Contents
In this Article I shall share some knowledge and an experiment on air pruning, which you can try and implement on your plants for growing your plants faster, healthier, stronger and better yielding. And am sure you will be really shocked to see the results of this experiment at the end of the video. You can grow a large fruit tree in a smaller container using this method. I will also show you which containers to choose for this method and also How you can make your own DIY pots and planters at home for this purpose.
What is AIR PRUNING?
You might have heard about Air Layering, Water Layering, and Root Pruning. But what is Air Pruning? This is a pretty simple concept. I will try to make it more simplified in this video but very quickly without boring you and I shall explain the scientific details. Please watch the entire video and we will leave the complicated microscopic level explanation to the scientists and the PhDs.
So, the term Air-Pruning is a growing technique where the dry air (mind you it’s dry air, not humid air) touches the tips of the growing roots, and these growing root tips are burnt by air and stop growing. However, proximal to this, they start giving out multiple branching of fibrous roots, which are the most important roots for nutrient absorption. This process continues and there is abundant development of fibrous roots within the root ball. For beginners, tap roots are for anchoring the plant to the soil, and fibrous roots or hairy roots are for nutrient and water absorption.
Well, this Air Pruning is somewhat similar to the principle of pruning of branches. The same thing happens with roots. If you cut the tips off, it stimulates lateral growth further up the root shaft, thus filling the space with lustrous dense fibrous roots.
So, now before moving on to the experiment, I will quickly show you something that clearly indicates the benefits of the Air Pruning technique. You can see this root ball. This is an entangled form of roots growing within a bound container. Whether it’s plastic, cement, or clay pot, this is what happens as the plants and the roots continue to grow. There is no space for root development. The growing roots hit the rigid wall of the container and go around and grow in the available space, getting Root Bound. Yes, this is called Root Bounding, and this is the reason why we need to repot our plants into a larger-sized container once a year or so. But if you apply the concept of Air Pruning, this does not happen in Air Pruning pots.
Air Pruning Benefits:
It not only provides an enormous surface area to absorb those soil nutrients, but drainage will also improve, increasing the amount of oxygen in the root zone and reducing the pooling of water, which in turn reduces the risk of root rot. You will notice faster growth of plants, healthier plants, and significantly increased yields.
How to Implement Air Pruning in Home or Container Gardening:
Best is to start air pruning early. When a cutting or seedling has rooted, you can transplant it into air pruning pots.
So, what are these air pruning pots? Well, if you have understood the concept, these can be anything with good aeration at the lateral walls. Let’s learn something about these pots before we move on to the actual experiment.
DIY Air Pruning Pots and Planters:
- Plastic Containers: Drill multiple holes in a plastic container, at least 4 holes per square inch, all over the walls. To prevent the potting medium and water from coming out, place a piece of thick fabric cloth, weed block fabric, or landscape fabric inside. Alternatively, use old jeans, cut to size, and optionally stitch or staple the bottom to make it like a bag. Other options include laundry or vegetable baskets with holes, fabric shopping bags, or wooden/bamboo baskets.
- Fabric Grow Bags: These have a good lateral aeration system and are ideal for growing fruits and vegetables.
- Coco Coir Pots: These are also known as Coco Pots. I’m using these for my experiment. There’s a lot to discuss about Coco Pots, which I’m considering making a separate video on.
The Experiment:
About 2 months ago, I transplanted a small tomato sapling into a coco coir pot using the same universal soil mix I use for all my plants. I watered it regularly and sprayed neem oil soap solution every 15 days to combat leaf miners.
You can check the current status of this plant. It’s really large for the size of the container, which is only about 10 inches in diameter and 10 inches in depth. The tomato roots are growing really deep. I don’t want to disturb the plant by digging it out at the moment. When it stops growing and yielding, I’ll show you the root ball. You can follow my Instagram page for updates.
This was my first experience with Air Pruning, and I personally feel we should use Air Pruning on every plant we grow in containers. Try it yourself; you won’t be disappointed. I’ll keep adding more plants to this technique and share the results in upcoming videos, including the DIY jeans air pruning pot we made, so you don’t have to spend money on costly high-tech air pruning pots available in the market.
Disadvantages of Air Pruning:
The only disadvantage I see is that plants dry out quicker than conventional pots, so frequent watering or drip irrigation is recommended.
So, there you have it folks, that was something new to learn in gardening – that’s about Air Pruning.
Please Watch this video tutorial on DIY Air Pruning Methods and Results.
