would really like a comment from someone who actually has experimented/taken pics and documented the differences between growing a plant that is rootbound and transplanting a plant correctly. if you havent, then you should really take this information into consideration. you can increase your yield tremendously.
Wow...I just happen to have a great example (with pictures) of rootbound plants. I purchased a large number of GrandDaddyPurple clones, and put 18 in my car and 6 went with a partner of mine. He said he wanted to watch them grow, and I wanted him to learn a bit, so I left him care instructions and told him I would come by in two weeks. This is what I picked up Friday (two days ago)...
What he did:
Kept it in the same 16 ounce cup the cloner had it in... until 5 days ago (the day I told him I would be by soon to pick it up)
Fed it Fox Farm Nutes.
Talked to it. Got high...talked to it some more...
Told me that when he transplanted it 5 days ago the roots looked like a hockey puck at the bottom. He had to pick and break it up as described in this post. Put it in the green pot you see in the picture...
Now what I did:
Came home and repotted the clone into a seriously hot organic soil of my own mix...It in my other posts...within about an hour of getting home.
Put it outside in a spot that got small amounts of morning sun for 3 days. Its been cold here (50's to 60's) most days, and warm on the others.
Put it in full sun spot on day 4.
Watered it with just tap water that sits in a barrel for de-chlorination. I fed with MaxSea (1/4- 1/2 strength) once per week.
And I never let the roots touch the pot!
Sister plants. Cut the same day, but don't look anything like each other. Soils are different, yes, and one was indoors and one was out...But he got 20/4 sun, and I got natural sun in a cold rainy week (oh shit they even got hailed on!) I think the difference is getting them in a 1 gallon pot EARLY with good soil. This plant will go in the ground in 3 days and that will be only the 2nd, and last transplant.
Once you get a root-bound cluster, you lose about 2 weeks of growth as the plant cycles back to repairing its structure below ground. I'll confirm this in two weeks when I get his plants to the size of mine.
A last word on this picture that is not confirmed, but highly suspected...And I'll put it in this post because it is a variable. My friend went to the hydroponics store and bought $160 worth of nutrient stuff. Liquid Light, Fox Farms, and a couple of other brands that pretty much all did the same thing. I think his personality type lent itself to over-feeding. Pay attention to the container, the soil in the container, and the light. Everything else will follow. My personal belief (developed from reading several uber-gurus advice on this forum) is get a GREAT soil mix, along with dilute nutes for weekly or bi-weekly feedings. I have bat guano, chicken manure, organics, peat, blood meal, and garden mix in my pots. PH is 6.8 . PH is always 6.8. PH doesn't wreck havoc on my grow. At Flowering, I will plow in powdered bone meal and use an organic bloom food (weakened) so that I don't burn anything up at this critical juncture.
This way, when I get spots, curl, wilt or anything wierd, my mind immediately goes to either a)lack or excess of water or b) bugs. It sure makes my mind feel better...
I think I'll ramble more on this subject in another post...
