$$$Air Pots and Smart Pots Club$$$

[Thundurkel]

With the Air Pots I water slow and wait till I get run off dripping and let em drain and do the same with the Smart Pots... Make sure if using Air Pots to fill them up all the way to the top and pack in the 2 rows without holes so the stop you water from draining out the sides which happened a lot last round cuz I didn't have them full enough but this time they are fine.

 

[slowandeasy]

Thanks guys! I am using 1 gal right now, for some small plants and have 2 gal waiting to transplant some bigger plants into. Found a great way to raise the Smart Pots off the tray a few inches!! Those plastic grids for drop ceiling lighting, works perfect if you just put some trays underneath.

 

[K.J]

I try to stop as soon as I see water coming out the bottom. I also use about 3 litres per #3, when I get to 2.5ish litres I wait and water, then wait and water again untill the first signs of drainage, than stop.

Thats my method with #3 SP's

Good luck!

The wait and water thing is a good idea, especially if like me you water only every few days. The soil hardens on top and creates dry pockets where water will channel around if it's poured too fast. So I water a bit, wait a bit to let is soak in, water a bit, wait a bit, etc. all through the watering.

 

[slowandeasy]

The wait and water thing is a good idea, especially if like me you water only every few days. The soil hardens on top and creates dry pockets where water will channel around if it's poured too fast. So I water a bit, wait a bit to let is soak in, water a bit, wait a bit, etc. all through the watering.

I use Coco, so I need to water more often than in soil.

 

[K.J]

I use Coco, so I need to water more often than in soil.

Ohhhh...got it...in that case, I'm the wrong grower to be answering your question because I don't know shit about coco!

 

[ahhhavalanche!]

just got my airpots, im not planting yet, so all i want to do is take some x and play with them, they are so cool

 

[leflll]

I'm doing a micro grow my box is only 2'w x 3'h so I don't have a lot of space. Is it worth it for me to use the airpots? My local store has .8 gallon and 1.5 gallon which should I use for my small space? Anyone Thanks

 

[johnnybhang]

Seems like the air pots are worth it if if they even increase yield slighty. 1 ounce to 2.5 oz is quite swell. I seem to average around an ounce in regular 3 gal plastics. I'm going to try the air pots out for sure. Any one have any reports on air pots with soil? Anyone taken a look at the rootball after the grow compared to standard plastic container? The 2 gallon size looks like a space saver as well.

 

[atomicfield]

did i read right that you move to bigger smart pot just as you 12/12, something about the magic starts to happen then. any thoughts?

 

[Dave Coulier]

did i read right that you move to bigger smart pot just as you 12/12, something about the magic starts to happen then. any thoughts?

Giving your plants a week in the larger pots before switching is better than doing it right away. Let them grow their roots some more before switching.

 

[atomicfield]

thanks Dave, thats what i thought, went to joanne fabrics found the material for 8 bucks a yard, made small smartpots,about the size of plastic pop bottle, cut them low, clones filled with roots in 3 days, now want to change to the size i'm going to flower in, hopefully will explode with growth again.

 

[mriko]

Cool, I've added a few air pots to my current session and from what i read here, i was right doing so ! I've put some plants in 1l air-pots, other in 2l regular ones so to see the difference between both types of containers.

Irie !

 

[Arobskittle]

Use the walmart reusable shopping bags= 1.00 smart pot

 

[Maj.Cottonmouth]

Use the walmart reusable shopping bags= 1.00 smart pot

I have seen this posted by several people but it seems to be one of those things that people assume will work but have never tried it and advise others to use them. I would not trust the stitching and what is going to leach out of the bag and are they going to break down over time from being wet? Maybe they work great but please don't assume they do and advise others to use them without experience to show whether they really work or not. Thank you.

 

[topset1976]

I made a video of an easy method for up potting with Smart Pots, enjoy

http://www.icmag.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=1135

nice just what i do

 

[stlsoldier531]

Smart pots are in no way as good as Air Pots..lol..

Smart Pots = can't transplant. If you want to go to a bigger size pot after planting in a smart pot it would be very difficult to do so.

Air Pots = easy transplanting. Just open them up take the root ball and set it in the new pot..

Smart pot = Roots will touch the floor or ground as there is no space between the bottom of the pot and the ground which can cause moisture to stay around at the bottom unless the smart pot is elevated off the ground.

Air pots = Roots don't touch the ground. They have a space between the root mass and the ground allowing air flow through the bottom. So this means you really don't have to transplant because you can start seedlings in larger pots (which is what I like to do) without having worry about too much water and moisture remaining at the bottom. The bottom layer of soil will dry out faster and that's a good thing...


Smart pots = Harder cleaning after harvest. Sure you can wash them, but washing creates wear and tear.

Air Pots = Easier cleaning. All you do is rinse them out with water and peroxide.


AIR POTS RULE!!! THEY ARE THE FUTURE...LOL..

 

[stlsoldier531]

Agroliner Bags are also awesome. The can be used for growing in the ground. They come in many sizes and are good for those guerrilla growers. All you do is dig a hole , set bag inside, fill it with soil and BAM, that's it. They also keep near by plants from sending roots into the area of your plant so that even though the plant is in the ground around other plants, they will never have to compete with other roots in the vicinity...
Here is the company description....

Tex-R Agroliner™ root control Spin Out® bags are perfect for limiting invasive tree roots from choking out your plants. Tex-R Agroliner™ root control Spin Out® bags use patented technology composed of non-woven materials over which there is a laminated rugged copper hydroxide covering called Spin Out®.

Roots coming in contact with this copper coating naturally halt their progress. Tex-R Agroliner™ root control Spin Out® bags are water and air permeable. They are easy to install and can be re-used multiple times. Tex-R Agroliner™ root control Spin Out® bags were designed to keep tree roots controlled in the bags for the nursery industry.

The Grey part is the Tex-R Agroliner and the Black side is the Spin Out...

 

[stlsoldier531]

Someone mentioned Micrkote pots earlier...earlier in this thread and I just wanted to say they work excellent...

Here are some results from another grower...the pics below are not mine but of another great grower who knows a great deal about root health

How the root mass looks in a microkote pot vs a regular pot

Same strain in the same soil...but not the same results...Microkote is awesome..

 

[stlsoldier531]

http://horticulturespecialties.com/index.php?cPath=30&osCsid=163df9ed8f32c853d17c56c992c06010

This site sells the Microkote pots, the microkote liquid for doing your own pots, and the Agroliners...

So whether it's Air Pots, Microkote pots, Agroliners, or Smart pots....Root pruning is great..

Amazing with organic grows...since the root system becomes so dense, filling up the whole medium...one can go longer without using extra added fertilizer...

For example they say Fox Farms last about a month before one needs to begin to add fertilizer (I don't use Fox Farms so I wouldn't know), but with root pruning...since the roots can access more soil...it would last twice if not three times as long before needing to add more nutrients...meaning us auto flower growers can get by without feeding extra nutrients at all if we have a fertilized soil...that's great news..lol..

I bet in a large enough root pruning pot with mycorrhizae fungi added one could probably grow a sativa from seed to harvest with just the nutrients in the soil if the soil has fertilizer. For example All-Mix or Royalty Mix...

 

[Arobskittle]

I have seen this posted by several people but it seems to be one of those things that people assume will work but have never tried it and advise others to use them. I would not trust the stitching and what is going to leach out of the bag and are they going to break down over time from being wet? Maybe they work great but please don't assume they do and advise others to use them without experience to show whether they really work or not. Thank you.

woah, woah, you certainly got alot of information from my short post. before you go making too many assumptions and sounding like a pompous asshole- I have experience
My buddy did a side by side because suggested it. smart pot vs the walmart pot, I helped him with the whole grow.

he did 24 smart pots and 1 walmart pot
we put 1 hashberry clone in each pot and they were exactly the same sized nugs,and plants; you could not tell looking at the plants which one was the walmart.
i can tell you: the stiching is solid , they dont leach anything that made any real difference and they dont breakdown over the course of one cycle;they are made form recycled plasitc, i think they will be alright.

so fuck you, just becuase i did not support my statement it does not mean I assumed anything.
they really do work just the same, I KNOW.
dick.