Smart pot users I have a question???

[SlowCalaToker]

Best way to wash them is about 16 at a time in the washing machine with 3/4 cup of regular bleach. Take an old juice bottle and mix the 3/4 cup bleach with at least a liter of water and add that in 5 minutes or so in, before the spin cycle. There will be residual bleach, so I then run them through a second cycle with plain water and then through the dryer. Sparkly clean and pathogen free!

I just run them through 2 mashing machine cycles of plain water. I don't put them in the dryer to save the wear and tear that the dryer does. Gives me a couple of extra cycles before they have to be thrown away.

I'm going to try that landscape fabric thing, I'm tired of spending $5 for each one....

Yea, I'm cheap!

 

[someotherguy]

I just run them through 2 mashing machine cycles of plain water. I don't put them in the dryer to save the wear and tear that the dryer does. Gives me a couple of extra cycles before they have to be thrown away.

I'm going to try that landscape fabric thing, I'm tired of spending $5 for each one....

Yea, I'm cheap!

lol, i'm cheap too, or broke which amounts to the same thing.

another option is to use the shopping bags available at most grocery stores these days, they hold about 2 gallons though so way too big for me, lol.

and btw, i agree with you wholeheartedly about your cloning method, check the link in my sig and you'll see.

peace, SOG

 

[!!!]

The entire point of the pot is for the roots to pop out, touch the air and die, so the plant sends more out, so you're good!

For those interested in re-using these pots, I recommend going with Air Pots instead. They serve the same purpose but they're much easier to clean and re-use.

(not my pics)

I forgot the dude's name but he has a simpson's avatar. He started a big and very useful thread on air/smart pots.

If you grow in soil/coco and you don't like transplanting, I suggest getting these pots. Plants become bushier and never really become rootbound. Here's a

 

[ThisBuds4You]

I have some SmartPots that are 4 or 5 years old. I use OxyClean product - same deal as using hydrogen peroxide. I take them to a laundromat - let them clean out the pieces of pumice from their filters vs. messing up our washing machine.

If nothing else it helps keep someone employed perhaps?

CC

I do the exact same thing (OxyClean at the laundromat). Been doing it for over a year now and i haven't had to replace 1 pot yet. i also let them air dry, no point in putting them in the dryer and i'm sure air drying will extend the life of the pots.
-
TB4U

 

[someotherguy]

while i like the Air-Pots very much, i grow in a high-density micro-SOG so they just take up too much floor space for me, if i had the vertical space to grow taller plants i'd definitely use the Air-Pots and mostly because they are more stable on their 'feet', as it were.

btw, the guy with the simpsons avatar is Thunderkel and he is a gifted grower whose threads are all worth the read and here is a link to the thread on his Geo-Pots.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=197262((Geo Pots & 1200 Watts!))

also btw, Thunderkel isn't the first to begin a discussion on the benefits of pots like these that air-prune and in fact, Clackamas Coot started a thread some time ago where the Air-Pots quickly became part of the discussion.

anyway, here is the link to CC's thread where you will find a very comprehensive discussion on the topic that began in April 2008 and continues to this day.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=86175Smart Pots

peace, and stay safe, SOG

 

[Clackamas Coot]

!!!

You can save quite a bit of money by buying the outside material by the foot/meter, the bottom inserts and the clasps on the sides which hold it together. Let me know if you need a source for this method vs. buying the units ready to go.

HTH

CC

 

[SlowCalaToker]

lol, i'm cheap too, or broke which amounts to the same thing.

another option is to use the shopping bags available at most grocery stores these days, they hold about 2 gallons though so way too big for me, lol.

and btw, i agree with you wholeheartedly about your cloning method, check the link in my sig and you'll see.

peace, SOG

Thanks for this SOG, I had completely forgotten (love that ISO hash LOL!) about the trash bags! I have a shitload of them. We always forget them at home and buy a couple when we get there...

Muches gracias again amigo!

Oh yea, I love that cloner, took me a while to figure out how to keep the it at the correct constant temp. I'm right around 100% now with everything but my Bubba's, they tend to stem rot on me. I trying the *Lola* technique on a few to see if I can get those closer to 100%.

Peace bro!

 

[mrktwiz]

I just LOVE my SmartPots...air pruning FTW!

 

[DainBramage]

Good read been growing in smart pot's for two years now and love them.Like the idea of taking them to the laundromat to clean i have been doing it by hand till now.

 

[Maj.Cottonmouth]

What is the best way to wash these things? all the roots are stuck to the sides I took a razor to them which got off a lot of it but there is still a mess inside. any ideas?

Let them sit empty and dry out and most of the roots come out in the wash. Turn them inside out and shake them outside before washing.

 

[fabvariousk]

I have been hand watering a large mix of airpots, smartpots, and 2 dollar five gallon buckets. Guess which one kicks the most ass? The buckets hands down.
That being said I start clones in 2 gallon smart pots in straight dirt without cloning solution or a dome with great success. In fact the quickest way I am finding to get indoor monsters is to start three or four clones in a three gallon airpot. As soon as the roots come to the bottom burying it halfway in a five to seven gallon container.
Air pots are cool but they were really designed for trees.
It takes longer for roots to be airpruned then it does for them to just grow and get rootbound. If your cycle is only like two months then you will get much greater root growth in a bucket than forcing all roots to be trimmed.
using both allows for some roots to be pruned and if you like to regenerate plants it prepares them nicely. This is just stuff I have been noticing a different style of watering may change everything and make what I just said meaningless.
You can't unread it though.
fk