Chapter 10
ROOTS AND CONTAINERS

      Roots serve plants in several ways. They hold the plant in position and they are its primary means of obtaining water and nutrients. The size and efficiency of the root system has a great effect upon the development of the plant and ultimately, upon its yield.
      The amount of space that the roots have to grow depends on the cubic space of the container and the size of the particles in the growing medium. Roots growing around large sized particles obviously have less room than roots growing through small sized particles.
      The size of the container is determined by the final size that the gardener intends for the plants. When plants are grown to the same size in different size containers the plant grown in the larger container is lusher, with more branching and more vigorous growth.
      Usually gardeners use a container for each plant. This allows them maximum flexibility in moving the plants in the garden. However, using the techniques described in the book, trays holding a group of plants are just as convenient to use. Trays provide more room for the roots to spread out as well as more total cubic space than individual containers. Once a group of plants is established in a tray, the only way a plant can be removed is by clipping it off, or the other plants’ roots may be disturbed.
      Cannabis is very easy to transplant so plants are often moved to larger size containers as they grow.

Size of Containers

      Most containers have less space than you would think because they are round and tapered.

Size of container cubic
inches		 plant
height		 approximate age
2 inch (2"x2"x2") 5 4-6" 10-15 days
3 inch (3"x3"x3") 15 Will allow the seedlings to spread out more during the initial growth period. It more than triples the cubic space.
4 inch (4"x4"x4") 40 12" 20-35 days
5 inch (5"x5"x5") 80 20" Some plants are no higher than 20" at maturity.
6" (6"x6"x6") 120 36" Indicas are rarely higher than this.
10" (10"x10"x10") 640 60" Sativas are rarely taller than this indoors.

      One way to increase the amount of material a container holds is to increase its height. An additional 1 inch depth to a 4 inch container increases its capacity by 16 cubic inches.

1 quart = 57.75 cubic inches
1 gallon = 231 cubic inches

      Container sizes are notoriously inaccurate. Some "6 inch" containers are really five inches, and the standard "1 gallon" container is usually about 3 quarts.
      Growers make sure all containers have large holes on the bottom or sides to allow for drainage.
      A grower cannot go wrong growing a plant to maturity in a square six inch container. The roots will have enough room to support healthy vigorous bud growth.

Step by Step

  1. Plant roots need adequate space to grow. The more space the roots have, the larger the topside growth.
  2. There are a number of choices regarding containers. Trays provide the most space but do not allow the convenience of being able to move individual plants. Most gardeners choose individual containers.
  3. A two inch square container supports a plant 4"-6". A 4 inch to 1 foot. A 5 inch to 2 feet. A 6 inch to 3 feet. Mature plants do very well in a 6" container.
  4. An easy way growers provide more space to the roots is by increasing container depth.

 

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