Its all about growing cannabis this week on the Canna Zine. All our cannabis growing material is produced and written in-house so you can be sure if you see it on Canna Zine, you can only see it on Canna Zine!

 

If you are a legal, certified medical cannabis grower, bookmark and stay tuned for the hottest 'pro-grower' tips to help you get the most out of your marijuana.

 

If you are not certified, please look away now :-)

 

In part one we looked at how to guarantee your seeds germinate first time, everytime. Here's the link in case you missed it first time around. 

 
Part 2

Big roots is where its at

In the first part of our "pro-growers" series we look at the importance of roots as well as what they do, and how you can help them do it bigger, better and faster. 

 

If you grow your own marijuana you will have already worked out by now, there's a million things to think about all the time the plants are growing.

 

In their quest for "the perfect crop" medical growers are looking to hints and tips from the pro's, in a bid to increase the important "end yield" - the final amount!

 

This is why we do what we do after-all!

 

Ask any pro-grower one of the most important facets of home cultivation and chances are they will point to the root mass.

 

Sure, fertilizers are important.  Water quality control can't be avoided either.  Growroom environment is right up there too. 

 

But the roots? Well thats where the magic happens: right there!

 

 

 

 

The importance of good roots
The importance of a strong healthy root structure cannot be stressed enough. Through hell or high water the roots have got to sustain the growth of the plant,  providing almost everything the plant needs throughout its short, 1 year life-span.

 

Almost everything?
Yeah almost everything. Moisture, fertiliser including all of the component elements, (nitrogen, potassium etc), all gets taken up through the roots.

 

Other 'stuff' the plant may need (CO2, light etc) is absorbed through the leaves, so completing the complicated chemical conversion which takes place, using light particles as the fuel for converting the nutrient which is distributed around the plants internal cardio-vascular distribution system - the 'pipes' through which the plant distributes food around itself.

 

The surface of the leaves act as 'photo-voltaic cells.  Essentially acting as big green solar-panels and automatically adjusting their position so as to benefit from the most available light.

 

Stomata
With the light particles bombarding the surface of the leaf, the plants internal manufacturing processes kick in, and production starts.

 

On the undersides of the leaves, the stomata, (an organ which looks not dissimilar to a 'pore' on the surface of your skin), are wide open and fully operational.

The stomata are the final piece of the "supply-chain" jigsaw, and through these stomata, the plant takes on board the final, missing link in the building process -  Carbon - which the plant takes on board in the form of good old fashioned CO2 out of the atmosphere!

 

Yes! The primary green-house gas which needs combating if global warming is to be slowed to an acceptable level!

 

But thats not all!  The plant exchanges the CO2, for a pure oxygen ion which it releases into the atmosphere, just to say thanks! 

 

Back at the roots
Meanwhile, down south at the root mass, the roots are expected to provide everything the plant asks for and just when it asks for it.

 

 

 

As if thats enough, the plant also wants the roots to serve it all up in just the right portions too!  Sounds to me like a big ask, until you look a bit closer at the task in hand.

 

Roots
Roots take up moisture and nutrients via the process of osmosis. That is, the ability to transport fluid one way or another, through a semi-permeable mebrane, in this instance, the outer surface of the roots.

 

Roots grow using the process of elongation. Think of an earthworm and how long they can stretch, and thats how roots grow.  They just sort of eminate out of themselves, increasing surface area as they grow, foraging for nutrients by exposing more root mass to more food.

 

The trick is, to get the plant to grow as much in the way of healthy roots as you possibly can.

 

With a little bit of fine tuning you will soon find out no matter what goes on "up top" in the canopy, if you have a healthy set of roots in the pot they will help you through your times of trouble.

 

Concentrate on growing big roots, and the roots will grow you big buds, without any need for additives, growth enhancers etc.

 

And here's my Canna Zine top tip for bigger, heavier produce.

 

Ever wonder how show vegetable gardeners grow those huge vegetables? You know the ones - where it takes two grown men to carry a pumpkin or an onion?

 

If the plant has a healthy root mass, it will do its level best to use absolutely everything you give it.

So you can increase the light levels the plant receives.  You can also turn up the heat on the fertiliser solution, giving the plants more food, and big roots allow the plant to use it.

 

The missing link of course, is the CO2.

 

Here's the science
By default, CO2 levels in the earth's atmosphere, currently stand at around 350 PPM (parts per million).  Up until about 10 years ago the levels were closer to 300 PPM showing there is truth in the greenhouse gas issue!

 

No matter how much food and water you give your plants, they can only build themselves as fast as the raw material supply allows.

 

If you have upped the levels of feeds and the plant is not able to use the nutrient quick enough, a toxic side effect becomes apparent.  The tips of the leaves start to "scorch" and the leaves may well start to whither and die as unused nutrient builds up.

 

Its all good and well increasing the amounts you give your plants, but if they dont have enough CO2 - the carbon source which the plant uses to build itself, growth slows, and eventually grinds to a halt until the CO2 supply is replenished, and no matter how much food you're giving them.

 

So the pro's use CO2 augmentation to produce those massive fruits and vegetables, and you can too, just so long as you have big roots to feed the explosive new growth.

Big roots is where its at!

 

In part two, find out how to grow your roots BIG! 

 

 

If you would like to read more information on growing cannabis, check out the growing articles in the Canna Zine archive pages . 

 

 

 

 

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