Air Pots Or Smart Pots

Buddaluva · Apr 30, 2012

Iv been using google trying to find anything with side by side grows with air pots and smart pots and i can not find any

from what iv read so far they both do the same thing ( root pruning ) just the air pots are made with all those nubs and the smart pots are fabric

Is one better then the other ?

The air pots are pretty costly and the smart pots are not

Has anyone here ever grown with both air pots and also smart pots ?

If so which one gave you the better results ?

Thanks in advance fellas

Phychotron · Apr 30, 2012

i've used both the superroots airpot and the smartpot/bag and prefer the airpot. It cleans up much easier, is rigid which makes moving the pot easier, no big tear in the soil/roots when moving it. easy to transplant from.

Jungle.Microbes · Apr 30, 2012

airpots are great, they just suck to water if you have a lot, but it's easy to adjust to. Drippers make it even easier

Buddaluva · Apr 30, 2012

Ok thanks for the input fellas

Phy

besides the cleaning up and all was their any difference on how your plants grew or was it about the same ?

Phychotron · May 1, 2012

i used different sized pots between the two, 5 gal for the bags, and 1.5gal for the air pots. for shorter plants, 2', the 5 gal bag is too much soil. hard to tell the difference between different plants.

I think the bags need to be lifted up on a ring stand to prevent them from getting soggy bottoms/roots, but the airpots support themselves up off the ground, and can even be adjusted for bottom feeding.

they can be tricky to water, but it's all about how you pack the soil in. pack it in gently, all the way to the top with a little bowl to catch the water (it will also develop naturally as you continue to water) otherwise water could leak out of some of the side holes.

megayields · May 1, 2012

Actually I prefer the Smartpots...I have tried the airports but fr my vertical stadium I run about 100 #2's .....I also run 6 -45 gallon Smarties outside as well....love em!

turtle farmer · May 1, 2012

I've been a fan of the Smartpots until I tried the Geo Pot...what a nice improvement.
I cant understand why I saw such a difference.But it was obivious.
I'll try getting the side by side pics up here.

DamnUglyDogE · May 13, 2012

Been wondering the same thing. I found smart pots so Im trying 1-2-3 gal smart pots.
If u find a side by-side link, post it would ya... thankz. Good read...

nino585bi · Jun 6, 2012

good read !

Bonzo · Jun 7, 2012

what is a Geo Pot?

DHF · Jun 7, 2012

Wrote a book and it went away.....Bottom line....Airpots are plastic and last indefinitely with raised bottoms to allow for max drainage and rootzone airflow but......

Smartpots made out of the landscape fabric breathe better and air prune roots as they hit the sides and prevent "root spinning" that occurs in plastic pots wasting plant energy that could be spent building more sideways rootmass till stretch is over , so when the girls are in full swellage there`s more ability to suck juice and provide more optimum nutrient uptake and plant transpiration FTW......so....

Plastic lasts indefinitely and the cones in airpots only direct lateral roots close to the holes provided for the air pruning process while the rest spin above and below the hole configurations around the containers.....

Smartpots don`t last forever , but EVERYTHING in the rootzone breathes and transpires for optimum conditions I witnessed first hand for several yrs , and that`s the difference....

Airpot`s got holes in specific places all round the containers , but.... They`re still plastic and everything rootwise not growin out the holes is still spinnin....bet on it.....

Smartpots FTW IME.....

My 2 centavo`s....and....

Peace...DHF... :ying:

.....

Phychotron · Jun 7, 2012

DHF said:
Smartpots made out of the landscape fabric breathe better and air prune roots as they hit the sides and prevent "root spinning" that occurs in plastic pots wasting plant energy that could be spent building more sideways rootmass till stretch is over , so when the girls are in full swellage there`s more ability to suck juice and provide more optimum nutrient uptake and plant transpiration FTW......so....

Plastic lasts indefinitely and the cones in airpots only direct lateral roots close to the holes provided for the air pruning process while the rest spin above and below the hole configurations around the containers.....

Smartpots don`t last forever , but EVERYTHING in the rootzone breathes and transpires for optimum conditions I witnessed first hand for several yrs , and that`s the difference....

Airpot`s got holes in specific places all round the containers , but.... They`re still plastic and everything rootwise not growin out the holes is still spinnin....bet on it.....

i'll take that bet. I've never seen any root spinning in the airpots, with the exception of one 6" root in the dead center of the bottom that might swirl around the small solid center piece of the bottom screen.

here's the last two plants from the 1.5 gallon airpots. could you point out this swirling?

from the side and bottom, nothing but a bunch of very fine mass of roots holding the shape together.

Phychotron · Jun 7, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsakG5JRUcI&feature=related

airpots in action

DHF · Jun 7, 2012

The airpots have voids above and below every "air hole" that roots can grow through and STOP root spinning on plastic pots...

Not bettin or arguin witchas Bro....Statin fact.....and....for the record per your pics.....

Where are the roots....

Peace...DHF... :ying:

....

Dawn Patrol · Jun 7, 2012

I've grown multiple strains in airpots and smartpots for the last three years. I have never witnessed "root spinning" in any airpot and IMHO the root mass in airpots is superior to smartpots in every strain I've grown.

Just my $.02 . . .

Phychotron · Jun 7, 2012

there are millions of fine roots all over, cant tell too much from the pics, especially since it's been sitting for a week, but that's what air pruning is all about.

I've had root swirling with the bags, either when they were sitting directly on the ground, or when it was on a ring stand, it swirled all around the bottom where it contacted.

I'm not trying to argue either, but that statement about the root swirling in airpots is completely false. I'm still trying to make sense of the first sentence... now your saying airpots stop it from root spinning?

megayields · Jun 7, 2012

re> but that statement about the root swirling in airpots is completely false

uhh....bro... I've used airpots and saw this very thing when I used one during a "side by side" with Smarties, thats why I went back to smarties.

Hammerhead · Jun 7, 2012

I have tried both. I like smart pots better. I didn't notice any Yield or quality differences between the 2.

Phychotron · Jun 7, 2012

megayields said:
re> but that statement about the root swirling in airpots is completely false

uhh....bro... I've used airpots and saw this very thing when I used one during a "side by side" with Smarties, thats why I went back to smarties.

well if you used one just once you might not have used it right, it does take a little finesse watering them (it's all in the wrist) at first. the only condition i can think that would allow it would be over saturation. as the medium dries it shrinks and pulls away from the sides.

this is the internet, pics or it never happened :tongue:

Dawn Patrol · Jun 8, 2012

check it - not the only discussion going on right now

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=5155306&postcount=108

Air Pots Or Smart Pots

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Well this is some bullshit right here.....

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Well this is some bullshit right here.....