New Gold Label Fabric Pots, meant for air pruning
In the case of a plant grown in a conventional plastic pot, the roots roll up inside the plastic pot. The roots become excessively long as the plant continues to search for new areas of fertile substrate rather than developing branches. The roots will even come to protrude from the holes below the plastic pots. They will continue to grow below these unless controlled with open air.
Air pruning occurs naturally when the root tips come into contact with air. Instead of continuing to spread, the root tip dies, and more roots grow to create a fibrous mass. Instead of a few large and long spaghetti-like roots, plants that have had their root system controlled in contact with the air develop a root mass made up of a multitude of small roots wandering throughout the growing medium. By encouraging a dense root mass, in an oxygenated and well-drained medium, your plants will be able to assimilate more nutrient solutions and you won't have to worry about root rot. This will also result in better growth of stronger plants, and the end result will therefore be bigger harvests at the end of the cycle.