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What is your recipe for developing a healthy root mass?

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What is your recipe for developing a healthy root mass?

Bangarang 16 Replies 5,573 Views
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Bangarang

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#1
Ok so i have been doing key word searches with very little luck. I used to not worry so much about this but it has become something of great importance to me.
When transplanting clones in rockwool to coco i put them into 100% Coco 1/2 gallon airpots wtih ZHO, Azos, and Mykos. I feed with Jacks Pro in Veg. My roots look nice and fuzzy but are not banging as hard as i would like.
What do you do?
 
#3
Maybe the high salt content of the Jack's is killing the microbes you're adding, or something else. Those are decent additives, although OGBiowar kicks their ass up and down the street.
Chlorine, some wetting agents, etc can also kill those bennies.

There are lots of root boosters out there; I personally like a bump in phosphorous when my plants are young, such as Age Old's root rally, or a little of the right guano.
ACT (activated compost tea) makes your entire plant boom, including the roots.
 
#5
Bangarang said:
Ok so i have been doing key word searches with very little luck. I used to not worry so much about this but it has become something of great importance to me.
When transplanting clones in rockwool to coco i put them into 100% Coco 1/2 gallon airpots wtih ZHO, Azos, and Mykos. I feed with Jacks Pro in Veg. My roots look nice and fuzzy but are not banging as hard as i would like.
What do you do?
Click to expand...


If you are going into 100% coco that is part of the problem right there. You have not given your roots nearly enough oxygen and that is why they are not doing as well as you would like. I have found a 25-30% ratio of perlite in the coco will give the ideal oxygen content for the prime root development. While most people are under the impression CO2 is the primary gas for plants to thrive, it is truly O2 that will keep the plants healthy. Get your roots more O2 and you will see the explosive growth you desire. Also, why are you using ZHO, Azos and Mykos? You are wasting money and putting in more cultures of the same species. Either use ZHO or the Azos and Mykos. Also make sure your root zone is at a good temperature, not too hot not too cold. Make sure you do not over water your plants, in fact allow some time for the coco to dry out a bit.

Also I am not a huge fan of rockwool, I don't believe it allows for the root growth that the producers claim it does. It also holds water and air at a very different ratio than the medium around it (in your case coco) which may cause problems. The difference in water and air holding capacities actually create a barrier that the plants roots will not want to cross until they have no other option. So if you are going to continue using coco drop the rockwool; or if you want to keep using rockwool drop the coco.

There is no magic ingredient or formula for plant health. If there was every hydro store and nursery would only sell that product. It is all in your understanding of how plants grow.
 
#7
Smoking Gun said:
Also I am not a huge fan of rockwool, I don't believe it allows for the root growth that the producers claim it does. It also holds water and air at a very different ratio than the medium around it (in your case coco) which may cause problems. The difference in water and air holding capacities actually create a barrier that the plants roots will not want to cross until they have no other option. So if you are going to continue using coco drop the rockwool; or if you want to keep using rockwool drop the coco.
Click to expand...

Yo! First post here.

So, I run a commercial grow, putting delta-8 rockwool cubes into 5-gallon coco pots. I had some pretty awesome success for a while, pulling 1.75lb/light without co2 in a large room. But over time my yields have started to go down. I've been using Jack's at varying levels, trying to find the perfect formula. I've narrowed my issues down to the roots not having the proper conditions to explode due to my short veg time constraints.

The part that kills me is I had success AT ONE POINT, but it's just declining. Being able to put the rockwool cube into its final pot 5-gallon pot of coco instead of putting rooted clones into 1-gallon pots, THEN transplanting into 5-gallons really saved time due to the skipped step in the large operation. Are there any alternatives to just ditching the rockwool? Like, say, only watering the coco around the newly transplanted delta cube for a few days until roots explode?
 
#8
im not familiar with coco but in rockwool sea green, greatwhite, rhizotonic, and cannazyme has made hella difference in my root development. im a newb but just adding my 2cent
 
#10
I hate rockwool because it's slimy, nasty, dries to something very dangerous, not reusable, likes to over saturate. Blech!

I run 50/50 chowmix of coco and hydroton and I love it. It's everything rockwool is not.
 
#11
fartbox said:
Yo! First post here.

So, I run a commercial grow, putting delta-8 rockwool cubes into 5-gallon coco pots. I had some pretty awesome success for a while, pulling 1.75lb/light without co2 in a large room. But over time my yields have started to go down. I've been using Jack's at varying levels, trying to find the perfect formula. I've narrowed my issues down to the roots not having the proper conditions to explode due to my short veg time constraints.

The part that kills me is I had success AT ONE POINT, but it's just declining. Being able to put the rockwool cube into its final pot 5-gallon pot of coco instead of putting rooted clones into 1-gallon pots, THEN transplanting into 5-gallons really saved time due to the skipped step in the large operation. Are there any alternatives to just ditching the rockwool? Like, say, only watering the coco around the newly transplanted delta cube for a few days until roots explode?
Click to expand...


I ran a similar system for years and recently decided to make a change because i do not like having to wait 7-10 days for that rockwool block to adjust to the new medium. It is very easy for the clones to pop roots when transitioning into a Grodan 10 but the transplant is a total waste. I currently use the 1/2 gallon airpots with 100% canna coco and veg anywhere from 14-21 days. It is awesome because you just undue the pic on the sides of the airpot and then step it up into the 3 gallon bags and done. Easy.

But i want my roots to be exploding in as little time as possible.
 
#12
ttystikk said:
I hate rockwool because it's slimy, nasty, dries to something very dangerous, not reusable, likes to over saturate. Blech!

I run 50/50 chowmix of coco and hydroton and I love it. It's everything rockwool is not.
Click to expand...


So i have been reading a lot about the chow mix and am still on the fence. I am not in a position to run beds so the idea of having to dump and clean sounds like a royal pain in the ass. Any tips or tricks if using pots?

Whats your recipe for explosive roots?
 
#13
maybe look into a no till bed? just re-amend and reuse your coco/organic/chow mix?
 
#14
Smoking Gun said:
If you are going into 100% coco that is part of the problem right there. You have not given your roots nearly enough oxygen and that is why they are not doing as well as you would like. I have found a 25-30% ratio of perlite in the coco will give the ideal oxygen content for the prime root development. While most people are under the impression CO2 is the primary gas for plants to thrive, it is truly O2 that will keep the plants healthy. Get your roots more O2 and you will see the explosive growth you desire. Also, why are you using ZHO, Azos and Mykos? You are wasting money and putting in more cultures of the same species. Either use ZHO or the Azos and Mykos. Also make sure your root zone is at a good temperature, not too hot not too cold. Make sure you do not over water your plants, in fact allow some time for the coco to dry out a bit.

Also I am not a huge fan of rockwool, I don't believe it allows for the root growth that the producers claim it does. It also holds water and air at a very different ratio than the medium around it (in your case coco) which may cause problems. The difference in water and air holding capacities actually create a barrier that the plants roots will not want to cross until they have no other option. So if you are going to continue using coco drop the rockwool; or if you want to keep using rockwool drop the coco.

There is no magic ingredient or formula for plant health. If there was every hydro store and nursery would only sell that product. It is all in your understanding of how plants grow.
Click to expand...


I have found that when adding perlite into small containers that the plant just doesnt seem to root as well and is difficult to transplant.

I am going to do a little research on the ZHO, Azos and Mykos combo and try and find similarities. I believe you i just picked up some ZHO at the grow show and tossed it in. What about Azos, Mykos, and Great White? Would you waste your money on Roots Excel or Rapid Start? What makes Rhizotonic so different from these two products.
 
#15
urbanfog said:
maybe look into a no till bed? just re-amend and reuse your coco/organic/chow mix?
Click to expand...


Haha. Ok the truth behind no beds at the moment is that i am battling a root aphid problem that i think i introduced by buying Royal Golds Basement mix. I am 100% sure. So i have been treating with Merit 75 with two applications in Veg and then transplanting with Met 52 with a soak of excitr around week 3-4. Until the RA's are gone i do not want to mess with a bed.
 
#16
Bangarang said:
So i have been reading a lot about the chow mix and am still on the fence. I am not in a position to run beds so the idea of having to dump and clean sounds like a royal pain in the ass. Any tips or tricks if using pots?

Whats your recipe for explosive roots?
Click to expand...

I do not clean my substrate from one run to the next. I use balanced nutrients and flush conservatively, meaning for only a few days. I see no reason to obsessively murder every last microbe only to reintroduce them at great expense later.

I do not run beds, I use 8" net pot bucket lids that fit over 5 gallon bucket RDWC sites. I'm upgrading to 27 gallon tubs, but still with a collar that fits the same netpot. The substrate is thus kept to a minimum, and nutrients are delivered to the plant in an unlimited fashion.

20130806 003647
20130811 162449
 
#17
Bangarang said:
I have found that when adding perlite into small containers that the plant just doesnt seem to root as well and is difficult to transplant.

I am going to do a little research on the ZHO, Azos and Mykos combo and try and find similarities. I believe you i just picked up some ZHO at the grow show and tossed it in. What about Azos, Mykos, and Great White? Would you waste your money on Roots Excel or Rapid Start? What makes Rhizotonic so different from these two products.
Click to expand...


I was not saying anything bad about the individual products, all three are very good; I was suggesting that the ZHO already contains similar cultures as the Azos and Mykos, which are meant to be used in conjunction with each other. So by using all three you are just wasting money. Either use the ZHO alone or use the Azos/Mykos combination, it is simply less products you will have to buy, saving you money. I personally use Great White and the Plant Success line of products and have had very good success with them. But Cap's line of beneficials is a stellar line as well, you could use his products. Then there is also Roots Organics Oregonism which is also a very good product. I know people who have been using Gen Hydro's Subculture-M and Subculture-B with great success as well. There are lots of options out there to be used, but just adding more is not better.
 
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