How to grow bigger roots

So I just started last two rounds using 20 gallons containers, indoor. I drill the hell out of em with a 3/4 inch bit and line them with weed block fabric so its a homade air/smart pot type combo... Upon removing the root mass from the last harvest, I was disappointed at the size of it.. I vegged a long time, lost track exactly but it was a solid 8 weeks if not 12 from clone, they ended up like 3x6 rectangular canopy viewed from above so not a tiny plant. I use promix HP with microhaze (spelling off I know). besides the main root ball that would have easily fit in a 5 gallon bucket, there where only a few small roots going all the way down or all the way to the sides. Therefore Im wasting tons of nutes watering these big containers that aren't root filled....

I searched for articles on web, all that appeared to be articles where just basically articles written as advertisements for a certain brand or another of root booster. My guess is its not that simple..... I used Heavy 16 roots on the last run. Besides vegging even longer, what are the tricks to fill up that whole container with strong happy roots? searched the forums too and only found threads on root diseases and problems.

Lighter soil mix? add more perlite to the pro-mix? step them up container size more slowly? I did quart size then a 2 or 3 gallon bucket, then to the 20 gallon, would some more time in a 5 or 7 gallon pot till its full of roots then move up help?

My fear is with the big container, and it being air/smart pot style, that that outer ring and bottom are getting too dry in between waterings thus any tiny root growth into them is killed by desert dry soil on outside while the center of container is still nice and moist. I pushed envelope on overwatering on the run before the last trying to prevent this but ended up with some light overwater symptoms....

I really like the idea of a few Big plants in my little grow area 6x6. But if I can't fill these containers with roots will go back to 5-7 gallon containers and same size canopy...

Oxygen grows bigger roots!

last time i looked it was all about growing bigger plants not roots WTF
next question is Facts are a plant grown in a bigger pot will grow approx 43 percent bigger

but at the end of the day were still at the infant stages of understanding how plants root system senses its boundary

Yes above post mentions oxygen but in all honesty we really do not know if adding more air or having more air is the right approach
yes we try to make a nice fluffy soil mix to pamper our roots i hopes that it will grow healthy ..
But again its not Fact 02 and gas exchange is important in all soils but how much is all a theoretical guess

But we know one thing is that in most cases when a plant is transplanted up first thing that happens is plant sends roots to out outer boundary of container.
From there it will figure out its on root mass and size needed
fact is do a test take 2 clones put one clone in 1 gallon pot and another in 3 gallon pot you will soon see a huge difference in growth rates
Why because the plant decreased its photosynthesis rate in accordance to pot size

All plant sensing is done by the root system if plant is lacking oxygen it will send roots to the surface we call them air roots and this is why in many cases you see above ground root structures etc

Well my hypothesis is it makes intuitive sense that same size above ground plant to same size above ground plant but with larger root mass would produce more...

Maybe im wrong as there seems to be endless factors in final outcome.... maybe i should start with a side by side and try to keep above ground portion same size. But would be willing to compare different runs in same size container but work on growing larger root mass a subsequent run to see what happens. Id be shocked if a bigger root mass didnt have some positive effect on her...

Mounds

You can dig holes beneath them

Add mulch

I went 7 days without watering thru May

stop babying your plants bottom feed force roots to grow to the water source
water around your plant not on them or directly at stem like so many do ..

Got to remember from clone the root mass is not nearly the same from a seed to finish.

Beneficial bacteria will help my favorite for increasing root mass is azospirillum brasilense.

You can buy it in huge bulk from india/china or Xtreme Gardeners Azo's is the other option.

Yea i have a watering halo which does keep water aweful close to center... makes sense to water perimeter more heavily.... i could easily make a homeade watering halo that would water closer to the edge more thqn the center....

i would say get some tray's.
water from the bottom. if you are
watering from the top roots have no need
to go deeper. also could be pot shape
a non tapered pot does not work as well
as a tapered pot. hope this helps
Lrus007

I think what you want to try is Veg Bloom Plus Life product in the smaller pots to stay economical. It's beneficials but with a food source for them added. You just put a tablespoon per gallon straight water, in the smaller pots as you step up. Roots really like it. Simple.

But note that with smart pots, the root mass tends to grow more in the center anyway. They get "air pruned" as they reach the edges and that's just by design.

Should help noticeably.

Lrus007 said:

i would say get some tray's.
water from the bottom. if you are
watering from the top roots have no need
to go deeper. also could be pot shape
a non tapered pot does not work as well
as a tapered pot. hope this helps
Lrus007

Click to expand...

Is that truly as simple as watering the tray and just letting the medium wick it up?

They are tapered.

But note that with smart pots, the root mass tends to grow more in the center anyway. They get "air pruned" as they reach the edges

I agree but understood it as they air trimmed the roots behind it would split like when you top a plant forva really uniform root mass. This one
Was tight and condensed right in the center... not the bushy uniform mass iv seen pics of from ventilated pots... w a few small thread like roots here and there out from it....

Huckster79 said:

Is that truly as simple as watering the tray and just letting the medium wick it up?

They are tapered.

Click to expand...

yes it will wick it up.
i also lift every pot every day.
if light water, if heavy let go a day or so.
Lrus007

Smart pots/fabric containers do a good job of getting large root systems. I've found Superoots Air-pots are the best at it. No area in the soil or medium will be without roots. It is really something to see, the design is spot on.

-Funk

what was your intention with increasing pot size?

i just ask because for me you are not using the advantages of the extra space, and also from my perspective you might be using some small pot techniques that hurt growth and yield.

bigger pots are great for A. holding more food if you wish to do a no feed organic or top dress an amended mix.

B. to maintain a more consistent root zone. a large pot will stay in the sweet spot way longer than a small pot in a non automated system giving more hours a cycle of maximum growth.... the opposite is also true being the big draw back.... one over water could toast the yeild potential of a crop with 1 watering!

when i went big(pots) i started upping my air holding capacity , and my yields exploded, basically i do 1 bale pro mix(114L) 2 bags perlite (220L) and 3 bags coco (150L) with 3 worm castings and maybe a mushroom manure... makes about 200 gallons...

will only hold 2+\- gallons of water in a 15 gallon pot then will run off, preventing root killing water drowning...

all my best yeilding runs have been 10-14 days from healthy cuttings in a two-3 gallon then into the 15 for another 10-15 days then flowered at about 24-36 inches tall, end up beingg 8-12 ounce plants.... any longer veg and the roots max out and die back... any over watering slows this critical phase of developement and creates bad cycles...

best to use those extra gallons to get a perfect air\moisture level as many hours a day as possible... imo anyways...

rykus said:

what was your intention with increasing pot size?

i just ask because for me you are not using the advantages of the extra space, and also from my perspective you might be using some small pot techniques that hurt growth and yield. Do you mean the smart/airpot set up?

bigger pots are great for A. holding more food if you wish to do a no feed organic or top dress an amended mix.

B. to maintain a more consistent root zone. a large pot will stay in the sweet spot way longer than a small pot in a non automated system giving more hours a cycle of maximum growth.... the opposite is also true being the big draw back.... one over water could toast the yeild potential of a crop with 1 watering!

when i went big(pots) i started upping my air holding capacity , and my yields exploded, basically i do 1 bale pro mix(114L) 2 bags perlite (220L) and 3 bags coco (150L) with 3 worm castings and maybe a mushroom manure... makes about 200 gallons... I wI was thinking I would add more perlite next time...

will only hold 2+\- gallons of water in a 15 gallon pot then will run off, preventing root killing water drowning...

all my best yeilding runs have been 10-14 days from healthy cuttings in a two-3 gallon then into the 15 for another 10-15 days then flowered at about 24-36 inches tall, end up beingg 8-12 ounce plants.... any longer veg and the roots max out and die back... any over watering slows this critical phase of developement and creates bad cycles...

best to use those extra gallons to get a perfect air\moisture level as many hours a day as possible... imo anyways...

Click to expand...

Do you think that this could be obtained in these pots watering bottom up? It seems intuitively like it could to me, but just going on intuition...

i personally have had some success with bottom feeding, but prefer top feeding a smaller amount into a lighter medium.

just beware of recommendations to flush the medium or saturate fully... this is a death sentence to small plants in large pots of peat heavy medium....

Im thinking of boTTom watering sthen top every other time as seems to be advantages to both. Also going to water slower and make sure my watering ring goes around perimeter of containder not just the center.... thats where im at right now...thinking wise

More roots, more shoots!!! IMO...
I think anything you can do, watering technique or pot size, to get your roots searching for or seeking out water, is the best thing for root mass size. I also think that a bigger pot size with a lighter mix is the best way to go for your growing style. Unless your using a water-only amended medium or supersoil, you want to be able to water and feed as often as possible for max nutrient uptake. Without overwatering of course; it really does only take one to noticeably effect harvest. Someone else said it too, but the more hours of the day spent on photosynthesis, the better growth rates you'll see.