Smart Pots or Air Pots for Coco?

L

Larry Bovvah

Member
Hey everyone, I am looking at getting a a couple of new pots as the more I read about either of these choices, these are definitely the way to go over regular plastic pots.

Can I kindly ask that ONLY people with Experience here to share their opinions, I would like to know from people that have actually used these please, even though I know some would probably know a lot about them from research. I would like to get this right the first time to avoid buying more pots later. :)

So my question is, from what I can see, smart pots work just the same as air pots and achieve pretty much the same positive results. People with smart pots, can I ask what size pots you use from seed or cutting to flower? and do you have any trouble transplanting into larger pots if there are some roots growing through the smart pots towards the end of their stay in that particular pot?

I wondered how much the plant may be affected by some of the small roots protruding the smart pot, when they are removed from that bag and transplanted?

The air pots look better in this respect, but that is the question really, will that process actually hurt the plant growth in any way compared to using an air pot system?

I was thinking of using the advice of some other members here and going with some small pots for seedling/cuttings, then some medium pots for veg, and finally some large pots for flowering.

Keeping in mind that I only wish to have a couple of plants at the most so I don't need to have them compact, I would like to have as big of a pot as possible to let the plants get as big as they want to.

So to my understanding, one could go larger than necessary for the final pot to avoid having to water as regularly, but, would it be better to choose a pot that needs to be watered at minimum daily or twice daily for a better plant yield?

I was thinking of the following sizes for a smart pot/ air pot system.
1L Pot for seedling/cuttings,
3 Gal pot for veg
5 or 7 Gal pot for Flower.

I currently have very large pots that I feel are far too big, (12 Gal) they stay wet for so long and I think this may cause problems getting rid of salt buildup later on.

I have entertained the idea of getting some perlite to mix through the coco, but if I get some new smart pots or air pots that shouldn't be necessary right?

Sorry about the long winded post, I hope that some of you can help me choose the best system for the best growing experience for a small number of plants. :)
 
xmatox

xmatox

Well-Known Member
Larry Bovvah said:
Hey everyone, I am looking at getting a a couple of new pots as the more I read about either of these choices, these are definitely the way to go over regular plastic pots.

Can I kindly ask that ONLY people with Experience here to share their opinions, I would like to know from people that have actually used these please, even though I know some would probably know a lot about them from research. I would like to get this right the first time to avoid buying more pots later. :)

So my question is, from what I can see, smart pots work just the same as air pots and achieve pretty much the same positive results. People with smart pots, can I ask what size pots you use from seed or cutting to flower? and do you have any trouble transplanting into larger pots if there are some roots growing through the smart pots towards the end of their stay in that particular pot?

I wondered how much the plant may be affected by some of the small roots protruding the smart pot, when they are removed from that bag and transplanted?

The air pots look better in this respect, but that is the question really, will that process actually hurt the plant growth in any way compared to using an air pot system?

I was thinking of using the advice of some other members here and going with some small pots for seedling/cuttings, then some medium pots for veg, and finally some large pots for flowering.

Keeping in mind that I only wish to have a couple of plants at the most so I don't need to have them compact, I would like to have as big of a pot as possible to let the plants get as big as they want to.

So to my understanding, one could go larger than necessary for the final pot to avoid having to water as regularly, but, would it be better to choose a pot that needs to be watered at minimum daily or twice daily for a better plant yield?

I was thinking of the following sizes for a smart pot/ air pot system.
1L Pot for seedling/cuttings,
3 Gal pot for veg
5 or 7 Gal pot for Flower.

I currently have very large pots that I feel are far too big, (12 Gal) they stay wet for so long and I think this may cause problems getting rid of salt buildup later on.

I have entertained the idea of getting some perlite to mix through the coco, but if I get some new smart pots or air pots that shouldn't be necessary right?

Sorry about the long winded post, I hope that some of you can help me choose the best system for the best growing experience for a small number of plants. :)
Click to expand...
It's really comes down to different strokes for different folks. I have run the smart pots when I was in coco and they worked great. My buddy swears by air pots and he gets similar results.
 
L

Larry Bovvah

Member
thanks guys, I think smart pots sound like the way to go. Back to the question on protruding roots though, has anyone had this happen to their smart pots before they're in their final pots? I am a little worried that disrupting some of the protruding roots when transplanting into a larger pot may affect the plant health..? Or is it not worth worrying about? I am new to growing so excuse me and my silly questions. lol
 
Cletus clem

Cletus clem

Well-Known Member
When worrying about damaging roots during transplant think about it as "topping" them. When you top your plant, 2 shoots take its place. When the root tips get severed during transplant the plant will produce more to take their place, giving you a thicker more fiberous root system. The point of air pots and smart pots is to air prune the roots so they dont circle the pot and choke themselves out. Basically, using either you are doing this by default. Fret not! Run a knife around the inside of the pot and keep growin on! Also, because these pots have less tendency to become bound, you can support a much lager plant than you would using a traditional container. Over timemuch more of the container will be utilized by the growing root system. When transplanting from a standard plastic pot if you give the rootball a squeeze in the middle it will be very soft because it is not occupied by roots. A well groomed root system will occupy alot more of your container.
 
P

pollen205

Well-Known Member
SouthCross said:
Air pots are a gnats wet dream. Unfiltered access to the medium, 360°. Smart pots don't allow the same amount of convenience to bugs.
Click to expand...
What is your point with this 360' accsess
That gnats will crawl in air pot..?
The problem are gnats... Not that 360' access... If you don't have gnats at all then is air pot better option then smart pot?
 
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