Why do experienced growers still use plastic pots?

[CharlesU Farley]

I tried fabric pots, but not for me.

I use now mostly square 12 inch tall nursery pots for seedlings/early veg/sexing and 3 gall airpruning pots occasionally 10 gal airpots

The air pruning pots we're _very_ intriguing to me but I worried about (this is going to sound ironic as hell after the post I just now did) "run off" of dirt and water, out the holes, when I inevitably overwater the back row, leaning over so I don't aggravate my herniated discs.

At the time I made the switch to fabric, the AirPots were gaining popularity and I can't remember the name of the company but they were expensive as shit and were the only ones available.

Once I committed to fabric, I haven't looked back.

 

[aqualungs]

Defoliating isn't something I do until final harvest. I just trim dying / non-functional leaves to increase air flow around the buds. Definitely not enough room in the tents to maneuver around, at least for this old fart.

View attachment 18987561

My old dog used to hang outside the tent like that and eat the fans as I took them off, lol, I miss that fella. Gotcha on the defol, just trying to save your back with all the lifting.

 

[Dequilo]

I don't test runoff. No point. If the inputs are correct there is nothing to learn from testing runoff.

this is what my comment was to

You commented on the post?
"There is nothing to learn from testing runoff"
There's so much information available in run off I'm a bit surprised at the comment.

just to put that into context

so again what did I comment to?

all the best and grow well

Dequilo

 

[Dequilo]

how anyone can arrive at run off tells you nothing,

the run off from a good deep watering has a lot it can tell if you test it and have the need for the data

as a grower in your setup

but you are correct to say that the run off from a container can tell you nothing would indeed

be stupid

all the best and enjoy the day

Dequilo

 

[Brother Nature]

I remember moving back to soil and testing run off and wondering why my input adjustments made no difference. Then I spent the money on a proper soil meter and my run off results were vastly different than my medium results. Run of an be a decent indicator of issues or not, but actual testing what your roots are touching has given me much better results.

 

[PoorDad]

Fabric pots have been around for quite a while now. I know this is not a popular opinion but I believe, for indoor soil growers, fabric containers are the best innovation (with the possible exception of LED lights) in the past 25 years.

Here's some videos to illustrate why I feel this way:







A large, fully encircled/encased root mass, around the insides of plastic pots, with almost no root mass in the interior _soil_ of the plastic soil container, just doesn't make any sense to me. But I see so many experienced and knowledgeable growers still using containers that were originally developed almost 50 years ago.

Why?

Almost want to make a meme with my ass sitting in front of a table, with a large sign that says "This is my opinion, change my mind!

You obviously don't live in a dry climate.

I've grown in fabric pots in Colorado where the humidity is extremely low. I will NEVER do that again. They evaporate water faster than the plants can absorb it. I was watering every day. Sometimes twice a day.

They also don't work worth a damn with blu-mats in a dry climate. The soil dries out too fast and you have constant battles with runaway carrots.

I ended up wrapping all my fabric pots with 3 or 4 wraps of clear plastic saran wrap to try and keep moisture from evaporating so fast.

I live in the midwest now. I do grow in fabric pots here because the humidity is 3x or 4x as high as it ever was in Colorado. I water every 4 or 5 days in veg and, depending on plant and strain, every 2--3 days during flower.

I water when the pots get light. I check by picking up the pot. I water gently and slowly. I add about 1--2 quarts at a time to a 3g fabric pot. I have multiple plants so by the time I'm done with the last one, it's time to go back and start over at the beginning. After the initial 1 or 2 quarts has soaked in for 3--5 minutes I go ahead and pour about a gallon on them slowly. My plants are in a large tray so I water until they're flooded and I have anywhere from 1--2 quarts of runoff in each tray. I let them sit in that runoff for up to an hour. Most of the time they will soak up the majority of that runoff. Then I shop vac the trays for anything that's left.

 

[Hmong]

Why do experienced growers still use plastic pots?

well, experience

fabric pots do work well and do not sit in the landfill for the next 10 thousand years

which landfill? I will collect and wash them all, at these prices today

 

[CharlesU Farley]

well, experience

 

[CharlesU Farley]

The last day my SouthEast Lights babies will be subjected to that nasty old plastic:

I have a distorted, twisted, ironic sense of humor y'all. Hopefully ya know that by now.

Everybody, at least those of us whose experiences are measured in multi-decades, understands there's a reason why people do what they do when they cultivate cannabis.

It's because it works! If it didn't, we wouldn't have had spent _decades_ doing it.

 

[Dequilo]

understands there's a reason why people do what they do when they cultivate cannabis.

It's because it works!

For Them

 

[CharlesU Farley]

I was going to fuck with you all and post this pic after I Photoshopped one of my SouthEast lights on to the roots, but haven't got time to do it today :

Anyways, been doing a lot of plant transitioning from plastic to fabric and thought about this thread. Getting ready to make the transition from plastic to fabric:

Typical root structure in plastic container, notice roots on _exterior_?:

Sizing the hole to put it in where it needs to be... pretty obvious joke there, I try to not be always "on the nose" :

And yes this is a problem with fabric containers, easily remedied with a KHCO3 solution, the same one I spray on my plants every week or two for PM and botrytis... Damn voice dictation almost got that one right this time.:

Now look at the root structure on this:

Notice what you don't see on the exterior? I'll give you a little hint, it's fucking _roots_. That's because they're _inside_, and in 100% close contact with _dirt_, not all circled around and encased in plastic. There's no way anybody could possibly call any of my plants root bound, just look at the first video in this thread.

Here they all are, happy in their new home. And yeah, Star's a velcro dog in addition to being a ham when a picture is taken .:

Here's a video so you can understand the circulation that goes on from the time the clones and seedlings are a couple of inches tall:



And lastly, I've got to be careful walking around the back of tents, picked this up just before I started moving the youngsters inside the tents. Hate like hell to use these fucking glue traps, because occasionally I'll get the innocent frog, but this is the reason why I use them down in the basement around the tents:

The mice I'm not worried about, the copperhead is another story, especially since I was bit by a rattlesnake 3 years ago.

 

[Kimes]

You're 4th picture is the reason I stopped using them fabric pots for da kine herb, still use them on tomatoes, chillies etc..

It just looks awfully scary with all that caked residue, even when I used organic soil and organic ferts. And pain in the ass to clean..

It is just me though, gazillion of growers have great success with them. I'm just too much a pussycat.

Air pruning plastic pots on the other hand have been great for my purposes.

, thanks





oh, ps, cool doggo u got there

 

[CharlesU Farley]

Air pruning plastic pots on the other hand have been great for my purposes.

Had they been cheaper at the time I made my transition to fabric, I'd probably be using them. Root pruning works, and I'm not talking about hacking it off with scissors / knives.

It just makes sense to me, not only from a logical standpoint but also from a botanical standpoint as well, terminate the root when it's exposed to air and it will branch out to the _interior_ of the container, giving more surface area to absorb water and nutrients.

oh, ps, cool doggo u got there

Thanks, I've had many dogs over my years and this one is probably the closest to a perfect dog I've ever had. The previous dog I had was too much like me... independent, strong-willed, vocal, but deep down a real sweetheart and would do anything in the world for me. This one's just like her, but more amenable to training and staying out of my way when I'm bending over the tents watering and close to falling flat on my ass.

 

[OleReynard]

currently i use a rubbermaid tote with no holes, tons of soil, premixed with fertilizer, and two inches of sand on top that slowly waters from the top down and keeps the entire soil surface moist and regulated from stem to edge

no water makes it to the bottom because the sand layer soaks it up instantly (1.5 litres poured all at once) and there is lots of soil below. just pour water over the sand every few days and top dress once early flower that's it

the root mass is near the stem so why encourage the roots to grow to the bottom if the fertilizer is slow release and premixed/top dressed? this way mimics nature

oh, and no gnats(!)

View attachment 18971908

Wouldn't your roots be staying up by that sand layer and not going deep?

 

[phunkeeboodah]

Wouldn't your roots be staying up by that sand layer and not going deep?

i will find out soon when i dig up these plants but that is what i am expecting yes (roots staying near the top)