AirPots vs regular cups/pots

joedogsong · May 9, 2012

moving stuff

moving stuff

Get to move the crew to their new solar room.

This next picture is of a Landrace Himalayan Gold by GreenHouse Seeds. A bunch of these needed to be upotted.

This was 3 weeks in cup from seed then 4 weeks in airpot.

PetFlora · May 10, 2012

Looking at the roots, I'm guessing you left the plant in the cup way too long, causing roots to run around the outside.

AP makes small starter pots as well. Once the plant is developed, simply open the pot, carefully move the soil mix into a larger pot.

PetFlora · May 10, 2012

Deleted Double post

joedogsong · May 11, 2012

Not sure

Not sure

So all of these plants have been subject to the same environmental conditions. The small airpots were drying out very fast and so for a few days kept them in small amt of water so the pots would suck water up from the bottom. Only did it for a couple of days and the water imbibed was a small limited amount. Apparently for these plants it was not the right thing to do.

I have not used these pots before nor have I grown out these specific genetics but...looking at all the plants in the airpots it seems as if the plants have grown out of the pot above the soil line seemingly exposing the roots, or base of the main stem, creating a problem on some, stem rot, while apparently not affecting others exposed to the same conditions.

The three most affected have always been the runts and would have been culled already except for purposes of this comparison. As seen on others the base is exposed and the plants have a heavy lean but are healthy. I do not know if this condition of lean is genetic or environmentally caused??

The regular pots seem to be unaffected.

skunkbear · May 11, 2012

Great article!At this time do you see any difference using air-pots or the regular ones?

joedogsong · May 11, 2012

PetFlora said:
Looking at the roots, I'm guessing you left the plant in the cup way too long, causing roots to run around the outside.

AP makes small starter pots as well. Once the plant is developed, simply open the pot, carefully move the soil mix into a larger pot.

Don't know what you are referring to. This example IS using the smallest air-pot. I see no root spiraling, just a very developed root ball. This plant is NOT part of the comparison, only to get a look at what is going on inside the airpot with root development. If you do not open the pot you will not be able to remove the plant without completely destroying it.
Most of us already know what the root system looks like when transplanting from a normal pot.

skunkbear; there are lots of differences as per documented above. I do believe like all things of this nature it takes experience to correctly dial in optimal potential. This is my first time with these so I expect to have a learning curve. Welcome along for the ride...

MaynardG_Krebs · May 11, 2012

Keep up the good work Joe! I love my airpots for many reasons..

mgk :tiphat:

Highlighter · May 12, 2012

Been using airpots for 2 yrs now and I love them. Started off doing a comparison using 2Gal Airpots, Smartpots, and square containers.

The square pots held their own just fine.
Smartpots are a PITA to me, hard to clean, they are no longer in the mix.
The Airpots are a breeze to clean, a big plus to me.
After using the 3.4 and 2 gal. I'm now growing solely w/ the .80 gal.
As, a hobby breeder, I want to look at as many plants as I can in my limited space. Plants grown in a 1 gal plastic pot get rootbound a lot sooner, the Airpots in this size rule for me. I'm also starting to grow long-flowering sativas, with the belief that I can keep the size down while keeping the roots healthy in these .80 pots.

Yeah, hand-watering is a particular PITA w/ these smaller pots. Blumats are ideal, I have 'em, but still handwater cause I like to be able to move my plants around, examine them, take photos.

joedogsong, best wishes for your grow, look forward to your findings. :tiphat:

MaynardG_Krebs · May 12, 2012

I'm using 5 liter airpots in self contained rdwc buckets using a 5 gallon bucket for a reservoir for each pot. I go from a 4 inch rockwool cube with clone to the 5 liter airpot filled with 'rocks'.. works great.. Lucas formula for nutes..

mgk :tiphat:

Dave Coulier · May 12, 2012

Highlighter said:
Been using airpots for 2 yrs now and I love them. Started off doing a comparison using 2Gal Airpots, Smartpots, and square containers.

The square pots held their own just fine.
Smartpots are a PITA to me, hard to clean, they are no longer in the mix.
The Airpots are a breeze to clean, a big plus to me.
After using the 3.4 and 2 gal. I'm now growing solely w/ the .80 gal.
As, a hobby breeder, I want to look at as many plants as I can in my limited space. Plants grown in a 1 gal plastic pot get rootbound a lot sooner, the Airpots in this size rule for me. I'm also starting to grow long-flowering sativas, with the belief that I can keep the size down while keeping the roots healthy in these .80 pots.

Yeah, hand-watering is a particular PITA w/ these smaller pots. Blumats are ideal, I have 'em, but still handwater cause I like to be able to move my plants around, examine them, take photos.

joedogsong, best wishes for your grow, look forward to your findings.

Highlighter, Ive always got long flowering sativas going, and I can tell you that larger pot sizes will give you healthier plants longer into flowering. Moisture stress will be a serious concern since the container size is small. Of course, I too am trying to squeeze in alot of plants in small containers, so it leaves us in a bit of a condundrum. If your very diligent in your watering, you can go with small containers, if not Id definitely go larger.

Also, I would definitely advise you to use blumats for those long flowering sativas. You'll regret it if you dont :biggrin:

.

PetFlora · May 12, 2012

joedogsong said:
Don't know what you are referring to. This example IS using the smallest air-pot. I see no root spiraling, just a very developed root ball. This plant is NOT part of the comparison, only to get a look at what is going on inside the airpot with root development. If you do not open the pot you will not be able to remove the plant without completely destroying it.
Most of us already know what the root system looks like when transplanting from a normal pot.

skunkbear; there are lots of differences as per documented above. I do believe like all things of this nature it takes experience to correctly dial in optimal potential. This is my first time with these so I expect to have a learning curve. Welcome along for the ride...

My bad. I was referring to the pic in post #81. You state is was in a cup for 3 weeks

Buddaluva · May 15, 2012

Thanks for the link my man

Im defiantly want to see the results from this as you know i just got my first air pot

and so far from looking at your pics i think the 5.2 gal air pot i got might be more then i need and maybe i just should have gotten one really no bigger then the 3 gal one

I not going to be growing tress , 3 to 4 ft ones at most

Buddaluva · May 15, 2012

Thanks for the link my man

Im defiantly want to see the results from this as you know i just got my first air pot

and so far from looking at your pics i think the 5.2 gal air pot i got might be more then i need and maybe i just should have gotten one really no bigger then the 3 gal one

I not going to be growing tress , 3 to 4 ft ones at most

This is the one i just got with my Sweet Deep Grapefruit seedling

joesilver · May 29, 2012

Watching with interest, great info here

billgee · May 30, 2012

Great thread

Great thread

Its Late May
Came late.
Hope its still goin
Just subscribed

billgee · Jun 1, 2012

... and keep at it ...

... and keep at it ...

It aint easy
People aint easy with their egos
Im glad you are doing it and Im going to follow
You are #1 bookmark on my browser :thank you:

joe fresh · Jun 1, 2012

just thought i would point out a few things....

this is pythium...

even though you have air pots, it would seem that you kept them too wet or watered them too much and caused to roots to become unhealthy...

now see these?

this is the "pythium wilt" that you will see only days after the pythium has beed introduced...days later the plants will be dead, they will also stop taking up water...

i should also mention that it could also be Phytophthora....

joedogsong · Jun 6, 2012

Rootball

Rootball

OK, Just to reiterate;
There is nothing wrong with the above rootball. It DOES NOT have pythium. (Root rot)
The pictures of the above plants do have root rot and one was culled soon after picture. The other two continue to grow, one male and one female. Both being culled due to lack of vigor, probably from root rot. They did not die within days.

The root ball was from a Greenhouse Seeds Himalayan Gold. This plant was the strongest and most vigirous of all 10 seeds popped. I opened the pot and let it soak for awhile and then rinsed away the media,(coco& soil). I wanted to see how the roots were developing without disrupting one of the pots in the comparison. I already know what regular potted roots look like. The roots exposed were & are healthy and strong.

Unfortunately when I transferred to the greenhouse my crop was attacked by Ninja Bugs that devoured much of the new growth and it is taking time for the plants to recover. You can see the problem at the top.

Here is a picture of the plant that some have misdiagnosed:

This is the plant right before exposing the rootball. Yes I left it in this pot longer that it should have been left...this was intentional.

joedogsong · Jun 6, 2012

Update on the comparison plants.
As mentioned earlier this comparison is not a scientific endeavor, just a trend comparison of different strains from Breeder BOG. The following pictures are not trying to make a final determination, just observational.
As with the above post, this is my first time using airpots and coco. The determination of when to water and how much has a learning curve and yes, I did lose a few in that learning. As I am now since I've added Blumats to the equation.

These two below are clones from the same sour bubble and have been documented in this thread.

These below are some of the BOG Medley. Final results are still months away...

budseyeveiw · Jun 6, 2012

i wonder if the air pots make the plants more open to airbourne fungus or whatnot. i mean being full of holes it gives more areas for roots to be affected by dangers. just a thought.

AirPots vs regular cups/pots

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