Hi fellow forum growers,
Last year was my first year growing indoors with COM soil. With help from the forum after a couple problems my crop came out fine. After harvesting I tried to save the 7 gallon fabric pots. Well I couldn’t get the roots out of the pots without cutting them. They were like big bowling balls. They roots had encapsulated all the dirt and by shaking and smashing them up against something the roots wouldn’t let the dirt go. They were 7 gallon bowling balls. I believe I had too many roots! Did I use too much recharge, hydroguard and other additives to promote root growth? This year I cut back some, but at 8 weeks into veg, the new 7 gallon fabric pots are getting hard and it takes quite a while to have them take up their water/ or water with nutrients. I think I am experiencing too many roots again. Last year I veg’d the plants out to 13 weeks for larger plants. The plants were fine, never showing signs of stress. Do I just need bigger pots? Or are they getting too many nutrients ?I
7 gal pots are plenty big enough. Having too many roots is the same as having too much money.
This is normal as far as I know. I grow in 10 gallon fabric and Roots Organic Original soil. My plants are always totally root bound by the time I chop them.
I take the fabric bags outside, lay them on their side and stomp on them to get the old soil and root ball out. I usually roll them over a couple of times, stomping on them between rolls until the soil and root ball slide out.
They were very solid,the roots ant the dirt were one!
Well next grow i wii go up to 10 gallon pots. I see others are having the same probems, thanks for your help. I quess I am all set. Please no more responses.
I leave my big pots outside, sprinkle with microorganisms, and keep the soil moist. In the spring I can pull the stump out by hand.
Id pay good money to watch that unfold 
I share the same good problem.
I always wonder about people recycling soil from one grow to the next because I can’t imagine it is worth the effort trying to extract the soil from the roots without a big mess.
Heck, after the first month of growth there is no way I could ever begin to stick my finger into the soil to check for dampness to decide if I need to water or not.
Agreed! Plus, for me, soil is the least expensive part of a grow. Even nutrients are not all that expensive when I compare it to the electricity to run my lights.
The forest just below my house if full of old root balls, old soil and cannabis stumps.
It is likely very amusing for anybody driving by as an old guy stomps on a pile of dirt for no apparent reason. 
Maybe the dirt just pissed him off! 
When driving by, folks may be able to just see my “stomping ground”.
I needed that laugh today. Thank you!
I was going to say something very similar. 2 things I never heard…I got too much money and my pot plants have too many roots haha!!
I do the same thing then toss it in the compost pile
Neither really. I believe most of us growing in fabric pots just toss them afterwards, but not all. If you’re dead set on reusing fabric pots, run a few treatments like cannazyme or hygrozyme after your grow. These will help breakdown roots. It won’t ve a super fast process, but reusing soil and pots will be much easier.