help me decide

[crimsonecho]

I'm dumb here.. What's an "airpot?"

this is an airpot

 

[yesterdaysnews]

so you had good experiences with plastic pots. no root problems for them being in the same pot for a couple of months?

what i basically do is this i got a compost bin where i use peat and coco as bedding for my worms and add stinging nettles fruit peels eggshells coffee and whatever organic material i can find to feed the worms so after a while all that stuff turns into compost much like in your pots.

then when i harvest a plant i remove 1/3 of the topsoil (that goes back into the compost bin) and add new compost from the bin mixed with bat guano and manure and aeration material and mix the soil up a bit but dont disturb the lowest 1/3 of the pot.

plants go in directly to 12/12 and i repeat the process when i harvest. this provides enough nutrients for a while and especially during stretch. then i topdress when i remember to do so and give them some organic nutrients and aloe, spirulina, sometimes a bit of liquid silica etc.

so you’d say plastic pots and organic soil does go well together in your experience?

No issues at all. Next grow I'm going to use Nectar of the Gods products. Bought a sampler box from them and look forward to a change now that I have time to tend a grow being retired now and not working my ass off. But my pot setup is going to stay the same. I'm 61 years old and grew my first outdoor plant when I was in the 5th grade. I've had indoor grows since I was 18 and left home. The only tech in the grow world that is full of flimflam men and complete and utter BS is the quality of lights. And I'm firmly in the HLG camp and will stay there. And I'm really not a fanboy type of person at all. I've seen so much come and go in the grow game it's almost funny on one hand and sad on the other hand. It's been a ride of about 80% BS.

 

[Chapl]

so would you say after the switch your plants grow slower in plastic pots compared to fabric?



same story with side leakage? i havent used them before but i’d guess water would flow through the side holes right?

.
Yes my plants do seem to grow a bit slower in plastic pots, but it’s hard to say definitely without a side by side comparison with same genetics etc. they definitely do need less watering though.

 

[yesterdaysnews]

this is an airpot

Those are the classic airpot. I have some back ground info on airpots. One of my grandfathers was a tool & die maker and owned his own development and production shop. 1969 thru late 1971 or so he was working with NASA on airpot development and production and other projects. He was a pioneer in plastics and got mixed up in what was thought to be hair brained ideas back in the day that are now common place. Airpots were never meant to be used with coco or soil. There intended use was with synthetic media's for food production in space on the moon, mars and venus to start with. They later showed up in high end horticulture and made there way to cannabis as a new break through tech. I LMFAO every time I see one. I was in a local grow shop picking up a new batch of cheap pots, stand offs and saucers and there were the airpots at like $20 a pop. The little stoner chic that was helping me just did not understand why I was laughing at the airpots. Had to tell her the story and then let her know my grandfathers shop was less than a mile away from the grow shop where airpot was born. It's still a working shop and owned by a family friend now.

 

[myke]

yeah i really cant add anymore vertical pot space i can barely keep one of my cultivars at 25cm away from the lights as it is and if add a reservoir beneath the pots its just gonna take up more vertical space.

My sips sit about 20" high,well worth the extra few inches.

 

[2cent]

cling film

 

[crimsonecho]

No issues at all. Next grow I'm going to use Nectar of the Gods products. Bought a sampler box from them and look forward to a change now that I have time to tend a grow being retired now and not working my ass off. But my pot setup is going to stay the same. I'm 61 years old and grew my first outdoor plant when I was in the 5th grade. I've had indoor grows since I was 18 and left home. The only tech in the grow world that is full of flimflam men and complete and utter BS is the quality of lights. And I'm firmly in the HLG camp and will stay there. And I'm really not a fanboy type of person at all. I've seen so much come and go in the grow game it's almost funny on one hand and sad on the other hand. It's been a ride of about 80% BS.

thanks man i’m kinda leaning towards 7 gallon plastics atm because they’re cheaper than the other options (ie. terracota or geotextile/aqua breathe pots) though i may give those a try in the not so distant future because they seem like interesting options. i just hate the leakage of nute water from the sides. i can water from the bottom too. that would solve my problems but that creates a very soggy bottom ime and the tops stay almost dry without mulching. i need something with good moisture retention while having a good air exchange and thats where aqua breathe pots may be useful but i guess there isnt much info and experience on them yet.

.
Yes my plants do seem to grow a bit slower in plastic pots, but it’s hard to say definitely without a side by side comparison with same genetics etc. they definitely do need less watering though.

ok yes side by side would be nice. so you dont notice any root issues and such even in late flowering with those as i understand. am i correct?

Those are the classic airpot. I have some back ground info on airpots. One of my grandfathers was a tool & die maker and owned his own development and production shop. 1969 thru late 1971 or so he was working with NASA on airpot development and production and other projects. He was a pioneer in plastics and got mixed up in what was thought to be hair brained ideas back in the day that are now common place. Airpots were never meant to be used with coco or soil. There intended use was with synthetic media's for food production in space on the moon, mars and venus to start with. They later showed up in high end horticulture and made there way to cannabis as a new break through tech. I LMFAO every time I see one. I was in a local grow shop picking up a new batch of cheap pots, stand offs and saucers and there were the airpots at like $20 a pop. The little stoner chic that was helping me just did not understand why I was laughing at the airpots. Had to tell her the story and then let her know my grandfathers shop was less than a mile away from the grow shop where airpot was born. It's still a working shop and owned by a family friend now.

hahaha nice story did they ever grew anything in synthetic mediums and what kind of synthetic mediums also how can we get our hands on some to grow cannabis in it lol

My sips sit about 20" high,well worth the extra few inches.

i really dont doubt it but my lights are dont even have an inch to go atm. i got this cannalope haze pheno which is a beast and if i’m gonna keep it i have to save as much space as i can vertically.

cling film

around the smartpots? it would stop the leakage for sure but air exchange would also be lost right?

 

[JustBlazin]

now i’m struggling to choose between buying new smart pots or plastic pots. i’m either gonna go with 25lt fabric pots or plastic but my main concern is the drying time with fabric. somehow i started feeling like fabrics are making me overwater because the outer edges are drying too fast while the middle stays wet for longer but i want to keep the outer edges moist too so i water even when the middle is still pretty wet.

also one other downside of smart pots is when i water from the top i get leakage from the side of the pots which seeps under my trays and its just a lot of cleaning to do. so somewhat messy.

now i‘m pretty much planning on vegging in a 2x2 and using my 4x4 for just flowering so the plants will spend between 2-4 months in their final container (either plastic or fabric). so plastic would actually help with this leakage thing and control the drying better but i’m also concerned about the possibility of them getting root bound. i’ve used smaller plastics for my bonsais and seedlings and still using them actually but when talking about 3-4 feet 16 week sativas i don’t know what i should do.

which one would you prefer? especially with living organic soil and just as the final container for flowering.

ps: even terracota pots are not off the table at this point lol

I personally after trying both prefer plastic pots. Like you said the edges dry with the fabric pots, I use blumats and it's still a problem. When I reamend my pots the fabrics have a bunch of dry loose soil around the edges whereas the plastic is wet and full of roots.

 

[crimsonecho]

I personally after trying both prefer plastic pots. Like you said the edges dry with the fabric pots, I use blumats and it's still a problem. When I reamend my pots the fabrics have a bunch of dry loose soil around the edges whereas the plastic is wet and full of roots.

exactly what i’m seeing so in order to compansate for that dryness i’m watering too frequently. i mean smartpots can’t be beat in many areas. ease of storage and air exchange are the most important aspects imo but they have their own drawbacks. i think i’m at a point where after 5 years of growing cannabis i’m gonna lay off the smartpots and go with 7 and 5 gallon plastic pots..

 

[PadawanWarrior]

exactly what i’m seeing so in order to compansate for that dryness i’m watering too frequently. i mean smartpots can’t be beat in many areas. ease of storage and air exchange are the most important aspects imo but they have their own drawbacks. i think i’m at a point where after 5 years of growing cannabis i’m gonna lay off the smartpots and go with 7 and 5 gallon plastic pots..

My RH is super low here, so fabric drys out faster. I just use plastic pots.

 

[crimsonecho]

My RH is super low here, so fabric drys out faster. I just use plastic pots.

and on the contrary my rh is really high but i still get crusty outer rims probably the tower fan i use in the tent contributes to this effect too.

so all in all would you say my plan of transplanting into 4-5 to 7 gallon plastic pots and go immediately 12/12 after vegging from clones in a 1 gallon pot would work well without any root issues etc?

i’m accepting that there will be a learning curve and i may overwater or underwater till i get it right but overall i just dont want to deal with circling roots at the end of flowering.

you grow organically as i remember right? super soil?

 

[PadawanWarrior]

and on the contrary my rh is really high but i still get crusty outer rims probably the tower fan i use in the tent contributes to this effect too.

so all in all would you say my plan of transplanting into 4-5 to 7 gallon plastic pots and go immediately 12/12 after vegging from clones in a 1 gallon pot would work well without any root issues etc?

i’m accepting that there will be a learning curve and i may overwater or underwater till i get it right but overall i just dont want to deal with circling roots at the end of flowering.

you grow organically as i remember right? super soil?

Ya, I'm doing no-till.

I think fabric pots would be sweet if the RH is decent. Maybe you just need a wetting agent like yucca or something.

 

[crimsonecho]

Ya, I'm doing no-till.

I think fabric pots would be sweet if the RH is decent. Maybe you just need a wetting agent like yucca or something.

i regularly use fresh aloe gel from my aloe plants. i just mix it really well with water for like 5-10 minutes continous stirring and this base mix almost becomes like jello and then i dilute that 1 to 5-10 parts of water and water with that. it actually leaks much less from the sides like that but it still dries very fast.
i’m just getting sick of not being able to use the outer parts of my medium effectively. i’m pretty much set on plastic pots atm and hearing all the positive experiences helps with the decision.

by the way how big are your pots?

 

[PadawanWarrior]

i regularly use fresh aloe gel from my aloe plants. i just mix it really well with water for like 5-10 minutes continous stirring and this base mix almost becomes like jello and then i dilute that 1 to 5-10 parts of water and water with that. it actually leaks much less from the sides like that but it still dries very fast.
i’m just getting sick of not being able to use the outer parts of my medium effectively. i’m pretty much set on plastic pots atm and hearing all the positive experiences helps with the decision.

by the way how big are your pots?

I hear ya. Watering slowly helps to avoid dry spots too. But I can see how if you have a fan blowing on them the outside is gonna dry out faster.

I've actually got a huge box of fabric pots that I was gonna use, then decided to stick with plastic. Plastic works fine for me.

I'm using 15 gal plastic. I've got a couple journals going now with some. 2 in my closet at like 4 weeks, and 2 in my 2x4 tent at like 3 weeks.

 

[Dr.J20]

I like 20/25L airpots or 8/12L airpots dropped into a 20L bucket as the catch reservoir. It's an instant SIP with plenty of air exchange and plenty of water recovery. I pop an airstone in the bucket first too to keep the catch water aerated. Doesn't add significant height and keeps water regulation perfect. Been doing it for more than 5 years with excellent results. Give it some thought--I never was able to get more than 2 or 3 grows out of fabric because they get all matted and shit and no matter how well people say you can clean them out, its nowhere near as easy as releasing the airpot and hosing it out clean. just my 2 cents.

 

[crimsonecho]

oh and i’m also t

I hear ya. Watering slowly helps to avoid dry spots too. But I can see how if you have a fan blowing on them the outside is gonna dry out faster.

I've actually got a huge box of fabric pots that I was gonna use, then decided to stick with plastic. Plastic works fine for me.

I'm using 15 gal plastic. I've got a couple journals going now with some. 2 in my closet at like 4 weeks, and 2 in my 2x4 tent at like 3 weeks.

those are more than double of the 7 gallon ones i’m planning on using but i’m guessing with no-till that makes sense. do you also veg in those?
i’ll have to check that journal. thanks for your input bro.

I like 20/25L airpots or 8/12L airpots dropped into a 20L bucket as the catch reservoir. It's an instant SIP with plenty of air exchange and plenty of water recovery. I pop an airstone in the bucket first too to keep the catch water aerated. Doesn't add significant height and keeps water regulation perfect. Been doing it for more than 5 years with excellent results. Give it some thought--I never was able to get more than 2 or 3 grows out of fabric because they get all matted and shit and no matter how well people say you can clean them out, its nowhere near as easy as releasing the airpot and hosing it out clean. just my 2 cents.

interesting idea and definitely something to consider. i got some 1 gallon airpots around the house maybe i can apply a similar principal in my veg tent and see how it goes. another reason i’m thinking of going with plastic pots atm is that i can get square ones and fit more medium to basically the same footprint as a 25l airpot. that also seems like a pro i can only get with plastic pots.

i’m growing 9 plants in a 4x4 and 9 airstones would be kinda though to care for for me. looking for minimal effort here lol. but if i grew 1 or 2 in a scrog setup or something i wouldn’t really be concerned about that. well thanks for your input too man i’m gonna give some thought to that airpot inside bucket idea.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

oh and i’m also t


those are more than double of the 7 gallon ones i’m planning on using but i’m guessing with no-till that makes sense. do you also veg in those?
i’ll have to check that journal. thanks for your input bro.



interesting idea and definitely something to consider. i got some 1 gallon airpots around the house maybe i can apply a similar principal in my veg tent and see how it goes. another reason i’m thinking of going with plastic pots atm is that i can get square ones and fit more medium to basically the same footprint as a 25l airpot. that also seems like a pro i can only get with plastic pots.

i’m growing 9 plants in a 4x4 and 9 airstones would be kinda though to care for for me. looking for minimal effort here lol. but if i grew 1 or 2 in a scrog setup or something i wouldn’t really be concerned about that. well thanks for your input too man i’m gonna give some thought to that airpot inside bucket idea.

Ya, I started with 10's, and then moved up to 15's since they both use the same 16" tray with enough room for me to still shopvac the runoff if I over water them.

And ya, I veg in them too.

I started with tiny clones and planted a couple straight into my 15 gal pots, and 2 in 1/2 gal first and then to 15's. The ones that I started in 15's are the ones in the closet. And the other ones in the tent were the ones that got transplanted.

 

[crimsonecho]

Ya, I started with 10's, and then moved up to 15's since they both use the same 16" tray with enough room for me to still shopvac the runoff if I over water them.

And ya, I veg in them too.

I started with tiny clones and planted a couple straight into my 15 gal pots, and 2 in 1/2 gal first and then to 15's. The ones that I started in 15's are the ones in the closet. And the other ones in the tent were the ones that got transplanted.

why did i write oh and i’m also t at the beginning i wonder hahah

well thanks for the info dude i’m gonna go with 7 gallon plastics gonna order them in a couple of days.

 

[yesterdaysnews]

hahaha nice story did they ever grew anything in synthetic mediums and what kind of synthetic mediums also how can we get our hands on some to grow cannabis in it lol

I never knew what they were going to use. That was some super secret shit that didn't interest me at all. At 8,9,10 years old all I wanted to do was finish up my work in the shop and ride my minibike or motorcycle and chase the girls. I had to get all that down and lined out!

 

[PadawanWarrior]

I never knew what they were going to use. That was some super secret shit that didn't interest me at all. At 8,9,10 years old all I wanted to do was finish up my work in the shop and ride my minibike or motorcycle and chase the girls. I had to get all that down and lined out!

Had my first date in 2nd grade. My parents took me and Jennifer to Skate King (roller skating place), lol. But I also loved my mini bikes back then. When the mini's ate shit I got a real dirt bike.

We've got more in common than I realized. I knew you were into guns, but that's awesome. Ever used Tannerite, ?