Bigger roots, bigger fruits

Well that's the theory anyway, guess I might be able to find out soon.

Due to my limited space and desire to grow 3-4 plants at a time, I have been experimenting with various fabric pots ranging from 2-3 gallons (based on dimensions). I started out using 2 gal root pots that are 8.5W x 8.5H (2.1 gal) because the 3 gal pots were only slightly larger (8 x 9, 2.2 gal). I know yield has many factors, but one thing I do note so far is that the wider the pot, the wider the plant. My plants in the 2 gal root pots were only slightly wider (10 - 10.5") than the pot.

Now I am growing 2 plants in 2 gal root trappers. The dimensions are actually 10 x 8.5, or 2.9 gal! But I notice that while they are indeed larger in volume than the root pots (2.9 vs 2.1) the plants are much wider. Just like the other plants, they are slightly wider than the pot, which means they are around 12" wide. So I have much bigger plants than before, and at less veg time (~35 days vs 50+ for prior grows).

I did make other changes however. My first plants were vegged under 220w 6500k PLLs while the newest plants were vegged under 150w 4000k CMH. So there could be too many variables except...I have a World of Seeds Afghan Kush X Skunk at 35 days in a 2 gal root pot, and it is much smaller (narrower) than the two plants grown in the 2 gal root trapper!

I picked up some 3 gal unknown brand fabric pots at a hydro shop nt long back. The dimensions on these are 8w x 11h (2.4 gal), so I will try another plant soon in these to see if this hypothesis holds true about the width of the pot.

Just posting for the fun of it...

It's true to a point. When you have reached the limit of your flower light, however, it wont matter if you have a square meter under the plants.

I flower under a 600 HPS using 7.5 gallon milk crates with a black plastic bag as a liner. I would yield more, much more, if I had a 1000 HPS over them, even though each plant has a pretty large amount of soil to live in.

My lights work for either size I am using, but the wider pots make it a bit harder in my tent (2x2x5) as the wider plants are bunched together a bit more whereas they had more clearance with the narrower bags.

As another example, I grow my veggies in about 600sqf of raised beds. All my beds are 4' x 8' x 12" with a super light soil mix made by me. I discovered years ago that I could more than double the planting density recommended on the seed packages. Just harvested 300 onions from one bed and 220 carrots from another. I had 24 potatoes in another 4x8 and harvested some 70 lbs of potatoes last week. Those were more than triple the planting density recommended.

I discovered later some guy made a fortune calling this the square foot gardening technique and wrote books, makes tv shows and gives speeches and shit, lol.

smokinrav said:

As another example, I grow my veggies in about 600sqf of raised beds. All my beds are 4' x 8' x 12" with a super light soil mix made by me. I discovered years ago that I could more than double the planting density recommended on the seed packages. Just harvested 300 onions from one bed and 220 carrots from another. I had 24 potatoes in another 4x8 and harvested some 70 lbs of potatoes last week. Those were more than triple the planting density recommended.

I discovered later some guy made a fortune calling this the square foot gardening technique and wrote books, makes tv shows and gives speeches and shit, lol.

Click to expand...

Is there some sort of chart or guide to follow depending on the crop? Aso, would you be willing to link to where this "guys" info can be found? Would be greatly appreciated, you have peaked my curiousity.

my plants right now in my ebb and grow(auto short nepali). which are 2 gallon pots ,they are 3' + wide bushes ,without topping,bigger roots do equal bigger plants/yield,but with hydro I get much more growth regardless,I also have a small flood table using 5 inch cups,the plants get almost 2' wide,I keep em short around 2' tall though due to space,the table is small too around 14x30" so the roots do grow in the table too and the plants get crowded ,alot of it is grower experience too, after you factor in lights/nutes/strain

UnfusedGrowth said:

Is there some sort of chart or guide to follow depending on the crop? Aso, would you be willing to link to where this "guys" info can be found? Would be greatly appreciated, you have peaked my curiousity.

Click to expand...

Just Google 'square foot gardening', tons of info out there.

Really, IMO, the key is the super light soil mix. I can penetrate my entire 12" depth with one hand and not a lot of effort. It dries out super fast, so I water them every day or every other day. That means the roots are going through their wet dry cycle super fast, and growing roots and plants at fantastic densities.

In my experience, mj like deep roots more than wide...although wide is good. But it didn't affect the width of the plant at all, that is partly genetic but also controlled by topping, lst etc.

Bigger roots, bigger fruits! Ha! I like that one...

My old saying is:
py = rb * g (potential yield equals the size of the root ball times the genetics of the plant)
ay = py / F (actual yield equals the potential yield divided by the things that are less than perfect)

I've learned to have a lot of respect for F . Stupid 2nd law of thermodynamics...

roots also depend on the plant...a seeded plant and a clone are different in the ways the roots grow. Only a seeded plant will have a tap root, which will grow straight down and hit the bottem of the planter long before the other roots spread out to the sides. A clone will not have a tap root and will never produce one its entire life. if u LST train, u will notice that laying down a clone is 10 times easier than laying down a seeded lady due to the huge anchor like root in the middle.

Grown n Oregon said:

roots also depend on the plant...a seeded plant and a clone are different in the ways the roots grow. Only a seeded plant will have a tap root, which will grow straight down and hit the bottem of the planter long before the other roots spread out to the sides. A clone will not have a tap root and will never produce one its entire life. if u LST train, u will notice that laying down a clone is 10 times easier than laying down a seeded lady due to the huge anchor like root in the middle.

Click to expand...

So what would you say is better a clone or a seed?

i wouldnt say one is better than the other..but one has something the other does not, a tap root. i personally think seeded plants grow faster and get mure busy faster. if i plant a seed the same day i take a cutting, a month later the seeded plant is twice the size of the clone. maybe because it has a root quicker and eats sooner...i honestly dont know...its just my powers of observation

If you enjoy posting something that helps me, well, that's the best of both worlds, eh?

Interesting observations you've made here. Using pot shape/size to modify your plants is exactly the type of practical
information that helps us all. Good work.

Here's an extension of your theory - being able to see underground. When I was doing the pot size/shape experiments I noticed
a tall, skinny 3-gallon pot will produce a taller skinnier plant then one grown in a regular 3-gallon pot. That's because a plant will
grow only roots until those roots hit the inside wallsof the pot. Then I noticed that root development pretty well mirrors the largest leave growth.
If you look straight down on your plant and notice how wide the biggest leaves are, you can be sure the roots have spread just about as wide.

Posted for the fun of it!
BigSteve.

Grown n Oregon said:

roots also depend on the plant...a seeded plant and a clone are different in the ways the roots grow. Only a seeded plant will have a tap root, which will grow straight down and hit the bottem of the planter long before the other roots spread out to the sides. A clone will not have a tap root and will never produce one its entire life. if u LST train, u will notice that laying down a clone is 10 times easier than laying down a seeded lady due to the huge anchor like root in the middle.

Click to expand...

Seeded plants also have hollow stems, where clone's stems are filled in...have often wondered about this and why it is the case...l

Like when you take a cutting off of a plant from seed there is a hollow middle through all the branches...but if you take a clone of a clone, that hollow space is gone...

missnu said:

Like when you take a cutting off of a plant from seed there is a hollow middle through all the branches...but if you take a clone of a clone, that hollow space is gone...

Click to expand...

Could be how their roots develop in clones vs seeds, clones need a filled in stem to keep the foliage alive by direct contact with the plant liquids and the water you put in the soil, whereas seeds have a nutrient supply when they hatch, enough to get them through germination and water leaves etc so they have no need to have the plant stem in as much contact as a clone.

Could be to do with nutrient uptake in clones vs seeds and a million other evolutionary marvels XD

Well that most likely made no sense... enjoi!

smokinrav said:

It's true to a point. When you have reached the limit of your flower light, however, it wont matter if you have a square meter under the plants.

I flower under a 600 HPS using 7.5 gallon milk crates with a black plastic bag as a liner. I would yield more, much more, if I had a 1000 HPS over them, even though each plant has a pretty large amount of soil to live in.

Click to expand...

What is your normal yield?