Supercharge Your Marijuana Roots

In our previous article on marijuana roots, we learned that roots store carbohydrates that plants use for energy to power photosynthesis.

Many of us have been taught that the only things cannabis roots do other than anchor our plants is to transfer water and nutrients up from the root zone into the plants.

The cool thing is, when roots are dense, well-developed and healthy, they do more than just transfer water and nutrients up into your marijuana plants.

Cannabis roots also store carbohydrates, and transfer them into your cannabis plants.

This root-generated carbohydrate transfer is most valuable during bloom phase when the 12-hour lights-on cycle limits photosynthesis compared to the 18 hours of grow phase photosynthesis.

During bloom phase, your plants have less ability to generate their own carbohydrates.

And especially in peak bloom phase, a lack of carbohydrates interferes with and decreases formation of bud structure and cannabinoids.

Marijuana growers often add a carbo formula like Bud Candy to their feed program during peak bloom to offset carbo shortages.

This has the added benefit of feeding the beneficial microbes that growers add to their root zones, using such products as Voodoo Juice and Piranha.

Beneficial microbes bond with, protect, and enhance marijuana roots so they function better and are more dense.

Growers add beneficial microbes to soil, rockwool, coco coir, aeroponics and deep water culture systems to create increased root health and protection.

Root health also depends on an aerated, oxygenated root zone.

I always add washed, coarse perlite to any soil mix I purchase, to create extra aeration in my root zone media.

You also want to match your choice of marijuana grow system and root zone media to your general growing environment and situation.

You might choose to use a water culture or aeroponics system instead of a soil or rockwool system if your cannabis grow op has other problems that could result in overwatering or underwatering of a solid root zone media.

Overwatering in soil, coco, rockwool and similar root zone media is the most prevalent cause of root rot and other root problems in marijuana gardens.

I suggest you acquire a soil moisture meter, or a more-expensive rockwool-specific meter made by Grodan if you’re using rockwool.

There is no generic one size fits all watering guideline for marijuana growers because there are too many variables in the systems and situations we grow in.

One piece of advice you can count on is based on the fact that most growers overwater their cannabis plants, especially in soil, and overwatering drowns your roots.

Other than in aeroponics or water culture systems, you might try backing off incrementally in how much and how often you water.

If your cannabis plants don’t wilt, that’s the best way you have of knowing that you were overwatering before. 

If you’re watering too much,  you might notice that your cannabis leaves are folded down in a way that’s different from wilting.

They look plump and well-formed (unlike in wilting where they look thin and shriveled), but they fold down.

It happens most often just after you water, and unless your marijuana roots are damaged, the folding down gradually fades away as your plants take in water.

The folded-down leaves are sign of overwatering, and indicates the root zone is too full of water and is oxygen-deprived.

Marijuana roots are hurt by crappy hydroponics nutrients, bad soil, and bad organic fertilizers.

Marijuana growers need to use superior hydroponics base nutrients such as Sensi Grow and Sensi Bloom pH Perfect nutrients that keep roots at 5.7 pH.

Incorrect pH and inferior hydroponics nutrients can damage roots, as can overfertilization.

I run a mini-flush of pure reverse osmosis water to take the place of a nutrients feed, every 3-5 feed cycles.

This removes excess fertilizer salts from the root zone, thus preventing root burn.

Marijuana growers should use only reverse osmosis water, ensure that our root zones are between 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit, and make sure the root zone has room for roots to expand rather than becoming rootbound.

Of course, you want to prevent root aphids, fungus gnats, and other insect or disease attackers from getting into your cannabis root zone.

And one other strategy to help your marijuana roots is to apply the House & Garden Roots Excelurator product as directed.

This expensive but effective product makes roots grow bigger and better.

Please remember your marijuana roots are the foundation for your plants, and when you supercharge them, you get faster growth, and bigger yields.