haha ^^this is great.. you're funny man.
using Lucas saves me enough $ on nutrients that i can afford snazzy smartpots
Smart Pots
- Thread starter Clackamas Coot
- Start date
haha ^^this is great.. you're funny man.
using Lucas saves me enough $ on nutrients that i can afford snazzy smartpots
i agree. bog once had a thread at of about a coating you applied to containers the kept the roots away. i had greenhouses and decieded to try it . it made no difference for mj but did seem to help plants that were going to be in their pots long term. i think it was a copper compound or such. long time ago. og days
I recall this as well. Perennials or marijuana mothers that will be kept in the same container for a long period of time will benefit most from these pots. Also the Mj mothers are just for lazy people that don't want to do the semi-annual root pruning.
Get Mo has actually taken unbiased notes, like I have with the same results. If you are running vigorous hybrids? You WILL SEE & weigh the increases. Shallow rooting/purebreds? not so much.
Have yet to meet an old beaster that really knows how to rock it, that hasn't went "Fuck yeah!"
Noob Tip: Beware of online advice from those w/LED links in their sigs lol
Have yet to meet an old beaster that really knows how to rock it, that hasn't went "Fuck yeah!"
Noob Tip: Beware of online advice from those w/LED links in their sigs lol
Castelvetro
Member
like i said, nobodies useing grow bags with holes punched in them and charging crazy amounts, save your money, there a gimic.
It is not expensive to buy a few and see if they stand out. I don't think it is best to listen to general advise for something like this. Some people say they work better some say no (I haven't heard anyone say they are harmful).
It seems like they may have advantages for some environments/conditions and not others. I'd say spend a few bucks and buy a small amount, then test in your conditions.
For example, someone may not have a problem with roots being too wet, they may say "smart pots make no diff", another guy may have issues with this and say "smart pots make it better".
I've noticed that some questions have seemingly contradictory answers. Obviously nature doesn't contradict (the law's of physics apply everywhere the same), so this leads me to think that there is should be more to this discussion than do they work or not. That is oversimplifying things. I'd hope we could could all consider that some people are saying they work. I'd like to ask why do they seem to work for some people but not others and can they be of use to me?
It seems like they may have advantages for some environments/conditions and not others. I'd say spend a few bucks and buy a small amount, then test in your conditions.
For example, someone may not have a problem with roots being too wet, they may say "smart pots make no diff", another guy may have issues with this and say "smart pots make it better".
I've noticed that some questions have seemingly contradictory answers. Obviously nature doesn't contradict (the law's of physics apply everywhere the same), so this leads me to think that there is should be more to this discussion than do they work or not. That is oversimplifying things. I'd hope we could could all consider that some people are saying they work. I'd like to ask why do they seem to work for some people but not others and can they be of use to me?
I'm really open to ideas on taking advantage of the special attributes that smart-pots have. For example, they are felt and can pass water to a touching pot.
What I am doing with my smart-pots right now is vegging... I have a them up on a large opening wire screen that is on bricks to get air below them. What I really like is the capilarry action that makes it easy to water evenly. I have a bunch of 2 and 1 gallon pots touching. If, when watering, I skip some pots the water moves from the other pots and after a few minutes all the pots have the same moisture. I plant to transplant everything to 5 gallon pots in about 6 weeks.
I look forward to using a capillary mat that will be suspended using a wire screen. The roots will be able to be air pruned on the sides and bottom.
As the plants get larger I will need to move the pots apart. I'm going to see how stuck together they get. Hopefully this won't be problematic.
it seems like a raised bed that is modular.
What I am doing with my smart-pots right now is vegging... I have a them up on a large opening wire screen that is on bricks to get air below them. What I really like is the capilarry action that makes it easy to water evenly. I have a bunch of 2 and 1 gallon pots touching. If, when watering, I skip some pots the water moves from the other pots and after a few minutes all the pots have the same moisture. I plant to transplant everything to 5 gallon pots in about 6 weeks.
I look forward to using a capillary mat that will be suspended using a wire screen. The roots will be able to be air pruned on the sides and bottom.
As the plants get larger I will need to move the pots apart. I'm going to see how stuck together they get. Hopefully this won't be problematic.
it seems like a raised bed that is modular.
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Ok, explain to me how this method produces more roots or increases their ability to uptake nutrients?
If you're going to use dry organic fertilizers, then these pots might help roots to access nutrients where their roots would not have grown otherwise. But, it seems many are using them in the great outdoors (which is fine, but just plant it in the ground) or on flood tables... which I doubt is pure dry organic nutrients.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root
If you're going to use dry organic fertilizers, then these pots might help roots to access nutrients where their roots would not have grown otherwise. But, it seems many are using them in the great outdoors (which is fine, but just plant it in the ground) or on flood tables... which I doubt is pure dry organic nutrients.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Root
I have noticed that my pots have roots that are circling and the smart pots don't. Do you see this as an advantage?
How do they help nutrient uptake for dry nutes? I never thought that was an advantage, but if it is, I'd like to know more.
Many people do use %100 dry nutrients. I'm using sub's supersoil, isn't this using dry nutrients? I am kind of new to organics so forgive me if I'm not getting your idea.
Mr C have you ever seen roots circle around a pot because there only growing on the edge? creating a mat of roots that is very unproductive. air pruning roots is a very old method for getting rid of that problem and has been around for years and years, long before smart pots. its just now days they have better advertisements and more marketing.
you dont need smartpots to grow pot, hell i dont use them, thousands of people dont use them. some people have seen benefits from them, theres nothing wrong with that. whats good for one person might not be best for another.
as for how it creates more roots, think of it this way. when you top a strong growth shoot on your plants. it goes back a few nodes and sends up two or more side shoots. the same thing happens when root growth tips hit air ( of some plants not all but cannabis is one of them) stimulating root growth further back in the pot. when they hit plastic they turn, obviously that's not as good for the plant.
Mine really don't do that. I use coco, they hit the bottom after filling the general medium, then spread from there.
Also, you're not gaining in growth when you top your plant; you're simply shaping the way it grows. I see no advantage of telling the roots which way they should grow, as the direction makes no difference in their function or quality... unlike top colas of a plant.
I hope I am not coming across as confrontational, I assuming we are all happy and open to debating (as opposed to being right)
so if they hit the bottom and they want to go down, but you make them change course radically (fully stop going down), you are telling the roots which way to go if you have limited pot size, so you will do this anyways, why not just avoid having a mass of roots in one space?
like I said in my prev post, I'm new to this, but it seems to me that topping is more than for just shaping but actually stimulates hormones to let the other shoots think they are tops and grow bigger than they normally would, probably not as big as the original top, but the total bud mass seems to be higher
If you can, I'd like an explanation for why smart pots make dry nutes more available. I'm not arguing with you, I am asking for a bit more info. I actually hope this is the case, but have know way of knowing and am curious to hear your side.
but your creating more surface area when you do this, both topping a plant and air pruning a root. more surface area = better production.
maybe you dont need it in your coco, but maybe some people do in there mixes. you cant say that it doesnt happen, just because it doesnt do it to you.
severian
Member
Great idea. Now my rooting system is getting air from 360 degrees. A side benefit is I don't have to worry about overwatering.
No worries my friend, so long as you aren't doing personal attacks or calling me names, we're good to talk all day.
As for the root mass ending up in one space, this does not happen with mine... for whatever reason. Yes, some tap roots do end up at the bottom, but the general root mass seems to be evenly distributed.
As for shaping the plant, the hormones that you're speaking of is what shapes the plant. You're telling the apical maristem to distribute auxins to the rest of the plant and create new shoots.
Ok, in pure organics with dry ferts, the tap roots at the bottom of the pot get distributed more evenly because of the air pruning and then those roots can access the nutrients that the roots would not be near.
Well, with organics, then more surface area would be better, which is good for you jay. I know you're a great organic grower, so these would be good for you, as I've stated. As for plant available nutrients (synthetics), you're not going to see an increase of nutrient uptake.
If you weighed identical plants, with all the mediums removed, of equal medium volume, you would see the weight of the roots would be the same, despite one being in a smart pot and one being in a normal pot.
I didn't say that smart pots were completely useless, but the people running ebb n' flow and outdoors, seems pointless.
I got a feeling my smartpots are making the rootzone on the chilly side, winter + cold air near floor + breathable fabric = my roots are colder then traditional plastic pots. Whether or that its having a negative impact right now im not sure but 62 F on the floor and low 80's at canopy tell me they might be.
Can you raise them off the floor? I like air to be underneath mine so the roots are air pruned and don't squirm around under the pot. I don't know if this is really needed but I do like keeping them off the cold floor.
If the rootzone is too cold you should notice very slow growth. I've seen the problem with a coliseum having too much evaporation causing the plants to stall with their cold feet. Warm the rootzone and the coli took off, so yeah, get them up off the floor if you can and maybe have a fan blowing some of the warmer air down around them which could also help with the root pruning.
