Root control thread Q & A

Soulkipper

Active Member
What can you do with roots in the early stages / mid stages of veg?
They grow out of control within a couple weeks.. can you cut the bottom main root that seems to wrap around and force the plant to build its other roots outward instead?

What happens when you cut them? There are probably 1-4ft or more by week 3-4 wrapped around on the bottom in small pots.

What is the most effective root control system for smaller pots? *Best absorbing*
 

Soulkipper

Active Member
That didn't tell me much.
What size buckets are ideal?
How many fit inside a 5gal bucket?
Can I just feed the plants from the bottom?
 

vostok

Well-Known Member
What can you do with roots in the early stages / mid stages of veg?
They grow out of control within a couple weeks.. can you cut the bottom main root that seems to wrap around and force the plant to build its other roots outward instead?
What happens when you cut them? There are probably 1-4ft or more by week 3-4 wrapped around on the bottom in small pots.
What is the most effective root control system for smaller pots? *Best absorbing*
Never ever cut those roots,
cut you fingers off..first ...
this is RIU, 'we' grow weed here,
cutting roots ain't growing weed,
you should be in a 3us gallon(12 liter) or 15us gallon(18 liter) pots
to my blog:https://www.rollitup.org/Journal/Entry/12-week-grow-sceneario-by-jorge-cervantas.30164/
 

Soulkipper

Active Member
I was mainly considering the switch to leeching from the bottom with nutrient rocks on the bottom and maybe putting just a small amount of watering with some nutes on the top
 

GroErr

Well-Known Member
Use Fabric Pots to air prune
Agreed, best option imo. I've tried a few different pots including air pots, settled on fabric and won't go back to any other style pot unless a newer/better technology comes out. Have grown a 42" plant in a 3Gal fabric pot and probably could have grown it to 5ft with no root problems, they are the best option by far. They cost less than a penny per gram of output, re-usable, well worth it.
 

GroErr

Well-Known Member
roots don't bust through them?
Never seen a root near the outside of the pot with fabric pots. The technology air prunes them for you, The balls end up just a big mass but they can handle probably 2x the size of plant in a similar plastic pot, no comparison imo.

i always pot up, 2-3 times during veg.
Old school gardeners (growing ganja or whatever) let them go longer, almost root bound before up-potting. They tend to explode when up-potted this way. I usually do it 1-2 times then into the final container and will use plastic sometimes until the final container, then fabric.
 

T.H.Cammo

Well-Known Member
i always pot up, 2-3 times during veg.
Yea, what he said! At least 2-3 times! The thing is, when you throw a seedling into a big pot, the roots just race to the "outside" (creating a "Root Shell") - leaving most of the volume of soil unused. Up-potting encourages the roots to form a good "Root Ball" that expands each time you give it a bigger pot to grow in.

Up-poting doesn't reduce the amount of roots; it just distributes them more evenly.
!
 

Cannasutraorganics

Well-Known Member
The cloth pot guys are correct in some of what they said. And the idiot telling you to paint chemicals in a pot, don't listen to him. Look up Rootmaker pots. They make a few types. The ones that are hard plastic and com in 1,3 and 5 gallon round pots. They redirect roots to trim. No spinning on bottom either. You root them in each size and repot to next. You can grow 36 in 1 gallons, 16 in 3 gallon or 9 in 5 gallons under 1 light in a 5x5 area. The three gallon are best for production. If fully rooted you will get 2 to 4 ounces per plant. They control the roots so the top grows straight up so you can put more plants under 1 light.image.jpg
 

LurchLurkin

Active Member
Uncle Ben isn't an idiot, at least not in recommending spinout, it's approved by the FDA, it's now called microkote though. They sell pots already coated online or you can buy it as a paint and do your own.

Or you can buy copper hydroxide on eBay and buy the food safe paint beekeepers use and mix 100g/L and make your own. One quart applied generously Will do 10 5 gallon pots and 7 5 gallon buckets. Look up the studies on chemical root pruning, it works and is safe.

Air pots work too. The bags will still tend to get roots all around the bottom though.
 

greasemonkeymann

Well-Known Member
Yea, what he said! At least 2-3 times! The thing is, when you throw a seedling into a big pot, the roots just race to the "outside" (creating a "Root Shell") - leaving most of the volume of soil unused. Up-potting encourages the roots to form a good "Root Ball" that expands each time you give it a bigger pot to grow in.

Up-poting doesn't reduce the amount of roots; it just distributes them more evenly.
!
I agree one million percent on this, I've had numerous internet "disagreements" on the subject, but after harvest, you can cut the rootball open and visibly see the difference transplanting makes. Multiple transplants will make a more dense rootball, no question about it. Especially when applying myco at each trans
 
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