How do Pot Sizes Affect your Autoflowers: Featuring 3 Bears OG

How do Pot Sizes Affect your Autoflowers: Featuring 3 Bears OG

When it comes to growing autoflowers indoors, pot sizes are kind of like batteries. It is well understood that the larger your battery, the larger the plant is going to be. But this doesn’t really give us a comprehensive picture of exactly how growing in various pot sizes will ultimately affect your autoflowers. To get a better understanding, we decided to run 4 of the same strain in 4 various-sized fabric pots(1 gallon, 3 gallon, 5 gallon, & 7 gallon). Our goal was to take one of our most stable strains and put it to the test to decide not just how large they would grow in various fabric pots, but also what more we could differentiate between our specimens. 

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We also have this video and more just like it over on the official Mephisto Genetics YouTube channel, you can find that here.

Reducing Variables:

In the spirit of maintaining the integrity of our experiment, we decided to choose a strain in our library which would exhibit minimal phenotypic variation. Between our Originals and Artisinals collections, (both teaming with strains taken well past F5 in many cases) we decided on 3 Bears OG, a 6th generation IBL of a fairly uniform OG varietal. 3 Bears OG is known to be uniform in not just morphology, but also aromatics and effects. 

Aside from running the same stable strain, we also wanted to reduce all other variables outside of the pot sizes. Each plant was grown in the same 3x3 tent under the same 300w Spider Farmer SE3000 Bar Style LED grow light. We grow all of our plants in %100 Biobizz Light Mix Soil, using the Biobizz Nutrient line supplemented with Photosynthesis + as well as Fox Farms Bush Doctor Cal-Mag. All 4 Specimens were grown in fabric pots sitting directly in plastic saucers on the floor of their respective tents. They were hand watered (both top and bottom) using dechlorinated and filtered tap water, pH’ed to between 6 & 6.5. Temperatures ran a bit hot due to this being a summer round, but we maintained a 24hr light cycle with a high of 82 degrees Fahrenheit and around 45-55% relative humidity, barring a few inconsequential swings.

We decided to do as minimal training on these plants as we possibly could so to observe their natural growth cycles. All four plants grew naturally until the point where the size and weight of their buds in later flower were causing branches to bend and buckle. At that point, we utilized bamboo stakes and twisty ties to prop up the affected branches. Other than that, we practiced minimal defoliation and virtually no other LST methods. 

Germination:

NOTE: Our 5 Gallon Specimen was sowed directly into a red solo double cup and transplanted to her final fabric pot after 10 days. This was so that we could create a bit of content around transplanting. There was no visible transplant shock or stunting associated with the transplant itself. 

Our 1 Gallon, 3 Gallon, & 7 Gallon 3 Bears OG seeds were all directly sowed into their finishing pots. For this experiment, we chose not to do a 24-48hr pre-soak and opted for sowing the old fashioned way. Each seed was placed into a 1/2” to 1” divot, covered, and watered with plain water from a compression sprayer. Each pot was matched with a clear plastic inverted solo cup with a few holes drilled into the bottom so to create a makeshift humidity dome. 

Results: (measured from the day each seed breaks soil and fully extends their cotyledon)

1 Gallon Specimen: 7 Day Germination

3 Gallon Specimen: 3 Day Germination

5 Gallon Specimen: 3 Day Germination

7 Gallon Specimen: 4 Day Germination

Vegetative Growth:

NOTE: Our 1 Gallon Specimen was severely stunted. She took the longest to germinate and once her cotyledon popped, there was virtually zero development for the first 20 days of her life cycle. She was stuck at the cotyledon phase for that entire time, being lightly watered periodically until she bounced out of her funk and proceeded to grow at a slower but relatively normal pace. Somewhere in the stunting phase, this plant had an auxin redistribution and began branching in an offset pattern (kind of like a clone), creating a twisted tree-like structure with competing lateral branches. We considered removing this specimen from the experiment altogether until she essentially outgrew her problems and ended up producing a small but considerably impressive budset into flower. 

With the exception of the 1 gallon runt, all of the other specimens grew apical dominant with deep green 7-9 point massive fan leaves protruding from the meristem. Each lateral branch came up like a Christmas tree, flowing up from between the fingers of those fan leaves. There was almost no immediate difference between the various plants in the first few weeks of veg. We fed each plant water only and from the top only through this entire stage. We did feed each plant to their pot sizes needs, not measuring water amounts. Once we reached the late D20’s, the set began to pre-flower and we started to notice more prominent morphologically variations.

Flowering Growth:

Our 7 gallon specimen broke away relatively quickly once she began developing bud sites. The extra room in the larger planted allowed the taproot to dig further down. She was the last to develop pistils but the first to begin her later stretching. This phenotype, as well as the 1 Gallon specimen and the 3 gallon specimen all proceeded more golf ball sized buds, with frosted taco-folded sugar leaves popping up between the slightly more elongated node spaces down each branch. Even the tiny 1-gallon runt ended up taking on this exact bud structure. For these 3 plants, their pistils created an even pompom, which ended up swelling into more established bract clusters as the plants finished their cycle. Buds that formed from these clusters were more dense and trichome-covered. These 3 plants all produced darker more forest-green foliage with bright lime floral clusters that stayed green throughout the cycle. These plants faded with more of a rusted yellow and orange pattern. Their residual fan leaves turned waxy and brittle over time as the plants senesced. 

Comparatively, our 5 gallon specimen produced a completely different morphological structure with long conical buds that grew closer on the main stem and stacked into a set of beautiful colas. Moreover, this plant took on a deviation in her ordinary growth pattern with a satellite brach out competing their main stem for apical dominance. There was another redistribution of auxins that allowed the branch a few nodes down to produce a cola that was taller than the main and heavier as well. This plant produced beautiful lavender hues in the tops of each cola, with two of the main branches actually showing some light bleaching. At her maximum height, she outgrew the 7 gallon specimen by 4 inches (we will show all of the stats below). 

The most noticeable difference that occurred in the flowering stage was that each plant’s need for nutrients changed. The 7 and 5 gallon specimens required less frequent feedings but needed the most water. For those, I ended up watering every 2nd and 3rd day, making sure to add nutrients once a week. After a while, I adjusted feeding on the 5 gallon to better match the smaller potted specimens while the 7 gallon maintained the more infrequent feeding. All nutrients were rotated being fed on the tops and bottoms of the pots every other feeding. We adjusted nutrients to meet the needs of the plants at the time I fed them. What we found was that the smaller 1 and 3 gallon plants were much more sensitive to fluctuations in both pH as well as in their reaction to deficiencies. It took more dialing in to make sure these smaller specimens didn’t drift and begin cannabalizing themselves. On the contrary, my 5 and 7 gallon planted water for about twice as much calcium and magnesium and the smaller two plants. I got some early rust spots on the lower and mid canopy of both plants and spent the entire cycle attempting to catch the deficiency. 

In late flower, each specimen required support. With 3 Bears OG in particular, buds tend to get as dense as you will see on our menu. Even the strongest branches will eventually fold as the buds swell into their final forms. To mitigate toppling branches, we used a combination of bamboo stakes and twisty ties to prop up everything falling over the best we could. We made our best attempt to shape each plant into the most natural canopy we could, given the circumstances. 

Harvest:

For the sake of making sure every plant developed to their maximum maturity, we took our 4 specimens down about 2-3 weeks longer than what we recommend. 3 Bears OG typically matures in 10 weeks, give or take. We took our 7-gallon plant just over 13 weeks. Our 1 gallon plants stunted, so she also went obverse 90 days. The 3 and 5 gallon specimens were both harvested at 84 days. We ended up harvesting the 5 gallon and 7 gallon specimens for the Cannatrol Cool Cure System while leaving the 1 and 3 gallon specimens to hang dry whole for between 2-3 weeks. We had to do this due to lack of space in the cannatrol and lack of time to wait between cycles. Ultimately we chose to load in the 5 & 7 gal specimens because they produced chunkier and denser floral clusters and so they got the Cool Cure spot.  

Here are the official stats for each plant:

Takeaways:

The results of our experiment aligned with the general hypothesis that plants grown in larger pots will tend to produce larger plants. We did see a few deviations in returns between the 5 and 7 gallon specimens, suggesting that there may be an element of depreciating returns happening beyond a certain pot size. With the 3 smaller pot sizes, we followed the trajectory of about 1-ounce per gallon of soil. However, the 5 gallon plant outcompeted the 7 gallon plant, both in size and final weight. Could this have been due to the mutation in the 5 gallon specimens side branching? Most likely. Also, there is something to be said for our 1-gallon runt. Producing an ounce is about on par with a 1-gallon planter, but our runt may have given better stats had she not stunted. 

Another takeaway: Bud density decreased exponentially with pot size. My 7 gallon buds are rock hard and fully developed, while the 1 & 3 gallon nugs are airier and have much more give in the pinch. The difference is fluffy vs firm. The pot sizes may have also affected trichome proliferation and density. We noticed a heavier set of frost with the 7 & 5 gallon plants as opposed to the 1 & 3 gallon ones. 

Flavor and Effects:

3 Bears OG presents predominantly gas and funky notes in the nose. Elements of sour lemons and gym socks are present in most varietals. However, every now and then this strain has the tendency to produce a searing watermelon candy gas note that takes the entire profile to the next level. Of my 4 specimens, the 3 gallon, 5 gallon, and 7 gallon, all displayed very earthy and funky gas notes. This very closely resembles the old Karma cuts of the original OG Kush. These California OGs were always very gassy with a heavy presence of what we affectionately referred to as body odor. The candy gas deviation combined elements of sweet candy with nose searing gas to create an exceptionally loud flavor profile. We were lucky enough to get these notes on our 1 gallon specimen. 

My 5 & 7 Gallon specimens produced effects that leaned heavier on the sedative side of the effects spectrum. While the 1 and 3 gallon specimens both leaned on more of that middle of the road stone. Those two were slightly more cerebral and functional than the larger plants. This was despite my 1 gallon also cracking 90 days in her cycle. Id be interested to get COAs back to see the differences in each chemo type so that we can draw some more comprehensive collusions on how pot sizes may affect secondary metabolite production. 

Conclusion:

We are not going to be drawing any sweeping conclusions with this pot size experiment. With the exception of the slightly lower yielding 7 Gallon plant, our 3BOGs yielded roughly 25grams of usable material per every gallon of soil they were planted in. Overall, this experiment produced results that aligned with the censuses that (for the most part), the larger your indoor container, the larger your end product will be. Small pots tend to produce smaller plants with more fluffy and potentially more underdeveloped buds insofar as trichomes and biomedical compounds may be concerned. There also suggests to be an element of depreciating returns with larger pots. Barring any stunting (which we did see with our smallest pot sized plant), it seems that after 5 gallons, the plants have the battery size to produce at a comparable potential (at the very least).

Ultimately, we will need to replicate this experiment with another stable varietal in our library of autoflower genetics. Next time we will opt to direct sow all 4 plants at the same time, and not choose to use one of the plants for a transplanting video. Although this didn’t seem to impact results, we would like to further reduce the variables next round. Its safe to say that we can only speak to growing plants using soil and hand watering. These results will absolutely change upon introducing other grow mediums, pot types, and even automated watering systems.