Modifying containers to redirect root growth

[Swayze]

Hello all,

I have a few plants growing, two different plants, one bagseed which is in Scrog right now, one of it's clones, and a seed I found in a nug of Early Queen. This is also my first go with soil. I've grown in the past using DWC and Hempy. Once each with good results.

The Scrog plant has been showing some deficiencies, but I've been butchering the plant. I may have started late on the Scrog and have been giving pruning a go plus it's my first try at organics.

She is in a 1.3 gallon container. She popped around Feb 1st, and I think I moved her too early into the gallon pot to really fill it out. After reading more about root-bound plants and bonsai moms, I figured, "what the hell, time to trim some roots". So I cut about an inch or two off the sides and bottom, which was a mat of roots circling around the container like chickens with their heads cut off.

A thread I was reading, can't locate it now of course, discussed the circling of roots along the outside instead of turning back in towards the center, naturally leading to unused soil and space, air pockets and so on. So I began to think about modifying the circle containers to guide the roots back in towards the center. The first thing that came to mind was basically adding 4 fins to the pot. 1 top and bottom and 1 on each side basically quartering it. With the thinking that because it is still a circle pot, the roots will travel around the outside until they encounter one of these fins which would guide the roots hopefully back toward the center.

This is still in the Stoney Baloney planning phase so I would love to hear some feedback about this and any other modifications you make under the soil.

Thanks for reading,
Swayze

 

[supermanlives]

dont waste your time

 

[heady blunts]

get yourself a couple smart pots.

 

[e_24]

yes heady!!! smart pots are the bomb! i had a plant veg in a #2 for 2 months, then flowered for another 2. the plant just eats up ALL the soil. when i choppen, and removed the smart pot, it was a mass of roots, and the soil was used to my liking. i dont like having unused soil at the end of a grow still in the pot. that means i could have done more to get a better yield

 

[señorsloth]

lol you NEVER trim roots on plants you are actively vegging or flowering! trimming the roots on bonsia moms is a technique to keep them stunted and small, something that's good for clone moms but not good for a plant you want to grow.

you would be surprised how little root space a plant actually needs, i have finished several plants in solo cups for instance...i think you need to do a little more research, there are a million different pots and a million different methods but at this rate you are going to kill your plants before they ever produce anything...read more!

 

[whatsupdoc]

+Karma for 'Stoney Baloney'

 

[Swayze]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Senor- May I ask why root pruning in Veg is a bad thing? Wouldn't the plant react the same above ground as it does below? When pruning leaves off the plant, new growth is encouraged. Would the plant not do the same with it's root structure. I ask because, my first grow was in a DWC system and I read up quite a bit on the topic before I began. I saw many threads on multiple forums about root pruning in hydro due to clogging of the systems. There seemed to be no ill effect on the plants and many reported better growth above and below the surface after the shock wore off.

Thanks again.