cary schellie
Active Member
I'm thinking about switching from 5 gallon buckets to smart pots, or something similar. I use a peatmoss mix now but I am also thinking about going to coco. Any opinions on the grow bags?
How to you feel about smart pots?
- Thread starter cary schellie
- Start date
squarepush3r
Well-Known Member
cloth smart pots are nice, good breathing and root formation.
i dont how a pot can make a difference?? im not being ignorant ...i really dont know lol
scroglodyte
Well-Known Member
you can sew your own grow bags from black landscape fabric......cheap. they are great for root formation.
roidrage152
Active Member
I have been experimenting with smart pots a lot recently,and I'm liking what I'm seeing. Long story short it's supposed to make for a healthier root system. In small part because there's more O2 to the roots, but mostly because the roots die when they hit the edge. It causes them to split each time, the same Type of effect as topping a plant. This is opposed to the spiraling u get in a plastic pot, the eventually leads to a pile of dead roots in the bottom if u don't transplant.
They are kinda annoying tho, they are durable, yet flimsy if u k ow what I mean. and per gallon they are quite a bit wider than most plastic pots I'm used to. My hydro store doesn't even sell a drain tray wide enough for the 15 gallon. Ive been just fooling around with smaller sizes on my transplanting. Also a gap tends to build around the outside edge of the soil, so water will kinda fall down the edges, but that's manageable. Nit requires co tangly pushing the soil back to the edges, which probably will compact your mix.
IM so far liking smart pots enough to keep experimenting, and try out the larger sizes, but haven't been sold 100% yet.
I do have to say the super roots thing is intriguing, I've seen em before but never researched it. Gonna have to look into that.
** there are also knock off smart pots at least at my hydro store about 30% cheaper. Smilar material type, seems like it would do the same thing.
**also in regard to your question about peat, that is what I use. Pro-mix hp(high porosity). Whenever the hp isn't available, or with pretty much any other mix, I add a ton of perlite, maybe 20%. I love pro-mix mainly because it works, and it's the cheapest, yet still well reviewed and popular. I guess there is probably a good chance there is better. I've used fox farms ocean forest because the bags were smaller on my young girls, but it had too much nutes and was stalling growth. I now use pro mix seed starter (another peat base) and manage nutes myself for little ones. Also like 1/3 the price of the cheapest fox farms soil in that size.
They are kinda annoying tho, they are durable, yet flimsy if u k ow what I mean. and per gallon they are quite a bit wider than most plastic pots I'm used to. My hydro store doesn't even sell a drain tray wide enough for the 15 gallon. Ive been just fooling around with smaller sizes on my transplanting. Also a gap tends to build around the outside edge of the soil, so water will kinda fall down the edges, but that's manageable. Nit requires co tangly pushing the soil back to the edges, which probably will compact your mix.
IM so far liking smart pots enough to keep experimenting, and try out the larger sizes, but haven't been sold 100% yet.
I do have to say the super roots thing is intriguing, I've seen em before but never researched it. Gonna have to look into that.
** there are also knock off smart pots at least at my hydro store about 30% cheaper. Smilar material type, seems like it would do the same thing.
**also in regard to your question about peat, that is what I use. Pro-mix hp(high porosity). Whenever the hp isn't available, or with pretty much any other mix, I add a ton of perlite, maybe 20%. I love pro-mix mainly because it works, and it's the cheapest, yet still well reviewed and popular. I guess there is probably a good chance there is better. I've used fox farms ocean forest because the bags were smaller on my young girls, but it had too much nutes and was stalling growth. I now use pro mix seed starter (another peat base) and manage nutes myself for little ones. Also like 1/3 the price of the cheapest fox farms soil in that size.
MRGreenThum
Active Member
I really like my smart pots, I just wish that I woulda went bigger than 3 gal pots, But they do do the plants very well! Havent tried the air pots or the more plasticy lookin ones. I have heard good things about both styles. I do know that the smart pots are a bit cheaper. I think I got my 5 pack of the 3 gal for like 22 bucks or something, But as Scroglodyte was saying you could always make your own for even cheaper and they would be the same!
-MGT
-MGT
roidrage152
Active Member
Sewing is hard, but I'm really liking this idea for the ability to create your own exact dimensions. Any other fastening methods you know of? Also do u do square shapes? round seems like it might be hard to do, I can't even draw a circle. Though I guess it wouldn't matter as long as I had an approximate volume to work with.
scroglodyte
Well-Known Member
my home-made root-pruning smart bag/basket. i've gone 7 gallon with them.
CaptainCarnival
Active Member
so do smart pots effect plant growth noticeably
CoralGrower
Well-Known Member
I use Smart pots (hate the name "smart") filled with Sunleaves rocks. Excellent combination for sure.
cary schellie
Active Member
i ordered some off ebay, I think they were called root pots
Total Head
Well-Known Member
i got a 3 gallon smart pot about 6 months ago but i haven't used it yet. the main reason is that it looked smaller than my black plastic 3 gallon pots. it was way shorter but my stupid ass never bothered to check if the diameter was bigger. i just checked and the diameter is about 2 inches wider on the smart pot. now i feel like an asshole because the 3 inches of extra vertical space would actually come in handy. i wouldn't have to lst so often. the only problem is that the 3 gallon smart pot is actually shorter than my starter pots, so to use the smart pot i need to use a shorter starter pot. next round, i guess.