homemade smart pots DIY

Maina

Active member

Veteran

• Jan 17, 2011

• #1

Ok go to loes and get the black felt for the pond linner,they lay the stuff down first then put a rubber linner over it,its the same stuff as smart pots 1oo feetby4 feet was like 80 bucks.
Now lay the felt out and then lay the garden fence on top of it.Now fold over the felt and zip tie it to the garden fence.

dun 1 200 gallon pot

50 gallon

you can see the over lap ,so its a 20 gallon or 200 gallon all in 1

the one on the right 10 feet tall 26 feet around 150 gallon pot My pot

 

B

BotanicalBill

Member

• Jan 17, 2011

• #2

Looks nice, have you devised anything to make a bottom yet? I imagine you could cut out a circle using the same material and then zip-tie it to the bottom of the fencing as well..

Nice job

BB

 

S

Stoned_Ranger

Member

• Jan 17, 2011

• #3

Damn Maina! Another local boy doin us proud! Now I'm startin to think I may give this one a try. I'd love to use the smart pots like Aero,but the cash does not flow like Spice. What were the water needs for those puppies?That'd be my only concern would be the frequency in which I'd have to water.Also,it looks like the bottoms are left open in the pics,did you just throw another layer of pond liner under it?Sorry bout all of the questions,but if these work for you,they should work for me. If you weren't in those pics,I'd swear a couple were mine.Maine woods are just something else.Can't wait to see what you do with em this season.

SR

 

eddie.saw

Member

• Jan 17, 2011

• #4

thanks for the info maina! looks like you had great success with these babys. looking forward to putting this info into effect this year.

 

Maina

Active member

Veteran

• Jan 17, 2011

• #5

you dont need a bottom I think its better that there isnt a bottom the roots grow down and out.when its put in a swamp or bog you dont need to water it.the ones in the clear cut where waterd 1 time a week .I went 2 weeks 1 time.the peat bogs is the way to g or on the edge of a lake

 

Aeroguerilla

I’m God’s solider, devil’s apostle

Veteran

• Jan 17, 2011

• #6

I have a feeling theres going to be ALOT of bud coming out of this state this year =) great info bro

 

Aeroguerilla

I’m God’s solider, devil’s apostle

Veteran

• Jan 17, 2011

• #7

I might have to make these instead of ordering all those 200s... save me so much money you getting like 10 200gals out of 100ft roll?

 

GanjaPharma

Member

• Jan 17, 2011

• #8

these wont work in my indoor (no bottoms) but man! what a great idea for an outdoor smartpot.

love the green fencing ....I actually wrapped the outside of a smartpot like that last year when it started to burst, never considered making it a part of the damn things to begin with!
awesome!

 

Aeroguerilla

I’m God’s solider, devil’s apostle

Veteran

• Jan 17, 2011

• #9

damn bro your smartpot burst? lol how big was that?

 

R

Rysam

• Jan 17, 2011

• #10

Aeroguerilla said:

you getting like 10 200gals out of 100ft roll?

Click to expand...

10? I would guess maybe 3. 100' goes quick when the circumference is so big.

Awesome idea though.

 

GanjaPharma

Member

• Jan 17, 2011

• #11

1) i am a cheap S.O.B, never throw anything away, and the pot was an uncomfortable number of grows old. woulda never split if it hadnt been re-used im sure.
2) 9' plant in a 5 gallon smartpot....grandad used to call that 10 lbs of shit in a 5 lb sack.

i have been growing 4-5'plants indoors (30 plants under/around? 15kw bloom) in the 5 gallons with zero issues. if i used 15 gal pots like you aero....well id havta go buy a ton more pots lol all i got are 5 gal.

I saw this post this morning, and am already googling for roofing felt! i have some raised beds out back that are 12" tall, i could make the felt/fence combo and wrap the entire bed with it, making my raised bed into a ginourmous smart pot. I AINT WAITING FOR SPRING (48 degrees N here)



also:
100 gallon pot is 38" diameter, so 119" circumference (smidge under 10' of material per pot) so 10 pots per rol
200 gal pot is 50" diameter so 157" circumference (13 feet of material per pot) so mebe 6 pots per 100ft roll.
thanks Mrs. hathaway my 7th grade Math teacher...sorry i was always high in your class, i did pay SOME attention in there.

 

R

Rysam

• Jan 17, 2011

• #12

alright, you busted me, I didnt do any math. just the eyeballometer.

thanks for putting up the #'s.

 

S

Stoned_Ranger

Member

• Jan 18, 2011

• #13

Darn tootin' there's gonna be more bud coming out of this fine state!I won't be upping my numbers persay,just using my areas more effectively.Also,thanks for the quick reply Maina!That made me happy to know that if I used a few of these I wouldn't have to change my watering schedules at all really.I think these things are gonna work perfectly in my spots.Especially without the bottoms.

SR

 

Maina

Active member

Veteran

• Jan 18, 2011

• #14

AHHH the stuff is 100 feet long 4 feet wide you realu can get 2 times the pots out of it becouse I never made them over 24 inches high. Tom Hill said 18 inches deep is the magic number.
So your talking 12 200 gallon pots plus the wire .
12 smart pots around $500.00 Bucks
12 Maina pots $150.00 Bucks

 

S

Stoned_Ranger

Member

• Jan 18, 2011

• #15

Hope you don't mind,but I'm officially adopting the term: Maina Pot! Works well on so many levels. Looks like Lowes and the Home de Pot are gonna get more of my money this weekend.
Gotta love a good weekend project!

SR

 

C

Cannabis_Cowboy

New member

• Jan 18, 2011

• #16

Damn good idea MainA

I already have some of that fencing looks like im gonna be runnin to lowes after work.

 

E

easy

Member

• Jan 19, 2011

• #17

We use rolls of 3', 2"x4" 14ga mesh, and cut the rolls in half with a skill saw and metal cutting blade. A 50' roll runs about $30 and will make (10) 100 gallon pots (finish size aprox. 3' dia, 16" height). We then cover with quality 3' wide, 3oz/sq yard landscape fabric that's cut to size, folded in half, and dropped over set wire hoops 'taco style' with the wire as the filling. We don't need any fabric fasteners when done this way. 3'x300' rolls of the fabric can be found for under $40 with free shipping. That roll will cover about (30) 100gal wire hoops. It's good stuff.

Finish cost for open bottom pots made in described manner is under $4.50 per. They are easy to break down and reuse too.

If you need to attach fabric to wire hoops then use hog ring staplers. Works well when applying your netting too. I posted a pic and some info on them in a previous posting. Should be some pics of our pots somewhere too. easy

 

Last edited: Jan 19, 2011

Maina

Active member

Veteran

• Jan 20, 2011

• #18

the hog staples sounds good,now you should post a link for the cheap cloth ?

 

E

easy

Member

• Jan 20, 2011

• #19

Maina said:

the hog staples sounds good,now you should post a link for the cheap cloth ?

Click to expand...

"3oz/sq yard landscape fabric" .... ebay

edit: "3' x 300' landscape fabric" this is a better ebay search term.

edit: get the 6 oz/sq yard instead... it's about $46 w/shipping for a 3'x300' roll. Most suppliers will work a deal with you if buying in bulk.

 

Last edited: Jan 20, 2011

Maina

Active member

Veteran

• Jan 20, 2011

• #20

thanks