Outdoor smart pots, looking for feedback

[obijohn]

I'm looking for input from those who have used both smart pots and regular plastic pots outdoors. In the past I've usually started with three gallon plastic pots on cement, then upped to ten gallons when they got root bound for the duration. No real issues, but it is regularly 90 dg plus in the summer and I literally have to water twice a day.....soak em in the morning, and by late afternoon the start drooping if they aren't watered again. Doesn't matter if they are root bound or not.

Will smartpots be worse far as watering, since they are porous? And at least as far as ten gallons, are they substantially harder to move than plastic pots the same size? Finally, would smartpots be worth it as far as the end rresult, since they air prune the roots? Supposedly for that size container, smart pots are supposed to have better yield than plastic since the roots are automatically pruned.

What are your experiences?

 

[doublejj]

Once you use smart pots you won't go back. Just get bigger pots than you think you need. I would consider 100gl as min for outdoor
Good luck, I won't grow outsde without smart pots

peace
doublejj

 

[ClamDigger]

smart pots are great, but once i found these i was sold.
much thicker, square base, cheaper, handcrafted in Norcal.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?cat=2,51603&p=69037
one of the big advantages of fabric pots is that they dont heat up in the sun like plastic ones, on a hot summers day you can feel the side of a fabric pot and it will be cool/warm, when a regular container ir friggin HOT.
i am a firm beleiver in fabric pots.

 

[obijohn]

Space is limited, and in the past ten gallons have given me eight to ten ounces each. Plus they need to be moved late in summer to keep in the sun. And if the wife wants to have a party I can move them inside somewhere out of sight.

Plus I just can't afford that much soil. One ten gallon takes a large bag of FFOF to fill.

 

[ClamDigger]

yeah, i like 10'ers
just got 24 for this season, now i gotta get a pallet of promix into the woods
i dont bother with anything bigger then 10g's because of we have quite a short season, usually early sept everything needs to be finished

 

[Corso312]

what kind of strains finish that quick up there clamdigger? i am talking photoperiod not suto

 

[ClamDigger]

so farr, nothing comercially available.
as in local clones are the only thing that gets even close to finished.
this year were gonna be trying a batch of early strains from the attitude
mandala #1-Mandala seeds
early queen-Mr Nice
Guerillas gusto-
hollands hope-White label
god bud-BC Bud Depot
and a few more i dont remember, aswell as some autos
but just to be safe, im gonna get atleast a dozen clones.
i hope we get a nice September!

 

[obijohn]

So, back to smartpots. Do they need more frequent watering, and do.they yield.more?

 

[Corso312]

never tried smart pots but if those fabric pots work i may make some of my own..those look easy to make

 

[Vapekush]

If you're going to leave the pots on cement, you'll probably still need to water often.

Supposedly smart pots will dry out faster than a hard pot. So when my buddy started using smart pots he also bought Zeba Quench (all organic) and added it to the soil. Between the 2 he had great results and never really needed to water other than at tea time. He went from 5 gal hard pots to 10 gal smart pots and veg growth was explosive compared to a hard pots. Better growth usually gets better yields, all else held constant.

Switch to Smart Pots, you'll love em.

 

[indcolts77]

I was reading on the website today that if you put a smartpot on good, moist earth it will wick up a small amount of water, sort of working like a small, move-able raised bed

It could help with the drying out issue you're talking about as opposed to having it on cement, which will make it dry out fast...give it a shot and let us know if it helps to put it on the earth

I have my two babies in plastic pots right now but will be using smart pots for the clones i plan on growing along with these...i also have a tomato plant in 5-gal smart pots right now, jsut transplanted it today (and yes i mean an actual tomato plant, i found out about smart pots to late and i already have them trained with ties, so i cant transplant like i would like to...taking clones in about 3 weeks so im looking forward to using smart pots then

 

[Vindicated]

I made the switch. My seedlings get one gallon fabric pots and after a month I put some in ten gallon fabric pots and others directly into the ground. And they're not much different than terra cotta pots. If you can find them at a good price, buy them.

This will be my first year attempting a sativa in a 100 gallons container. I want fabric but the big bag bed fabric pot is $40.00. I rather spend $15.00 and get a platic kiddy pool and drill one-inch holes every 12". The small ones on the other hand are good values. All the brands are good too. CAP and Dirt Bags. Just as good as Smart Pots.

 

[MjMama]

I use camo pots, smart pots, and dirtbags and love them all. I'd probably recommend the dirtbags first because they have handles so they're easy to move, and they're more durable than the smart pots. Camo pots are great for gorilla grows and anywhere you're trying to blend in. It's true that you can plant them in moist soil and it wicks up the water. I have a couple planted at the edge of a stream where they can water themselves. They aren't anything like terracotta pots IMO, like someone mentioned. With terracotta and plastic pots you don't get the benefits of air trimming. And with the fabric pots you can leave them to veg until they fill the pot with roots, then bury the pot and allow the roots to expand out. It's almost impossible to get rootbound or root rot using the fabric pots. I love them. I recommend getting at least the 10 gallons. I have 1 and 5 gallons that I can use to start plants and for indoors, but I much prefer to to just put a plant straight into a big fabric pot so I never have to transplant. The smart pot type containers are a bitch to transplant out of. And with the air trimming there is no need to smart small and transplant up anyway. For outdoors I use 15, 20, and 30 gallons, all half buried to the roots grow through the bottom.

 

[Pat666]

Does anyone know f you can paint smart pots. I wanna spray paint mine with some green and town to better hide them and have them born with their surroundings. I'm just wondering if it will affect how the pot breathes

 

[Humanrob]

I found that the south side of my smart pots (facing the sun) dried out quicker than the north side, so I wrap the pots in burlap. That creates some shade but still lets them breath, and it might help @Pat666 with blending them in too.

 

[Pat666]

My pots are tan color which is close to burlap color I really wanna paint green everything surrounding it is green flowers and weeds vines am shit. Thank for input my pots haven't been drying out they actually stay damp for quite a while and it's been 80 everyday and sunny their growing like well weeds

 

[Pat666]

I use camo pots, smart pots, and dirtbags and love them all. I'd probably recommend the dirtbags first because they have handles so they're easy to move, and they're more durable than the smart pots. Camo pots are great for gorilla grows and anywhere you're trying to blend in. It's true that you can plant them in moist soil and it wicks up the water. I have a couple planted at the edge of a stream where they can water themselves. They aren't anything like terracotta pots IMO, like someone mentioned. With terracotta and plastic pots you don't get the benefits of air trimming. And with the fabric pots you can leave them to veg until they fill the pot with roots, then bury the pot and allow the roots to expand out. It's almost impossible to get rootbound or root rot using the fabric pots. I love them. I recommend getting at least the 10 gallons. I have 1 and 5 gallons that I can use to start plants and for indoors, but I much prefer to to just put a plant straight into a big fabric pot so I never have to transplant. The smart pot type containers are a bitch to transplant out of. And with the air trimming there is no need to smart small and transplant up anyway. For outdoors I use 15, 20, and 30 gallons, all half buried to the roots grow through the bottom.

The roots grow the ought your smart pots? Mine are thick an durable I can't see roots breaking through them

 

[MjMama]

The roots grow the ought your smart pots? Mine are thick an durable I can't see roots breaking through them

Yep. I grow pretty big plants that get strong root systems. If you grow in the pot long enough, roots will grow through the bottom unless you have them on a pallet for air trimming.

 

[Pat666]

Yep. I grow pretty big plants that get strong root systems. If you grow in the pot long enough, roots will grow through the bottom unless you have them on a pallet for air trimming.

Does that mean to air trim the pot must be off the ground. Mine are on rocks but int say 3-4 inches off the ground

 

[TWS]

I made the switch. My seedlings get one gallon fabric pots and after a month I put some in ten gallon fabric pots and others directly into the ground. And they're not much different than terra cotta pots. If you can find them at a good price, buy them.

This will be my first year attempting a sativa in a 100 gallons container. I want fabric but the big bag bed fabric pot is $40.00. I rather spend $15.00 and get a platic kiddy pool and drill one-inch holes every 12". The small ones on the other hand are good values. All the brands are good too. CAP and Dirt Bags. Just as good as Smart Pots.

Just poke the kiddie pool with the shovel a few times. No need to get all encentric n shit . Lol