How do the roots grow?

ProPheT 216

ProPheT 216

Well-Known Member
bobj1598 said:
Do they develop as the stalk up top grows taller and makes new leaves? Or does it develop independently via it's own method? Is there any way that I can reliably stimulate the growth/size of roots?

Is PROMIX full of shit when they say their MYCO-ACTIVE technology gives you stronger roots? https://www.promixgardening.com/en/myco-active
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honest answer to your question. If you are growing in soil a plant will do 3x as much underground as it does above ground if it has the space and light.
 
VincenzioVonHook

VincenzioVonHook

Well-Known Member
ProPheT 216 said:
honest answer to your question. If you are growing in soil a plant will do 3x as much underground as it does above ground if it has the space and light.
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Im not sure if that's true. I've grown 1m plants in 3 gallon pots of general potting mix that are 20cm tall and 25cm wide. Plants that fill a 2x4 by themself in 3 gallon pots.

Pretty much every plant I've grown has ended up 3-4x the height and width of the pot easy.
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
VincenzioVonHook said:
Im not sure if that's true. I've grown 1m plants in 3 gallon pots of general potting mix that are 20cm tall and 25cm wide. Plants that fill a 2x4 by themself in 3 gallon pots.

Pretty much every plant I've grown has ended up 3-4x the height and width of the pot easy.
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That's because when the roots don't have more space they will be stunted but if there's lots of room to spread out they will take up much more space than the plant itself.

If you carefully soaked the root ball and untangled the roots so you could spread them out you'll see for yourself I grew a lot of DWC in tubs and the roots were amazing.

:peace:
 
hotrodharley

hotrodharley

Well-Known Member
bobj1598 said:
I want the fattest roots, the most roots, the BEST roots.

just,incredible roots
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Keep the medium broken up and well aerated. Water with a proper volume so as to saturate all the medium all the way to the bottom of the container. Liquid volume should be at least 20% of container volume. Water by weight and not by schedule. If in peat a surfactant added early in the grow will help break surface tension and allow the peat to better absorb the liquid. Peat is pretty hydrophobic when dry. Once wet there’s usually no problem.
 
NotTheRobot

NotTheRobot

Well-Known Member
bobj1598 said:
Do they develop as the stalk up top grows taller and makes new leaves? Or does it develop independently via it's own method? Is there any way that I can reliably stimulate the growth/size of roots?

Is PROMIX full of shit when they say their MYCO-ACTIVE technology gives you stronger roots? https://www.promixgardening.com/en/myco-active
Click to expand...
Root and plant development are NOT INDEPENDANT but not tied together completely either.

If you look at plants grown in hydro there are some incredible root systems with okay, but not incredible tops. I've grown plants outside that surprise me with how small the roots are when I chop the plant.

As for MYCO (mycorrihizae) it's supposed to develop more "life" in the growing medium which helps the plant. I don't know how much MYCO Promix adds but I'm actually using some outside now which was mixed in with aged sheep manure. Add some shit. It will help.

The best way to reliably stimulate the growth/size of roots is healthy plants.
 
Rurumo

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
Fulvic acid, kelp extract or spirulina, aloe very juice/gel, and rhizobacteria/mycorrhizae inoculants all benefit root growth in my experience. There is a lot of action going on at the root/soil interface with signaling molecules that's worth looking into if you're interested in this kind of thing. In a peat based mix like Promix-a good wet/dry cycle will grow roots quickly too.
 
Billy the Mountain

Billy the Mountain

Well-Known Member
NotTheRobot said:
Root and plant development are NOT INDEPENDANT but not tied together completely either.

If you look at plants grown in hydro there are some incredible root systems with okay, but not incredible tops. I've grown plants outside that surprise me with how small the roots are when I chop the plant.

As for MYCO (mycorrihizae) it's supposed to develop more "life" in the growing medium which helps the plant. I don't know how much MYCO Promix adds but I'm actually using some outside now which was mixed in with aged sheep manure. Add some shit. It will help.

The best way to reliably stimulate the growth/size of roots is healthy plants.
Click to expand...
Smaller roots and bigger fruits?

Doesn't quite roll off the tongue
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
bobj1598 said:
How do I do this without damaging the roots? I got a sort of hard top surface from adding that fertilizer, I was considering breaking it up a bit, but I don't know how close the roots are to the top of the soil.
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I got a serving fork from the thrift store and use it to till the surface before watering and even after once it dries out a bit so air can get in easier. Dig around a bit without being too aggressive and the roots won't get hurt. Any near the top are thicker and tougher too. Basically pipelines to feed the plant with what the fine roots send up.

At each transplant I saw the bottom off the rootball to get rid of the stringy roots in the bottom and even shave down the sides to get rid of ones wrapped around the pot.

RootPrune01.jpg

Without shaving the side roots they all grow out the bottom and the sides of the rootball never really connect with the new soil and grow into it. I just kicked apart some rootballs into my garden patch and the old rootballs were totally separate around the sides because I didn't prune the side roots. Can just slash randomly around the outside of the ball too instead of shaving them down. When roots are cut off/pruned they branch out like the plant does when you top it or the branches.

RootPrune02.jpg

:peace:
 
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