Do you like smart pots or plastic pots better?

Alienwidow said:

I run straight promix hp. I start in quart sized plastic pots with ffof mixed with 15% pearlite. They go from quarts to five gallon smart pots with straight promix hp. Im feeding every watering at around 280-320 at first. As they get bigger in the fives ill go up to around 400-450. Then i switch to 7 gal smart pots, 6 per 1k DE bulb. When theyre in sevens i feed anywhere from 500-850 ppms. Mostly from 500-650 though. I just bump it up for the final development of flower size. My biggest plant on the last run was 186 grams and was bone dry when it was manicured. Shoulda been around 195 with a proper dry with a little moisture left in the flower. Heres one that was 165 i think.. And another that was 150 or just under it. View attachment 3660145View attachment 3660147 You can see from both pictures the plants are nice and green at chop date. The lower one actually never lost a leaf the whole grow, was never defoliated at all, and still put out 150. You cant see half the bud cause its covered in leaves. Some guys guessed that plant at three oz lol. And it looks like it. And in both pictures theres way bigger plants next to em its usually 2 lbs a light the way i run. Just squish em in there

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Alienwidow said:

i love the fact that the smart pots dry out faster and you need to water more. Faster growth with more water pounding through the root zone right? Not saying I disagree with your points because theyre true in most cases, but i havent watered to runoff in two runs and my plants havent been greener. Just feed less and save money. Also if your worried about plants sitting in the runoff, you could do what i did and tilt the tables. As my girlfriend says, "a couple inches goes a long way". And to the guy with the walmart bag thing...i couldnt do that. Theres no way id have a walmart banner grow, id just pay the extra couple bucks a plant for bags. I have bags ive used for probably ten runs, so thats like 50 cents a run and still going.

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Blunted 4 lyfe said:

I hear bra! You're not a fan of advertising your grow in Walmart bags and that's cool but only I, and I alone (and now you guys here) know that I grow in Walmart bags just saving a little chi-ching wherever I can I'm retired so I got to make my dough-lo stretch.

I water my plants every 2 days and it would come out the sides sometimes if I did a drench or run over the gap created on the edge when soil dries and compacts but I learned to just water til a small pool of water stands then just let soak in and repeat, now I use blumats with the drip line on the trunk and now I don't have to worry, I never see run off now. I test my root zone temp and it stays Between 63*-68* (I stick my thermometer through the side of my bag).

I am a chronic insomniac so my need for cannabis is for sleep not recreational and besides I really don't think Walmart cares how I use their bags, neither do I.

B4L

Cheers!

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Alienwidow said:

i love the fact that the smart pots dry out faster and you need to water more. Faster growth with more water pounding through the root zone right? Not saying I disagree with your points because theyre true in most cases, but i havent watered to runoff in two runs and my plants havent been greener. Just feed less and save money. Also if your worried about plants sitting in the runoff, you could do what i did and tilt the tables. As my girlfriend says, "a couple inches goes a long way". And to the guy with the walmart bag thing...i couldnt do that. Theres no way id have a walmart banner grow, id just pay the extra couple bucks a plant for bags. I have bags ive used for probably ten runs, so thats like 50 cents a run and still going.

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Chunky Stool said:

I've had great results with smart pots.
The roots always grow thick and healthy all the way to the edges. In fact, its hard to get everything out of the pots after harvesting the plants! I literally have to peel the pots off.
There is no root ball in the center that's surrounded by unused soil. If that was the case, they'd pull right out.

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Dr. Who said:

What? Come on AW......You read my post about watering a metered amount every day right? Guess I have you beat by few days a week worth of watering eh?
The point on "smart" pots is that you have to water twice as much, twice as often to do what I do.....



I use the term "root ball" because it fits! The thing you don't get is that the edge and bottom of yours is not as dense as the center area.....I had NOTHING but what I feel are watering problems with them!...Now as someone stated earlier.....Fine pot for Coco growers. Coco naturally stays wet (damp) longer then soil. Coco "attracts/absorbs" water better then soil when they get drier.
Even in plastic pots dried out soil takes longer to absorb anything you water it with. This trait of soil is what I feel is part of the problem of "smart pots"......The edges dry faster then the core and deflect the water/feed away to much for ME!

AND there is the point! If you like them - use them!

I simply gave opinion to answer the OP's question! That's what he wanted! The thing is that when friends tried them - They had the same problems and it was one of them that cut the root ball in half and found a dry core - 1 hr after watering it.....(Plant was harvested that mourning)

Now then, I explained OP......

Please form you OWN opinion by information given or simply get one and try it!

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Michael Huntherz said:

Hey Dr. Who, much respect here, and you're doubtlessly right about all the situations you've described, but:

I love running Blumats in 5-Gallon Smart Pots. Low maintenance, organic soil and tap water. I swap the reservoir out when it feels light, that's it. My whole grow is 600W with 4 plants in a square meter, and I use two blumats per pot, plumbed in a loop with a standpipe. Reservoir sits outside the tent on a milk crate that's zip tied to a foldable synthesizer stand, haha. Totally passive, which is great. I have the option of hand watering occasional supplements, the blumats stop dripping until they start to dry out again, and I've seen some pretty intense roots for a person of my minimal experience. Once I get my organic soil mix completely dialed in and some damn COB lights I think this will be a pretty respectable little rig.

I'll try splitting my rootball on harvest day, I'm curious about the umbrella effect, next run I think I'm going to add some more coco to my soil, with this discussion in mind, but I really can't complain. I've had problems with root binding and rot when using plastic pots in the past, but I was pretty shitty at basic plant husbandry back then.

I'd say they are growing pretty well, here's last week's growth and some other pics of the setup because I have them. Sorry for the bad photos, it makes the artist in me cringe, but you're all used to it by now.

I love the recycled-material grocery bags as alternatives, a buck a piece or less! I have a fairly large collection of Smart Pots already. After I empty them I let them dry, brush them off and run them through the laundry.

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Dr. Who said:

I have to say that the best use of smart pots I've seen, is a friend who is a big ebb table guy. Tried them replacing Rockwool and has not gone back! He loves the things and I have to admit that any way to use them as a "soaking up" style of feeding looks to be about the best use for them!

The whole thing is that it's up to the person as to what they like.....Even with all the time I've done this....."I" simply don't like "smart" pots......They simply do not comply with my chosen style of growing!

Good luck with what your doing !! Sounds like it's working.

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Michael Huntherz said:

Hey Dr. Who, much respect here, and you're doubtlessly right about all the situations you've described, but:

I love running Blumats in 5-Gallon Smart Pots. Low maintenance, organic soil and tap water. I swap the reservoir out when it feels light, that's it. My whole grow is 600W with 4 plants in a square meter, and I use two blumats per pot, plumbed in a loop with a standpipe. Reservoir sits outside the tent on a milk crate that's zip tied to a foldable synthesizer stand, haha. Totally passive, which is great. I have the option of hand watering occasional supplements, the blumats stop dripping until they start to dry out again, and I've seen some pretty intense roots for a person of my minimal experience. Once I get my organic soil mix completely dialed in and some damn COB lights I think this will be a pretty respectable little rig.

I'll try splitting my rootball on harvest day, I'm curious about the umbrella effect, next run I think I'm going to add some more coco to my soil, with this discussion in mind, but I really can't complain. I've had problems with root binding and rot when using plastic pots in the past, but I was pretty shitty at basic plant husbandry back then.

I'd say they are growing pretty well, here's last week's growth and some other pics of the setup because I have them. Sorry for the bad photos, it makes the artist in me cringe, but you're all used to it by now.

I love the recycled-material grocery bags as alternatives, a buck a piece or less! I have a fairly large collection of Smart Pots already. After I empty them I let them dry, brush them off and run them through the laundry.

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Blunted 4 lyfe said:

How high do you keep your res for your blumats? Like you I also have 4 plants and they're 5 weeks into flower you can just imagine how much water they drink up.

I also use 2 carrots per plant but from what I read you can buy longer drip lines and put drippers along the way (2 drippers and 1 blumat per plant surrounding the stem).

B4L

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Michael Huntherz said:

I bought a grip of those drippers, and I would say don't waste your time, they get stuck open, they are a pain to manage, a nightmare of flooding my tent like six times in one grow.

I use a 5 gallon reservoir in flower, but I rarely get it above 4 gallons. For me they average about 2 gallons per day, 1/2 gallon per plant, by late flower. I'll fill it completely if I'm going camping overnight, and I'll water the crap out of them by hand, to boot, if I go for a weekend.

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Blunted 4 lyfe said:

Thanks for the heads up about those drippers I guess I'll just stick to more carrots instead. Where did you get yours I only have patio/deck that comes with 5, I would need 3 more. Also how high do you keep your res?

B4L

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Dr. Who said:

What? Come on AW......You read my post about watering a metered amount every day right? Guess I have you beat by few days a week worth of watering eh?
The point on "smart" pots is that you have to water twice as much, twice as often to do what I do.....

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Alienwidow said:

Ya i read that post. I water every day a metered amount when my soiless settles in. Usually its about a half gallon in five gallon smarties, and a gallon in sevens. I find the plants grow the most when i water once a day vs. once every two or three. Ive read of guys watering six times a day mechanically getting even better yields. I was under the impression that watering more often was a good thing. I could nail my girls and go two days between waterings if i wanted to, i just thought it was better for growth to have a faster wet dry cycle, no?

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Michael Huntherz said:

I bought two of those kits you have. I got them on amazon, shit is expensive but too convenient. Res is a meter up, see previous message edit.
Then you need the T pieces for a loop and standpipe, and the shutoff valve for each res. (I have two 3.5 and two 5 gallon buckets) also ridiculously priced, but it is a fire-and-forget solution for a grow our size.

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Blunted 4 lyfe said:

Yea they are a bit pricey but I agree it's set it and forget it just keep an eye on the res.

They do have just the carrots for sale at least it comes with a 'tee' I'll just get 3 more.

When you say stand pipe where is it located cause I don't see it in the pic of res.

B4L

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Michael Huntherz said:

It is on the opposite corner from the reservoir, look for the masking tape in the pic, near my hand, it is taped to the tent frame. It goes up to the same height as the top of the reservoir. One 8mm T below the reservoir supply tube to make a loop, and on the far side of the loop another 8mm T to make the standpipe.

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