whats the verdict on smartpots?

[fredcdobbs]

i know they were all the rage a while back but you dont hear much about em now. did anybody ever prove that they are better than regular pots?..

 

[Hammerhead]

They still are.. Now theres more vendors to choice from. They are great pots..

 

[fredcdobbs]

They still are.. Now theres more vendors to choice from. They are great pots..

other than "great pots" can you be a little more specific?

 

[Hammerhead]

they do what there design to do. Air prune the roots. Makes the root mass much denser more healthy IMO..

 

[d3cryption]

They work!
-You can reuse them
-Yield increase
-You can use smaller sized pots..

the list goes on...

 

[Karmic Farmer]

I like them.
I've since moved on to Airpots and Blumats so we'll see if the investment was worth it. Nice product so far (Airpots), I'm very impressed with the durability and ease of cleaning.
Smart Pots are great as mentioned above but make sure that you are using them as your flowering pot. They are a bitch to transplant from, so stick to regular containers until it's time for the final up pot (or use them for mothers and dads).
My friends mom makes him pots out of heavy fabric that she buys on special and they work just fine.

Peace,
KF

 

[LeafLady]

Smartpots rule.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

did anybody ever prove that they are better than regular pots?..

4 years ago Oregon State University in conjunction with the Oregon Association of Nurseries conducted a field test at their research station in Aurora.

SmartPots, Air Pots and 4 other commercial products were tested against the standard black lipped nursery pots. The test was set-up to determine if this class of pots known as 'auto-pruning' or 'air-pruning' would increase root mass (the most important factor for a commercial nursery) and if they would reduce the heat in the root mass for plants that have to sit in an open field for 2 - 5 years.

As a group, the auto-pruning pots performed as promoted in every area particularly with saplings. The biggest factor in choosing one over the other came down to price and in that area the SmartPots were the better choice.

Then again, running a few plants in a grow room vs. 3,000 saplings in a field the per unit cost probably isn't much of a factor but the price difference between an Air Pot vs. SmartPots is staggering for tree growers.

SmartPots are made from post-consumer plastics so they will last for several years and not degrade with minimum effort.

CC

 

[Maj.Cottonmouth]

I like them.
I've since moved on to Airpots and Blumats so we'll see if the investment was worth it. Nice product so far (Airpots), I'm very impressed with the durability and ease of cleaning.
Smart Pots are great as mentioned above but make sure that you are using them as your flowering pot. They are a bitch to transplant from, so stick to regular containers until it's time for the final up pot (or use them for mothers and dads).
My friends mom makes him pots out of heavy fabric that she buys on special and they work just fine.

Peace,
KF

Check the SP link in my sig.

I like Smart Pots a lot, combine them with coco and blumats and it's a wonderful world.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

MB

I believe it was you who made a video on the easiest way to remove a plant from a SmartPot without damaging the root mass when transplanting.

I wanted to thank you for that!!

CC

 

[fredcdobbs]

Check the SP link in my sig.

I like Smart Pots a lot, combine them with coco and blumats and it's a wonderful world.

maj, aint no video there. at least not for me.

 

[SEAttown206]

I am using black Fred Meyer grocery-bags, the standard-sized .99 cent ones. Got 4 in a tent, vegged for about a month, flipped to flower a week ago, so far so good. Got the idea from another thread on this site, someone stated that they had tested them to see if they showed any type of toxicity or other problems, and they found none. So far so good in my use of them. As someone posted above, probably not easy to transplant out of. I shifted plants out of 6" square pots into them, gonna flower them, and then maybe try and wash them. At .99 cents each, though, likely put them in the recycle-bin and just get new ones.

 

[touringfunkband]

maj, aint no video there. at least not for me.

The link is in his signature.. but here you go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXseRkjQuGE&feature=player_embedded#!

 

[bunkerman]

for me is the best pot...with the cocco works better than airpot

 

[yortbogey]

the only problem w/ smartPots was the lack of a good handle....A lot of the new styles come w/ handles....
personally I prefer the Hydrofarm brand.... nice long handles w/ straps that cradle the underside....and help support the weight shape of the container....

 

[Karmic Farmer]

Check the SP link in my sig.

I like Smart Pots a lot, combine them with coco and blumats and it's a wonderful world.

Very nice, I never thought of transplanting them that way. I guess I won't give away my old one's after all, I still have a shit load of dirty ones!
I'm really loving the Airports, very nice product (much more expensive though).

Peace,
KF

 

[ClosetAdvocate]

They still seem to be the rage.

There's some really good alternatives out there now too. Hydrofarm, geopot, and roots pouch are a few good alternatives.

 

[limonene]

SmartPots are awesome. I much prefer the ones with handles.
I am a bit concerned about using them repeatedly. Stuff grows on the pots. They seem like they can harbour pests and fungi pretty easily, though that hasn't been an issue yet.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

SmartPots are awesome. I much prefer the ones with handles.
I am a bit concerned about using them repeatedly. Stuff grows on the pots. They seem like they can harbour pests and fungi pretty easily, though that hasn't been an issue yet.

Take them to a laundromat and use the 'big Bertha' machine - add about 1/2 cup of Oxyclean and run the wash cycle on cold (these are made from post-consumer plastic) and the spin-cycle will get them almost completely dry.

I have some that are over 4 years old - the old style that were configured for growing saplings, i.e. smaller diameter but taller - same displacement as their standard horticulture pots (SmartPots)

HTH

CC

 

[heady blunts]

I like them