Coco in Smartpots

[GreenBizzle]

I have used both 3gal smart pots & black plastic bags...side by side..100% bcuzz....dtw and seen no difference. First time i washed the smart pots, the roots that had grown into the fabric did not come out, (im gonna try the hot water & enzyme trick)...but i had to wash them three times...b4 i could reuse them..def need to turn them inside-out.
They are now sitting around dirty, cuz i went back to black plastic..lol im gonna try to use them again.

I noticed a thick layer of salts on the outside of the smart pots on my last grow...

 

[WaterFarmFan]

I really appreciate the in-depth comments by everyone on both sides. I knew that these would not significantly increase yield, but like Lazyman said a few percentages here and there are what we are after. I got mine for less than $3 each online.

All my plants seem to love them, but we will see how they end up. Thanks!!!

WFF

 

[Greyskull]

Isn't another advantage of Smartpots the filtering effect--keeping coir out of the ebb and flow reservoir?

what i have been doing is buying knee high stockings that are like 2 for $1 at walgreens/cvs and putting one of those on the outside of my pots. IT WORKS GREAT

i am sorry i dont remember the user who i got the idea from but man its fucking awesome no more coco bits in the tray channels.

 

[Lazyman]

what i have been doing is buying knee high stockings that are like 2 for $1 at walgreens/cvs and putting one of those on the outside of my pots. IT WORKS GREAT

i am sorry i dont remember the user who i got the idea from but man its fucking awesome no more coco bits in the tray channels.

Haha clever!!

Yes, I found that my coco and soil will stay put nicely in the smartpots, they work like a cloth filter so very few particulates escape.

 

[nippirt]

I haven't used my Smartpots yet but it sounds like it would shock the plant to pull it out (or cut it out) for transplanting?

 

[Flying High]

I paid less than a dollar for 1 gal, and like one and a half for 3 gal... Actually cheaper than local black plastic crap pots.

They do make a drastic change in the plant roots pattern of growth. They branch off from the taproot like normal, but when they hit the smartpot fabric, instead of circling down or around like they would w/ plastic, they grow into it & die. This causes that root to then be a psuedo taproot for the roots that will then grow off of it - and the cycle repeats. The density of the rootball can get crazy, and theres less of a need to start in small pots and transplant up.

Wow, I guess I haven't looked hard enough, I can not seem to find the #2 Smart Pots for less than $3.00... I would be forever thankful if you would pm me your source.

I really liked the Smart Pots in my ebb/flow. I have experienced some of the uneven watering Lazyman described. I was thinking the uneven watering may have been caused by not firmly packing the bottom few inches of coco into the pots. I have had plants dry out in the trays if the medium is not packed sufficiently to wick/soak up solution...or so I thunk


H

 

[antimatter]

Im using them in my veg room right now, not really sure what to think. Root temperatures and amount of oxygen getting to the rootzone are things I wonder about but really have no clue on how there being affected.

 

[Flying High]

I wash them with vinegar and cheap laundry soap, works great. See my sig for an 8K coco (now soil) in smartpots and E&F trays. Also Greyskull, and Dongle69's grows are similar. Don't overwater small plants, wait until white roots come through the bags before watering (they will need to get pretty dry to grow roots.)

Overwatered plants need tons of food, I think if you treat coco more like soil it works better, at least in veg/early bloom. Dry it out between waters. If using RO you'll need Cal mag, but I found coco absorbs a lot of nitrogen and calcium when new. I had some pretty crazy PPMs in veg trying to feed yellowing plants, but this was also because they were overwatered and didn't have big enough roots for that yet.

Hi L-man, when you say wash, do you mean scrub like hell or just soak and rinse? I really like these pots, but now that I have a stack of dirty ones with a shitload of root growing throughout I don't like them as much. I want my cake and I most certainly have to eat it.

H

 

[mg75]

Hi L-man, when you say wash, do you mean scrub like hell or just soak and rinse? I really like these pots, but now that I have a stack of dirty ones with a shitload of root growing throughout I don't like them as much. I want my cake and I most certainly have to eat it.

H

I bought regular plastic grow bags and poked many many small holes using a thick sewing needle all around. Not quite the same, but much cheaper if you buy the bags by the 1000s and no cleaning cause you just throw them out.

 

[Lazyman]

Hi L-man, when you say wash, do you mean scrub like hell or just soak and rinse? I really like these pots, but now that I have a stack of dirty ones with a shitload of root growing throughout I don't like them as much. I want my cake and I most certainly have to eat it.

H

So I do it in a couple steps:

Dump the pots out into wheelbarrow
Dump wheelbarrow or use big laundry tub outside, fill with warm water and fill with dirty pots
Agitate pots a bit to knock stuff loose, turn them inside out.
Dump tub or wheelbarrow of water onto outside plants (lots of good nutes in it!)
Once rinsed in this manner, toss 30 of them at a time into washing machine, hot water, some cheap detergent and a cup or two of white vinegar
Once washed, let them air dry and stuff into a garbage bag for storage, or reuse.

 

[Flying High]

Lazyman, Thanks for holding my hand and walking me through that; not as scary as I thought. That was the encouragement I needed to re-up for the new place.

Now I need to find a store with a decent price. I'd like to find the #2 size for less than $3 in the Bay Area, if possible. If anyone has any shops they really like, I am open to suggestions, mail order even?

mg75- That is my back-up plan. Did you have to cover the bags with a stocking like someone mentioned earlier?

thank you for all the help. I appreciate all of the advice.
H

 

[wspcolorado]

So I do it in a couple steps:

Dump the pots out into wheelbarrow
Dump wheelbarrow or use big laundry tub outside, fill with warm water and fill with dirty pots
Agitate pots a bit to knock stuff loose, turn them inside out.
Dump tub or wheelbarrow of water onto outside plants (lots of good nutes in it!)
Once rinsed in this manner, toss 30 of them at a time into washing machine, hot water, some cheap detergent and a cup or two of white vinegar
Once washed, let them air dry and stuff into a garbage bag for storage, or reuse.

Thanks for this tip! I just threw out my bags from my last run as I couldnt figure out a way to pry the insane rootballs out. But I will be sure to re-use this time.

As for yeilds with the smart pot sizes I am noticing smaller plants now that I have switched from 3 gallon to 1 gallon. I did however veg the 3 gallon in the 2,000 watt room for 2 weeks compared to vegging the 1 gallons under a couple T5 bulbs for a month...

Overall I am loving the smartpots and coco combo

 

[WaterFarmFan]

I thought I would post an update on my progress. The plants seem to be loving the smart pots. Here is a pic of the roots coming out of the side. I am really interested in seeing the rootmass at the end.

WFF

 

[GrnMtnGrwr]

I thought I would post an update on my progress. The plants seem to be loving the smart pots. Here is a pic of the roots coming out of the side. I am really interested in seeing the rootmass at the end.

Please keep posting pics like that! I'm very interested in seeing the root growth.