I dunno if this is an advanced method, or not. I'm sure it isn't an original idea cause someone, somewhere has had to have tried this method which I have found wildly successful with tomatoes (which I am finding have a lot of similarities to growing a particular herb). Anyway, lots of folks start tomatoes indoors to transplant outdoors. Experience has shown that MUCH higher yields and much improved plant vigor occurs when following the general steps below. I am wondering if anyone has tried anything similar with greens and whether it was worth the same while as with tomates.

Start with a plant maybe 6-8 inches tall (it is perfect for plants that get too leggy). Snip off all of the lower shoots up next to the stalk, all the way up to the terminal buds. Then, after an optional dust of the wounds with hormone and/or fungicide treatment, place the roots and stem in a horizontal trench about 2" deep and as long as the stem. Carefully bend the terminal bud such that it comes out of the ground in a location where you want your plant to grow vertically (my father trained the heads of the plants to bow with weight before transplanting).

This way the stem roots all along its length, adding to the root ball. The amount of roots on a tomato plant following this type of planting is downright amazing. That many more forks and spoons for your plants to feed their respective faces.

Obviously, a person needs some room to do this and one must keep track of where the roots run for watering and feeding purposes. As such, it would probably be something for outdoors growers only (unless someone envisions turning the stem in a coil and planting).

Anyone given this a try? Does it work? If not, do you think it worth a test?

i think jangle does this.. i think i read her saying so somewhere.. repotting the plants deeply
we do this horizontal planting with chestnuts and wine on my dads farm, makes for a stronger root system.. so there is some reality to the whole thing

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outdoors on cannabis.. well dunno really only one way to find out, but cannabis has a soft tissue stem.. this could go badly you know, especially if the soil becomes waterlogged... but if its possible with tomatoes there shouldnt be a problem, tomatoes must be cannabis' lab rat..

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My interest is now instead piqued by the prospect of you and your father planting wine roots on the horizontal.

OK don't LOL! to much at me I have came a long way since this, with the help of this site of course. In my intro thread...back in Jan... Dedicated to Cannabis Education, Recreational. Medicinal, and Cultivation. - View Single Post - Hello from OH this pic in that post. The two plants on each side of the big one...are planted horizontal. The one on the right...ended up being 2' about 3/4 a oz. When I reppoted...it stayed horizontaly rooted.

Peace.

How did the post of ileso and mine get merged together? Mine ended after the two tokers. This is a bit disconcerting, no?

He probably edited the wrong one! he's on a roll today...LOL!

Don't mean to be dense, here, OH, but are you saying that the horizontal planting was less successful?

sh....t
sorry. hehehe i do beg your pardon... i must have been editing MY post and mistakenly opened yours... its a bit hard to control my new magic powers.. i hope i didnt erase anything... really sorry.. will fix.

.. here we go ....

you in the wine business? actually yeh, my granddad tought my dad, i guess he tried to teach me as well..

basically he does what you described, he'll lay down the vine underground with just the head out and the vine will grow roots along the buried stem. vines are real easy to root. he also clones grafting stock in this way. we have a white wine vine that his grandad planted. its the oldest one we have. and i know for a fact that about 10m of vine are underground because theay moved it from point A to point B my laying it ounderground till it was in its new position when my dad was a kid. the vine is about as thick as my thigh now.. its pretty old. and all lollowed out.. but yeh

vines tend to shoot up along the buried stem, its a good wat to propagate new plants for replanting.. will this work on cannabis.. dunno

we root vine clones this way as well... also with the chestnuts my dad bends the shoots that grow from the roots at the base of the trunk back under the soil, leaving the top out in the sun, and when the root along the stem (like airlayering) he cuts it and moves it to a new home...

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i promise it wont happen again... damned magic wand...

I think done under better conditions it would be more productive. My point was that it was a successfull grow to some degree giving my indoor noobi-ness. And the plant went to maturity with a somewhat horizontaly grown root system.What made that grow so poopy was a lack of light, foil, MG time release potting soil.

Peace.

the problem indoor is you need horizontal space. but they grow so fast anyway.. is there really a difference?

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Peronally...I will just go deeper rather that horizontal. We may see some of that this weekend's possible repot for the girls...still working out logistics...

Peace.

Be careful burying marijuana stems. They can damp off quite easily. It's a good idea to paint the stem you plan to bury with a mix of sulfur dust and water. About 1 part sulfur dust to 6 parts water makes a good topical fungicide for stems. Coat lightly 24 hours before planting.
I use the same 6 to 1 mix in a spray for powdery mildew, but I use 1 teaspoon per gallon of water, with 1/2 teaspoon of liquid castile soap (or unscented liquid dish detergent) as a spreader.

my tomato plants this way. We have very sandy soil. Those little maters need all the roots they can get. We just pop the little tomatoes out of those plastic holders. Trim off the lower leaves. The holes are made deep. We have a sprayer that we just mix the sulphur and water in. Spray in the hole,drop in the tomato plant and cuddle the dirt up to the very top of the plant.The sulpha keeps the cut worms away too. I really can't remember ever losing any plants.If I layed them on their sides. My hubby would wack them up with his danged hoe. I have never added soap but sounds like a good idea to add to the spray mixture.

i just take my leggy seedlings and then pack them into a bigger container straight up with only about two inches showing above the dirt. im actually about to have to do it. it works the same just minus the bending.

i do this too, the stems are so soft and impressionable this early on that a few days after being buried the roots start coming out. i root a seedling in a jiffy pot, then bury it to its head in a plastic party cup with rooting hormone lathered along the stem(clonex and olivias have beneficial bateria to aid against damping off). from here i move to a 3 or 5 gallon, adding superthrive for transplant shock and technafloras root66 to get things going. the end.
MrPig

I would suggest not burieing seedlings past the coloidal (round water) leaves. MJ will get root rot easier than tomatoe plants. Yes, roots will grow below the coloidals, just not sure about above that. If you ever feel tomatoe plant stems you will feel an almost greasy substance on them. This makes them less subject to rot than mj. Once the plant is older, I think you will have more success but I can't say for sure as I have not tried it on older plants. I have read they are subject to rotting more. Also, because of this, I water around the edges of the plant, not the center. I always let my seedlings stretch so I can do this, as good roots make good plants, so more is better.

Peace

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j-angel

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I always bury part of my stems down when I transplant, especially with the new seedlings that may have some stretching. i have done it with some older vegging plants (like 3-4 weeks old), and had no problem. personally i bury it down until the dirt is a couple inches below the first set of leaves (i dont want any of them getting wet when i water and sticking in the dirt).

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