Hey Doc... just a few thoughts. I have seen plants develop roots right at the soil surface area as a result of stress, but generally you only get two distinctly different sets of roots with our weed. The roots that define marijuana into the weed category are the top spreader roots. This thick matt of very efficient roots spread out along the surface and to about 3 or 4 inches deep. These root's job is to steal the rain from the other plants by efficiently sucking up the water that stays on the surface. Toward the middle of a container that has not developed a root ball, there will not be a lot of root mass and this is typically the area of the rootball that is left undeveloped. These roots can specialize very easily to be able to work with nutrient sources found in various areas in the soil, or things such as fertilizer spikes. Then at the bottom, you get the large feeder roots, and the big main tap root. These are highly specialized roots also, being able to stay under water for long periods of time and of such a diameter that they can easily suck up a lot of water.
yes, absolutely... this is why my watering method stresses watering from the outside, and making sure that the outside edges of your container are the wettest areas. The roots chase the water.
That's dehydrated. It was probably 20% bigger when green. The biggest I've grown was a classic DJ Short Blueberry. It was about 12 feet diameter, 3 feet high, and covered with donkey dicks. That was in the dirt next to an old milking barn. I never added fertilizer. The stem was near 3 inches in diameter.
Guyz, I grow in 55 gallon food-grade barrels cut in half, with holes in the bottom so they drain. In the heat of summer I have to water every other day, about like a cloth Smart Pot. It sounds as if your containers don't drain? Are my drain holes costing me unnecessary water and time, or do I need them? It is good that the night crawlers can get in and out. ...
There is a big difference in plants grown indoors compared to outside in the bright light of the sun. It is not uncommon to see huge container plants outside needing to be watered every day, and I know of one guy growing in the desert that has to water twice a day. Your location makes a huge difference. And yes, you need drain holes or there can be problems if water starts backing up... and of course the earthworms; you got to let them in.
