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I have my plants in 10" Mesh baskets, that custom fit snug into a 5 gal bucket, problem is, the roots are starting to grow out of the basket into the bucket. The buckets are black, and have some water in the bottom from drainage. There is about 6" between the bottom of the mesh basket pot and the bottom of the bucket. Should I worry about this?
I can't really say i'm speaking from personal experience, but i've been doing a lot of forum reading on deep water culture (dwc) and drip system setups.
IMO, i think the roots are growing because they have to space to do so. This is not a bad thing. Large roots system means the more nutrients it can absorb. Eventually the roots may reach the drained water. This is okay because you plant will take in any left over nurtients when it needs to feed. That said, i would still empty the bucket once a week so the water doesn't get stagnet (sp?).
I've heard of people trimming roots mass that were overgrown, but i think that's in extreme cases.
Hope this helps!:thumbsup::jointsmile:
I'm assuming you have a drip system? Roots will follow the path of the water and eventually end up in the bottom of the bucket. It is important to add an airstone to get oxygen to the roots that are sitting in the nutes. Plan on usiing your nute schedule and topoff with ph'd water till you exchange your nutes. In veg, I don't change my water but once every two weeks, then the second change is a transition solution, then finally to the flower nutes. When I'm in flower, I change my water every week, top off with water till the change.