Root Washing in Marijuana Plants. Are you interested?
Written by Redacción Mota Radio on 15 May, 2020
Fortunately, washing your marijuana is an easy and simple task, and will help you get soft and delicious buds in no time.
In the next post, we present you the correct and practical way to keep your roots clean and healthy.
What is a Root Wash?
The action of washing the roots of a plant using running water actively remove all the nutrients from the soil. A large amount of water is passed through the soil and drained regularly. Any minerals or nutrients present in the soil are washed out over time, leaving the soil clean.
Does not removing all the nutrients from the soil damage the grow?
Actually, it contributes to the quality of your harvest in a significant way. When nutrients are removed from the soil, they force the marijuana to consume the residual food still present in the plant. It’s a lot like the human body. We eat a lot of food, and what we don’t use turns into fat.
Washing forces the cannabis to use up the residual nutrients of the plant, so there should be none left to spoil the grow. However, if it’s done too early, it can make the plant’s health worse, so timing is key.
Right time to wash the roots
Washing is normally started two weeks before the harvest. If the plant has an 8-week flowering period, washing will start six weeks after the start of the flowering stage.
If the tiny trichomes that were translucent start to get darker, this is a good time to start washing the plant. You should plan it so that most of the trichomes will have the desired color for harvesting after two weeks.
It is not recommended to do the root wash during the growing phase, because it can wilt the leaves of the plant due to overfeeding, just make sure that the problem is excess nutrients and nothing else.
Avoid blocking nutrients
To prevent nutrient blockage, root washings can be done routinely. By washing your plants’ roots once before the start of flowering, and again in the middle of the flowering phase, you’ll minimize the chances of nutrient blockage.
Enzyme rescue
After washing the roots to remedy a nutrient blockage, or just before harvest, you may notice that your plants have a dark green appearance, a sign of excess nutrients. In this case, some growers add high-enzyme formulas to the soil.
Enzymes are proteins that catalyze reactions. They help wash the soil by breaking down starches, carbohydrates and nutrients. There are varieties of effective enzyme formula products on the market.
If washing with water is not enough for your plants, these small proteins will displace the nutrients that are still in the soil.
Wash the roots properly
Washing the roots of your marijuana plant is a simple process. Every time you get a chance to fertilize, you actually wash. Untreated tap water is all you need to do a wash, just make sure the pH level is between 6.5-7 is safe for marijuana. The pH adjustment is the only factor you need to worry.
Soak the soil with as much water as it can absorb. Let the water collect the nutrients for a few minutes and then flood the soil again to rinse it.
If the water coming out of your plant is very dirty (indoors). At this time, it would be useful to have a TDS (total dissolved solids) meter. It should be at a level of 50ppm, or at least until it is close to that of the tap water you are using for washing. The color of the water that comes out will become clearer and appear cleaner. You need to extract as many dissolved minerals from the plant as possible.
We hope these tips have helped you a lot, just wash your plant daily, following the steps!