in a grow room or tent.  The aim is to shorten the veg cycle to ten days and then to flower the small plants giving you a faster production of flowers.

It’s only in the last two years that I have started using Root Pouch (fabric grow pots).  Fabric grow pouches are brilliant since the plants grow faster and stronger due to the roots having better access to oxygen. After using root pouches, I would never go back to plastic pots.  The idea with fabric pots is that the roots get caught up in the fabric walls and this sends a signal to the plant to send out more roots.  Fabric pots give you a much larger root mass to absorb more nutrients & boosters than you would with old plastic pots.  Thence fabric pots encourage healthy root development.  To garden as a pro, eco felt root pouches are without a doubt an avenue to utilise.  Not to mention fabric pots are biodegradable and some growers even like to call them root nurse fabric pots.

Air pruning pots are another great idea for aiding in the development of healthy roots therefore increasing quality and many more metrics. As the tip of the root reaches the outside of the grow pot the roots are directed towards holes.  At this stage, the roots get self-pruned due to the root tips being exposed to direct air therefore the apical cells become dehydrated and die off.  At this point, the plant sends out more roots to replace the tips that were self-pruned.  Air pruning pots indeed have unique air pruning properties!!

Pot size will depend on how long you plan to veg a plant for.  It’s a waste of time growing in a 78-litre pot if you are planning to veg for three weeks as the roots won’t have time to fill the space. If you plan on a short veg of three weeks, then a 10 to 15 litre pot would be the best option.

At the end of the day, you have several options available for grow pots which are plastic pots, fiber grow pots or air pruning pots.  Prior preparation prevents poor performance therefore Hyjo recommends to plan well but when in doubt seek advice and recommendations from their team.