Roots growing up through the ground.

dsmal01

dsmal01

Active Member
I've got a decent sized outdoor garden thats on a bit of a slope. All my plants are in the ground in 35 gal trash bags. After a few big storms that dropped several inches of rain, a lot of the clay type soil on the slope above my patch has washed over my holes covering them in this silty soil that turns into a hard clay when it dries. Now for some reason on two of my plants, the roots have begun growing up through the soil over the entire hole. Im not sure if this could be caused by the clay suffocating the roots or what would cause this. I know i probably need to remove this clay layer so my plants can drain and breath but now im afraid of damaging the roots. Anyone have any ideas???

Also could these exposed roots hurt my plant?
 
jonboy30

jonboy30

Well-Known Member
dsmal01 said:
I've got a decent sized outdoor garden thats on a bit of a slope. All my plants are in the ground in 35 gal trash bags. After a few big storms that dropped several inches of rain, a lot of the clay type soil on the slope above my patch has washed over my holes covering them in this silty soil that turns into a hard clay when it dries. Now for some reason on two of my plants, the roots have begun growing up through the soil over the entire hole. Im not sure if this could be caused by the clay suffocating the roots or what would cause this. I know i probably need to remove this clay layer so my plants can drain and breath but now im afraid of damaging the roots. Anyone have any ideas???

Also could these exposed roots hurt my plant?
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Hey man...yeah, that's a tough one you got there. In my experience in the nursery business I know that when a person plants a tree too deep into the ground, with too much mulch around the trunk, this causes root girdle. I'm sure the same idea presents itself with marijuana too. You saying that the silt built up around your marijuana plants causes me to believe that root girdle is present. As you answered your own question, yes, you should remove the silt sediment. Don't worry so much about cutting the top roots. When you expose the basal flare of the marijuana plant, aerate the surrounding soil and use some Green Light liquid root stimulator with 10-15-10 NPK fert. That should do the trick.
 
Green Cross

Green Cross

Well-Known Member
dsmal01 said:
I've got a decent sized outdoor garden thats on a bit of a slope. All my plants are in the ground in 35 gal trash bags. After a few big storms that dropped several inches of rain, a lot of the clay type soil on the slope above my patch has washed over my holes covering them in this silty soil that turns into a hard clay when it dries. Now for some reason on two of my plants, the roots have begun growing up through the soil over the entire hole. Im not sure if this could be caused by the clay suffocating the roots or what would cause this. I know i probably need to remove this clay layer so my plants can drain and breath but now im afraid of damaging the roots. Anyone have any ideas???

Also could these exposed roots hurt my plant?
Click to expand...
That usually means the plants are finding moisture in shallow ground.

When you water them; watter deep, because if you water shallow the roots will come up looking for water instead of down.
 
dsmal01

dsmal01

Active Member
Green Cross said:
That usually means the plants are finding moisture in shallow ground.

When you water them; watter deep, because if you water shallow the roots will come up looking for water instead of down.
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Well we've had soo much rain lately I havent had to water in a while. Actually i cant water, the soil is still completely saturated. I can tell my plants are needing N but we've had 6" plus of rain in the last 10 days. If anything they're water logged. The holes were dug very deep and there's a small stream that runs only a few feet away but its never at more than a trickle unless it just rained. I dont think lack of "deep" water is the cause of my root problem. Im kinda thinking more like the opposite.
 
dsmal01

dsmal01

Active Member
I forgot to mention all these plants are BIG, one over 6ft and the other over 8ft so they should have a pretty robust root system. The main stems are definitely starting to resemble tree trunks.
 
goosecomander

goosecomander

Active Member
dsmal01 said:
I forgot to mention all these plants are BIG, one over 6ft and the other over 8ft so they should have a pretty robust root system. The main stems are definitely starting to resemble tree trunks.
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i dont know to much about this but could it be its getting root bound and the roots are coming up for more room....
 
dsmal01

dsmal01

Active Member
If 35 gal of soil isnt enough then i dont know what the hell to do next year. I nearly broke myself buying fucking dirt, i cant go much bigger. And the soil in the immediate area of my plants actually isnt that bad. the clay stuff is washing down from much higher up the hill on its way to the creek. But yeah being root bound was my first thought but i still dont know. Those holes were HUGE.
 
grow space

grow space

Well-Known Member
yeah -ti may might be rootbound but this has happened to my too.no worries, your plant will do fine just like that.its good if you add some soil on the topp, then the roots will be nicely ducked inn:):):)
 
jonboy30

jonboy30

Well-Known Member
dsmal01 said:
If 35 gal of soil isnt enough then i dont know what the hell to do next year. I nearly broke myself buying fucking dirt, i cant go much bigger. And the soil in the immediate area of my plants actually isnt that bad. the clay stuff is washing down from much higher up the hill on its way to the creek. But yeah being root bound was my first thought but i still dont know. Those holes were HUGE.
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Psst...read my first post...I think that may be your problem...:peace:
 
dsmal01

dsmal01

Active Member
jonboy30 said:
Psst...read my first post...I think that may be your problem...:peace:
Click to expand...

Ya i think your probably right. Im gonna take a trowel out there in a bit and try to carefully scrape the clay off the top maybe take some garden edging to hopefully direct the clay around them into the creek so it can get washed away. Im gonna see if i can find some root stimulator at home depot or lowes or some place like that cause the nearest hydro shop is a long ways away and i can make the trip for a few days. Im also probably gonna take what little soil i have left out there and cover the roots the best i can. Thanks to everyone for the input.
 
goosecomander

goosecomander

Active Member
dsmal01 said:
Ya i think your probably right. Im gonna take a trowel out there in a bit and try to carefully scrape the clay off the top maybe take some garden edging to hopefully direct the clay around them into the creek so it can get washed away. Im gonna see if i can find some root stimulator at home depot or lowes or some place like that cause the nearest hydro shop is a long ways away and i can make the trip for a few days. Im also probably gonna take what little soil i have left out there and cover the roots the best i can. Thanks to everyone for the input.
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jonnyboy is a wise man listen to whatever he say.... but pick up another couple bags of soil and make a nice mound around your plants dont be stingy it will make them stronger and to grow good ganja it will cost u some money but it all pays for itself in the end ....
 
Getcrunk

Getcrunk

Well-Known Member
Theres no way in hell that the plants are root bound with 35 gallon bags full of soil. My theory: The clay is suffocating the roots and they are popping out for some air.
 
jonboy30

jonboy30

Well-Known Member
goosecomander said:
jonnyboy is a wise man listen to whatever he say.... but pick up another couple bags of soil and make a nice mound around your plants dont be stingy it will make them stronger and to grow good ganja it will cost u some money but it all pays for itself in the end ....
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Thanks goose, I appreciate the kind words. With the extra topsoil, make a "bowl" around the plant...keeps the water there to drain into the rootball.:peace:
 
dsmal01

dsmal01

Active Member
well i added the extra soil yesterday (it spread out to be 2-3 inches deep) and just checked them a few minutes ago and the roots are starting to pop out again so i guess im just gonna leave it alone and hope all works ok. I dont think it should be too big of a deal, im going out of town for a few days so ill have to see what they look like when i get back and can make it to my patch. I put up the plastic edging stuff too to keep the clay from washing back over them incase we have more flash floods while im gone.
 
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