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Maximizing Root Growth in Soil
Containers
Contributed by
Apollo11Genius Submitted: 03-23-2004
Root
growth/mass(all other factors being
equal).
Space is also one of the
major concerns for indoor growers, who generally cannot
move to bigger and bigger pots to allow for bigger root
masses.
However, a lot of container space often
goes unused, because roots will not grow into the top
inches of soil that are often dried out from powerful
lights and low humidity. In addition, since MJ soils are
typically very airy and light, when watering the top
inches of soil are easily disturbed as the dirt is
pushed and moved around by the water. This also inhibits
roots from growing into the top inches of soil.
In a 1 foot tall pot
the top 3 inches of soil will not allow root growth, you
are wasting 25% of your soil mass that could be
used for roots. In pots that are wider at the top than
the bottom, this wasted soil could be even greater!
How then to use this soil? We need to
prevent the soil from being disturbed and keep it moist,
and hydro growers have been using an ideal product for
this for a long time - Hydroton clay balls!
1. Hydroton clay balls are LIGHT.
They won't compact your soil the way putting pebbles
on top would.
2. A layer of
hydroton clay balls on top of the soil will help the
soil underneath it lose moisture through evaporation and
low humidity.
By adding a layer of hydroton on
top of the soil, soil disturbance is prevented since the
water does not directly touch the soil until it has
filtered through the layer of hydroton balls. Soil
moisture is then trapped underneath the hydroton and
less likely to evaporate due to heat and/or low
humidity.
This way it is possible to grow plants
with roots stretching up all the way to the top of the
soil. Those roots will rapidly provide nutrition to the
plant when it is watered. It also will help the plant be
able to go a longer time without watering since moisture
that would have been lost to evaporation is now
available to the plant.
Note: Use a
root stimulator during veg growth to help accelerate the
root growth process and make sure there is a strong root
mass in flowering. The last things you want in flower
are wimpy roots (unless you want wimpy
yields).
Last modified: 11:09 - May 10,
2004
faq:1649 "Maximizing root
growth in soil
containers"
