differing root systems?

[cracker]

I put about 40 seeds in damp paper towel . I put 20 of these that looked swelled up in peat plugs about 5 days later. Soon I had several sprouts and put the tray under a 4 ft flor shop light with 2, 40 watt "OTT LITE" Plant growth bulbs . I had 2 varieties of unknown origin . They quickly grew about 3 inches and now have one set of true leaves. Today I noted one variety had produced several roots that grew out of the sides of the plug . The other type produced a single tap root out the bottom. Do some strains produce a fibrous root ball while another will grow a single tap root?

[Ozzy420]

All plants will grow a root ball, some may just grow faster then others, but in the end they will look the same.

[Tom]

They quickly grew about 3 inches and now have one set of true leaves.

Your light is a bit high, fluoro's need to be so close to the plants that they are almost touching.

 

[Luke Skywalker]

Some plants do have a more tap-root with branches style of root system, where others tend to produce a more fibrous and spread out system. For all intents and purposes they end up about the same in a pot.

 

It's probably a throwback to the genetic lines of indica and sativa, with the taller sativa plants requiring more stability and the shorter, bushier indica plants requiring more access to surface moisture.

 

And yeah, drop the fluoros as close as you can without burning. That usually ends up being about 2-3cm, depending on the wattage. Fluoros are cool, true, but they do produce some heat at the surface of the globe. You don't want to come into the room and find that your plants have grown to touch the globe and burnt themselves.

[cracker]

Getting some very good stock is taking longer than expected so I want to start some seed to work out flaws is my setup. I have three varieties now and want to start the best ones. I assume there is no way for the layman to tell. Does leaf shape or type of stem give any hint ? SO the 3 inch sstem meant a lack of light The lights are 40 watt. light was 1bout 6 inches with temps at 80 degrees f Edited July 9, 2006 by cracker

[WantDaChronic]

when you get really long stems, it is usually due for 2 reasons...the first is a lack of light, but imo thats a minor factor compared to a lack of wind blowing over the plants

 

an easy way to test that is to sprout some seeds on either side of a window...the indoor ones with the same amount of light and everything other than the wind will stretch like crazy, but the ones outside will remain short with thick stems

[pipeman]

the type of roots a plant grows is often effected by the media its planted in as well as the watering system.

 

For example if you pop a seed in rockwool where the layers are vertical, it will tend to grow a few large roots down through the bottom, but if you place it in a cube of rockwool where the layers are horizontal it will tend to grow more finer roots out to the sides, basically following the grain of the cube...

 

Similarly plants grown in pots of soil will tend to grow with larger thicker root structures with a main tap root while a root system in a bubbler tends to be a web of finer roots. Its all good as long as your plant is healthy.

[cracker]

More good info! I placed 3 of the 5 seedlings in pots and put them out back and started another 20 of the ones that seemed to have the more fibrous root system. Should I have a little air movement over the prop tray just as soon as they pop up? Start right off developing a strong root & stem. Are temps in the mids 80's F ok? I wil work out fahrenheit/celsius soon to simplify things .

[pipeman]

24-27 degrees celsius is what you're aiming for I'm sure you can find a convertor on the interent to get the answer in farenheit.

 

yeah a gentle breeze over the seedlings is what you want. Just strong enough to give them a little movement but not strong enough to knock them over...

[Stoney]

yep very true a good breeze is a god sent and yep bring ya lights down i run mine about an inch away from me seedling (fluro's that is) that way it will stop stretching

 

cheerz