5 gallon bucket vs fabric shopping bag (cheap smart pot)

I'm new to the auto flower scene. Sprouted two freebies. Auto AK and Auto Blueberry.
My question is, would they get too root bound in a 5 gallon bucket, is it worth putting them in fabric grow bags since they only grow for 70 days? Or will the 5 gallon suffice.
I've read that I'm only gonna get an ounce or two out of these, but I'm gonna try and maximize my potential.

If it helps I'm running a mixture of ffof and sunshine #4 with fox farms liquid nutes

5 gallon buckets will be fine for your autos. Can't give you much advice on air pots as I'm trying them for the first time now. Just a little heads up, whatever time table the seed bank gave you for the plant to finish you should bet on another 2-5 weeks to finish. They almost never finish in the time they give. Just finished a thc bomb auto that said 65 days but finished in 95. Make sure to start them autos in the final pot the really don't do well with transplant. Hope this helps, happy growing!

CallinCarRamRod said:

I'm new to the auto flower scene. Sprouted two freebies. Auto AK and Auto Blueberry.
My question is, would they get too root bound in a 5 gallon bucket, is it worth putting them in fabric grow bags since they only grow for 70 days? Or will the 5 gallon suffice.
I've read that I'm only gonna get an ounce or two out of these, but I'm gonna try and maximize my potential.

If it helps I'm running a mixture of ffof and sunshine #4 with fox farms liquid nutes

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I switched to smartpots a few years back. My days of plastic pots/buckets are over. The only down side to them, is they require more frequent watering, because they dry out faster from the air having access to the whole root mass. This is also a plus as it gets more oxygen to the roots.

Abucks said:

I switched to smartpots a few years back. My days of plastic pots/buckets are over. The only down side to them, is they require more frequent watering, because they dry out faster from the air having access to the whole root mass. This is also a plus as it gets more oxygen to the roots.

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How about putting some mulch on top of soil. Think this mat reduce dryness

Pig4buzz said:

How about putting some mulch on top of soil. Think this mat reduce dryness

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A little. It is shocking how fast and evenly they dry out. Never had rootballs like this with any other medium/ pot.

Abucks said:

A little. It is shocking how fast and evenly they dry out. Never had rootballs like this with any other medium/ pot.

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What type soil. I have a mix of perlite, peat, ocean foxsoil, and worm castings. It seems to crust over looking very dry yet is moist under. Little expensive

With the grow bags I wouldn't add perlite. Unless you don't mind watering everyday. I have tomatoes and sting beans in bags. They don't dry out to fast but that's outside. Inside may be a different story with 18+ hours of light...

Pig4buzz said:

What type soil. I have a mix of perlite, peat, ocean foxsoil, and worm castings. It seems to crust over looking very dry yet is moist under. Little expensive

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I used ffof and happy frog with good results, but switched to coco recently. When I switched from plastic to cloth containers I went from watering every 3 to 4 in plastic to every 2 to 3 days.

Buy some landscape fabric and make your own.

Corso312 said:

Buy some landscape fabric and make your own.

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That's how I did my first bags. You have to go with the heavy duty fabric, and they are a bitch to sew without a commercial sewing machine. They worked great for a year, until I had the extra $ to upgrade to bigger bags.

Majorduke said:

5 gallon buckets will be fine for your autos. Can't give you much advice on air pots as I'm trying them for the first time now. Just a little heads up, whatever time table the seed bank gave you for the plant to finish you should bet on another 2-5 weeks to finish. They almost never finish in the time they give. Just finished a thc bomb auto that said 65 days but finished in 95. Make sure to start them autos in the final pot the really don't do well with transplant. Hope this helps, happy growing!

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Thc bomb was my first grow and confused the hell out of me , I. was going by the breeders notes. Waaaaay off. Know I know trics are the only way for me

If I don't fly imma die anyway

3 gallon bags up to 5 gallon is a good size .... Autos have a set time frame in growth and will never outgrow either size. I grew 4-5 ft indoors in 3 gallon without rootbound. Some growers even grow strains in 1 gallon sacks and 2 liter bottles.

3 gallon DIY AIR POT :
Reusable Walmart shopping bag ( trimmed and fitted to bucket )
3 gallon bucket with Aeration holes.
Easy peezy

Majorduke said:

5 gallon buckets will be fine for your autos. Can't give you much advice on air pots as I'm trying them for the first time now. Just a little heads up, whatever time table the seed bank gave you for the plant to finish you should bet on another 2-5 weeks to finish. They almost never finish in the time they give. Just finished a thc bomb auto that said 65 days but finished in 95. Make sure to start them autos in the final pot the really don't do well with transplant. Hope this helps, happy growing!

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dang my photos only take 91 days to finish from seed. I thought autos were suppose to be faster

mauricem00 said:

dang my photos only take 91 days to finish from seed. I thought autos were suppose to be faster

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I would think your changing your light cycle too soon to force flower and cutting down on your yeild if you would let them veg longer.

mauricem00 said:

dang my photos only take 91 days to finish from seed. I thought autos were suppose to be faster

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What seeds are you running?

CallinCarRamRod said:

What seeds are you running?

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super silver haze. I top them once and at 4 weeks from seed they are 12 inches tall. they stretch to 36-44 inches tall in flowering with an inter nodal spacing of 3 inches.if I veg longer they will get too tall for my flowering room.this strain grows taller than northern lights or other strains i've tried but works well for medical problems and also works for depression.insomnia and other mental problems.

CptNemo said:

I would think your changing your light cycle too soon to force flower and cutting down on your yeild if you would let them veg longer.

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longer veg time would increase yield but they would also outgrow my grow room.the still outproduce the autos i've tried

mauricem00 said:

longer veg time would increase yield but they would also outgrow my grow room.the still outproduce the autos i've tried

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Try to Lst, slowly bend your stems from the more flexible part of your babies,.. They can still be tied to your pots. Or you can still super crop before you put into flower. Tell your babies what you want , don't let the inmates rum the asylum.

If I don't fly imma die anyway

westbmorekush said:

Try to Lst, slowly bend your stems from the more flexible part of your babies,.. They can still be tied to your pots. Or you can still super crop before you put into flower. Tell your babies what you want , don't let the inmates rum the asylum.

If I don't fly imma die anyway

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I believe in letting my plants grow naturally and do what they want. they already fill my flowering closet and are too large for SCROG..happy plants produce better medicine and I am not god. my plants know more than I do.this old geezer grows MMJ for personal use and I give my surplus production to low income cancer patients so I want the best quality I can grow.I have been looking at 36 by 36 inch grow tents and 315 watt LECs on ebay and may get one to try a single plant scrog when I get a little extra cash.but I ain't no fancy commercial grower.I is just a po'boy dirt farmer

Budzbuddha said:

3 gallon bags up to 5 gallon is a good size .... Autos have a set time frame in growth and will never outgrow either size. I grew 4-5 ft indoors in 3 gallon without rootbound. Some growers even grow strains in 1 gallon sacks and 2 liter bottles.

3 gallon DIY AIR POT :
Reusable Walmart shopping bag ( trimmed and fitted to bucket )
3 gallon bucket with Aeration holes.
Easy peezy
View attachment 3800908

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Looks real nice bro.
If I don't fly imma die anyway