help me decide

Synchronicity

Well-Known Member
Well, I think the smart decision is the size of pot that gives your plants the best root space for the desired size of plant you want to flower.

As an organic soil enthusiast, living soil will break down materials that you put in and thus plants can get big.

So it's going to be a learning curve to get the right size for the size of plant you will flower based on your grow space.

If I might suggest try and grow from start to finish ( seed or clone ) in "your" full sized pot so that the roots are not disturbed
That is Charles Darwin and his Brother who wrote the book on it.

Now I'm also learning about pot size and growing in tents. I own Zeny tents 2 foot by 4 foot. This is the first time I have been exposed to tents and LEDs in those tents

So what seems logical is probably at least three gallon as a rule of thumb for organic

That's my take on it. Oh and Plastic nursery pots work for me.
Thank you very much! I just shortened the quote to make the post smaller but I sure got your message. I do not doubt you about Darwin and the concept of intelligent roots with "brains" that remember . Your points are well taken.

I now need to finish reading the thread. this is a good one!
 

PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member

StonedGardener

Well-Known Member
i’m mostly concerned about root bound situation and reduced access to oxygen in plastics

atm the only thing i made up my mind about is to give something other than fabric pots a try

so mostly looking for experiences from people who switched between fabric pots and another form of container either way
You mention a " reduced access to oxygen"...interesting.....I've been thinking about that ......if you notice with plastic pots the "soil" separates from the sides of pot after a short time. I would think that allows good air exchange with root system. I've used both type pots...I like my plastic. If ya love watering, get some coco in a fabric pot.......ya need a fire hose.
 

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
You mention a " reduced access to oxygen"...interesting.....I've been thinking about that ......if you notice with plastic pots the "soil" separates from the sides of pot after a short time. I would think that allows good air exchange with root system. I've used both type pots...I like my plastic. If ya love watering, get some coco in a fabric pot.......ya need a fire hose.
yeah but that separation from the sides also creates a fast runoff situation and that is something i’d like to avoid in general too
do you always get that separation from the sides?
i’m gonna up the percentage of coco in my mix this run i’m also thinking about going straight coco perlite in my 1 gallons in veg so when i transplant the rootball in the midde of the pots can have better air exchange maybe..
 

McShnutz

Well-Known Member
i love blumats the company and the products great customer service so what does this system achieve some sort of bottom watering rig?
Exactly. Also I'm pretty sure you can incorporate stuff like LAB into the water that hydrates the mat. I'm pretty sure the mat is resistant to degradation of microbials.
 

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
Exactly. Also I'm pretty sure you can incorporate stuff like LAB into the water that hydrates the mat. I'm pretty sure the mat is resistant to degradation of microbials.
yeah looks like a solid setup man i would be really interested in seeing the results. i wonder if it can keep the topsoil moist without creating a soggy bottom. interesting setup for sure though.
 

McShnutz

Well-Known Member
yeah looks like a solid setup man i would be really interested in seeing the results. i wonder if it can keep the topsoil moist without creating a soggy bottom. interesting setup for sure though.
There's definitely some trial and error with finding the right ratios of input parent material. Me personally, I'd stay away from anything peat and go with coco pith and fiber. Compost or ewc would be essential and skip any perlite. Mabey implement layering. Bottom half you could add some playground sand to the coco/compost, whereas the upper half wouldn't have any sand. That would give the soil a higher water retention in the upper half and allow good drainage at the bottom.
As always with me, I'd use some form of mulching, even sand if I had too.
 

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
There's definitely some trial and error with finding the right ratios of input parent material. Me personally, I'd stay away from anything peat and go with coco pith and fiber. Compost or ewc would be essential and skip any perlite. Mabey implement layering. Bottom half you could add some playground sand to the coco/compost, whereas the upper half wouldn't have any sand. That would give the soil a higher water retention in the upper half and allow good drainage at the bottom.
As always with me, I'd use some form of mulching, even sand if I had too.
i’d even try just straight coco at the bottom without compost but only like for the bottom 1/5 but yeah definitely there is some trial and error there but still an interesting setup. i had to retire my blumats because in my new grow room i dont have enough space to set them up for now (the reservoir mostly) and i dont have a faucet in there either so i cant utilize them for now but maybe in not so distant future i may start with the blumats again. i had the fastest growth with that setup definitely.
 

McShnutz

Well-Known Member
i’d even try just straight coco at the bottom without compost but only like for the bottom 1/5 but yeah definitely there is some trial and error there but still an interesting setup. i had to retire my blumats because in my new grow room i dont have enough space to set them up for now (the reservoir mostly) and i dont have a faucet in there either so i cant utilize them for now but maybe in not so distant future i may start with the blumats again. i had the fastest growth with that setup definitely.
Ugh, I hate space restrictions. I have ample horizontal, it's vertical that I'm challenged with.
I absolutely love my blumats. But holy cow can things get cluttered up with all the lines and multiple carrots. Add in individual adjustments to each plant, and it's enough to make a person pack them up, let alone having a malfunction like a run out from a air bubble or clog. Once dialed in tho, they're hard to beat.
 

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
Ugh, I hate space restrictions. I have ample horizontal, it's vertical that I'm challenged with.
I absolutely love my blumats. But holy cow can things get cluttered up with all the lines and multiple carrots. Add in individual adjustments to each plant, and it's enough to make a person pack them up, let alone having a malfunction like a run out from a air bubble or clog. Once dialed in tho, they're hard to beat.
yeah love em but as you said. i cant run lines to my tent from my reservoir at my current setup, can’t extend a hose from a faucet through the house without smashing some walls in a currently renowated house (which feels sacreligious haha). so i packed them up for now but definitely they’re worth the effort when properly dialed in.
 

Gumdrawp

Well-Known Member
If you use bigger pots I'd say probably at least 10 gallons at the smallest you can get shipping wrap and just wrap the outside of the fabric pots down to about 2 or 3 inches from the bottom. That or grassroots style pots Seem to work the best in terms of watering for me.
 

crimsonecho

Well-Known Member
If you use bigger pots I'd say probably at least 10 gallons at the smallest you can get shipping wrap and just wrap the outside of the fabric pots down to about 2 or 3 inches from the bottom. That or grassroots style pots Seem to work the best in terms of watering for me.
yeah but that would really limit my diversity. after all i only have 4x4 tent atm and i do multi strain grows so i have 9 fabric pots in there now so i want to replace it with 9 different pots if possible and if i go 10 gallons most i can fit in there would be 4-6 i guess without overcrowding. thats why it doesnt work for me.

that grassroot style pots i wasnt aware of them just had a look and they are kinda like the aqua breathe/geotextile pots i mentioned somewhere in this thread. i mean i found one that claims to prevent side drainage but also has air exchange for air pruning so i’m really on the fence but the shipping is gonna take some time and its gonna cost about 3 times as much as the plastic pots so i think i’m just gonna give the plastic pots a chance and maybe save them for a different time.

still thinking about it though. i mean if i can hear one negative experience from someone who made the switch from fabric to plastic or vice versa i may change my outlook and decision and this is basically why i started this thread.
 
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