Question about roots

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smokey mcsmokester

Well-Known Member
Hey folks, I decided to go with bigger pots this time around instead of my usual 3 gallon pots. I went with 5 gallon buckets this time around and drilled holes a bit smaller than a #2 pencil in diameter, I drilled about 10 of them, anyways im 3 weeks and 2 days into veg and I transplanted them into the buckets from red solo cups 8 days ago.
I havn't watered them since the day I transplanted them (8 days ago) and I think they should have been watered since then but the buckets are heavy and the soil is STILL moist...So Im thinking maybe their not draining properly with those small holes...
So this morning I took a utility knife and cut about a 1/2 inch hole in the center of the bottom of the buckets... As I pulled out the piece of plastc I cut out, I noticed roots!
Is this normal?? To have roots at the bottom of the 5 gallon buckets after only 8 days of transplant?? Hell, a root even popped out of the hole at one point.... I have the buckets in turkey pans sitting about 2 inches off the bottom of the pans on little blocks of wood that way when I get runoff I can suck the water out of the pan with a baster..... Im thinking of taping some screen on these new 1/2 in. holes to keep the roots from growing out(if they do).....I may have also sliced a bit of these tiny roots when cutting out the holes.. Will this stunt or stress them? Im not a newb... Been doing this for about 5 years, just never had to do this stuff being I always used 3 gallon potting plants.... Im growing nirvana chrystal in ff oceans forest and happy frog with badded perlite under 1000 watts of mh for veg topped to get 4 mains... Please let me know if in for problems with what Ive stated above.... Thanks...
 
Someguy15

Someguy15

Well-Known Member
U wont hurt them at all. Root pruning done properly is just as beneficial as pruning up top. I doubt it's drainage, it's more the fact that you have a plant with a root system basically the size of a solo cup in a 5 gal pot. It should take a week to dry at that stage. If it's not causing any problems I would just leave them be until they fill out the soil. But in the future you might want to consider going solo->3gal->5gal to help the roots fill out more before they go in such a large pot. I'm not much of a soil guy to say from experience, but most soil growers claim this helps keep the root system more dense.
 
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smokey mcsmokester

Well-Known Member
Someguy15 said:
U wont hurt them at all. Root pruning done properly is just as beneficial as pruning up top. I doubt it's drainage, it's more the fact that you have a plant with a root system basically the size of a solo cup in a 5 gal pot. It should take a week to dry at that stage. If it's not causing any problems I would just leave them be until they fill out the soil. But in the future you might want to consider going solo->3gal->5gal to help the roots fill out more before they go in such a large pot. I'm not much of a soil guy to say from experience, but most soil growers claim this helps keep the root system more dense.
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Thanks for the reply Someguy... I somewhat figured it would take awhile for the roots to suck up all the water... I think next time Ill probably go from solo to 3 gal then to 5 gal... I was a little worried about cutting some of them roots... Is it normal for the roots to be at the bottom of the buckets already though? They must shoot straight to the bottom and branch off and grow back to the top.... Im definately not a botonist....lol... Im learning as I go...Thanks again....
 
Someguy15

Someguy15

Well-Known Member
smokey mcsmokester said:
Thanks for the reply Someguy... I somewhat figured it would take awhile for the roots to suck up all the water... I think next time Ill probably go from solo to 3 gal then to 5 gal... I was a little worried about cutting some of them roots... Is it normal for the roots to be at the bottom of the buckets already though? They must shoot straight to the bottom and branch off and grow back to the top.... Im definately not a botonist....lol... Im learning as I go...Thanks again....
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Yes, most plants like a natural deep root system. This involves shooting the tap root (thickest, most dominant root) down as far as reasonably possible for the plant. Once it reaches the bottom of a container it will start to spiral if you have plastic pots. Spiraling roots are bad because they produce lots of fibrous roots (the ones for anchoring and transporting nutes, NOT feeding) instead of the super fine feeder roots you want. This is why people use a chemical product called SpinOut painted on the inside of plastic pots. If you prefer a chem free method, I would look into the smart pots, root makers, air pots, ect that use air to root prune. I'm hardly a botanist either, but def. a avid reader of all educational material.
 
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smokey mcsmokester

Well-Known Member
Someguy15 said:
Yes, most plants like a natural deep root system. This involves shooting the tap root (thickest, most dominant root) down as far as reasonably possible for the plant. Once it reaches the bottom of a container it will start to spiral if you have plastic pots. Spiraling roots are bad because they produce lots of fibrous roots (the ones for anchoring and transporting nutes, NOT feeding) instead of the super fine feeder roots you want. This is why people use a chemical product called SpinOut painted on the inside of plastic pots. If you prefer a chem free method, I would look into the smart pots, root makers, air pots, ect that use air to root prune. I'm hardly a botanist either, but def. a avid reader of all educational material.
Click to expand...
OK thanks, So since im in plastic buckets and my roots have hit the bottom and I still want to veg another 2 weeks, Im basically guarenteed problems? Damn....
 
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