Root Development vs Plant Growth

Yeah i did think it might have been moth worms,sounds likely,hang some sticky strips from the ceiling and spray those buggers

Also of note if you have a problem with moths getting into your grow area is getting yourself one of those electric bug zappers

natmoon said:

Yeah i did think it might have been moth worms,sounds likely,hang some sticky strips from the ceiling and spray those buggers

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Yeah, i'm going to give everything a good clean... thanks for stopping by.

natmoon said:

Also of note if you have a problem with moths getting into your grow area is getting yourself one of those electric bug zappers

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I've been thinking about one of those... just have to turn it off on dark period.

skunkushybrid said:

I've been thinking about one of those... just have to turn it off on dark period.

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Chances are that they are only coming in when they see the light so you could just add it to your lights timer section,hope you kill them anyway

Sucks to get bugs, doesn't it? I hate spider mites! Good think you don't have those fuggers to deal with! Gl, I am interested on how you are going to eradicate moth worms from you area...

I took all the plants down into my bathroom and layed them out in the bath. Then I cleaned the flowering area. After that I used a clean rag with plain water to wipe every single leaf on every single plant. The plants are now back in the flowering area, and I'll do this again in a few days.

Wiping the leaves with a damp rag killed quite a few... i'm quite pleased with the job. regular rinsing of the rag, and critters drowning helped convince me i was using the right course of action.

extermination phase 1
success

I've also started the feed from the bottom. they're sitting in a gravel tray, maybe 3" deep. I've filled it with feed and put an air stick in there. i chose the stick because the res isn't very deep, and i can lay it on it's side. I'm going to lay maybe another 2 in there tomorrow. atm i've also got a fan blowing on the feed to keep it disturbed even more.

The only thing that worries me about feeding from the bottom is that the roots may use the tray to stretch out. the tray isn't covered, but the shrubbery may block out enough of the light for them to travel places in the gravel tray.

The plants are bang on course, and I'll definitely have to tie them up on week 2 of flower... bang on schedule.................. so far.

The plants are bang on course, and I'll definitely have to tie them up on week 2 of flower... bang on schedule.................. so far.

Nice....

5 DAYS FLOWER


Checked the leaves today... and only a few critters could be found. I have 2 fans at ground level blowing right into the leaves. They're going to have to hang on for dear life if they want to live.

I'll use the plain water and rag technique again as it did seem very effective, to clean them in a few days. I don't mind feeding my plants synthetic feeds, I've just never like the idea of insecticides or pesticides.

Meanwhile, here's an updated couple of pic's. Everything is on course so far, stem thickness, height of plant... i'm really impressed. I suppose weeks 3 and 4 will be the most telling.

Well looking at these guys this morning, I'm only going to be able to fit 6 per light... max.

Usually in the 3litre pots I could fit 4 plants. In these 0.5 litre pots I'll fit 6. Which, at least with the math in my head, means I'm on schedule.

So far the root system has had little or no bearing on the upward growth and development of the plant itself.

Although, I believe the end of week 4 will be the most telling.

skunkushybrid said:

So far the root system has had little or no bearing on the upward growth and development of the plant itself.

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Have you noticed much side branching tho??

Ive been following your experiment and am for one, thankful to you for documenting it. I have been doing my own experimenting as well, while following this thread.

One thing i have noticed is that when the roots have a chance to spread out away from the plant, more horizontal growth happens. And when they (roots) are kept in tight, there is much more vertical growth.

Ive noticed that when i put my clones into the cup, it takes a couple days for the roots to hit the side of the cup. Once that happens, the plants stop growing out, and shoots upward. Now if i put them straight into 1G pots they grow out much more, then once those roots hit the side, they start reaching.

Ive also noted that the leaves grow outwards to about the size of the pot, not much bigger, then up.

Ive noticed that about ur plants as well, SKH. quite tall and not so many branches, compared to plants of the same age put into bigger pots.

oops....lost train of thought....time for a rip.....

I will conclude when done.

kt0s.6o4 said:

Have you noticed much side branching tho??

Ive been following your experiment and am for one, thankful to you for documenting it. I have been doing my own experimenting as well, while following this thread.

One thing i have noticed is that when the roots have a chance to spread out away from the plant, more horizontal growth happens. And when they (roots) are kept in tight, there is much more vertical growth.

Ive noticed that when i put my clones into the cup, it takes a couple days for the roots to hit the side of the cup. Once that happens, the plants stop growing out, and shoots upward. Now if i put them straight into 1G pots they grow out much more, then once those roots hit the side, they start reaching.

Ive also noted that the leaves grow outwards to about the size of the pot, not much bigger, then up.

Ive noticed that about ur plants as well, SKH. quite tall and spindly, compared to plants of the same age put into bigger pots.

oops....lost train of thought....time for a rip.....

I will conclude when done.

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No, they look tall because of the comparison to the pots. Also side branching is genetic amongst sativa strains. I'm suffering the side branches too, hence my supposition that I may only fit 6 beneath the light.

I said earlier in the thread that the la's would have been better for this experiment due to their tendency to just grow one straight cola, as they have very heavy indica sided genes (mine are x'd with a mystery haze). But this experiment isn't about sog, it's about the importance of root development.

I'm going to take some pic's of individual plants... with them all crushed together like that (1 more week for the chronics to come down) it's hard to study the plants properly.

Thankyou for taking the time to pass your comments... the one about the leaves has me very interested... as it is something I had noted before. Not sure on it yet... because as a plant flowers and stretches its leaves always overstretch the width of the pot. Although to take pic's now would be a very good way of proving this point. they are not yet 7 days in flower, they are getting big now, almost time to tie. Now is my only opportunity.

hey skunk, this thread is a great read.

my two pennies: i've read in multiple third party places (not on this site) that the visible plant mimicks the root system. supposedly, if you see a tree with a 20' diameter drip line and 30' tall, that's about the limits of the root system underground. this comment jives well with kto's comment on the leaves not getting much wider then the pots.

of course, potted plants work differently then those in ground. the roots will begin to intertwine and weave while the plant is still growing up and out, but that's how it works in nature. it's also the reason why some people trim the roots before repotting: to limit the canopy growth.

i don't know if a tight root system will contribute to tighter buds. i guess your experiment will attempt to confirm this. i hope nat is right: smaller plants + tighter buds. sounds like a win/win.

The second pic is of a plant given the best of the light. You need to remember there are currently 15 plants all scrambling for a 400w HPS. The third plant is of one that has been overshadowed by the others.

These plants like to stretch up and out. Give them the room and they will fill it.

closet.cult said:

the visible plant mimicks the root system. supposedly, if you see a tree with a 20' diameter drip line and 30' tall, that's about the limits of the root system underground.

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exactly what i was trying to get at.....

But this experiment isn't about sog, it's about the importance of root development

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ya, i know. I was trying to say that plant growth = root growth and visa versa. Root growth patterns determine plant growth patterns.

If you take a look at the second pic'... these plants are barely into flower and will easily double in height by the end of week four. I have some that are in bigger pots... coming up to 9 weeks flower... there's around an oz and a half per plant, and they grew at the same rate as these I have now.

I need to separate these asap. There's just not enough room untill the chronics come down, and they could easily go 10 weeks.

Also... something else worth note. The plants are already too big for the pots, they waived this way and that when I carried them to the bathroom. I had to support them.

What will they be like by the end of week 4?

thank you skunk. nice thread.



i believe you will have NO problems. looking at your plant to pot size comparison i can see they look just like mine. mine were bigger but the plant to pot size ratio looks exact.