Smart pots/fabric pots

hockeyrichard

Well-Known Member
Ok guys I've fucking had it with these things... I had to move from a square tent to a closet.... I didn't mind the pots in the tent they do great if you have the right soil amendments and drain well..... But any who i had to move them to a closet and I'm sick of managing the bleeding that occurs,fucking wet towels fucking everywhere. Lbvs! what's a good drain system that I can build so I don't have to physically move all the plants.... I'm thinking something on the short side or im going to have height problems... I've thought rubber maids and cutting them down but there's gotta be something better, help me out here stoners! Sorry forgot he rambling dabs dabs dabs lol understand now? Cool
 

hockeyrichard

Well-Known Member
It's a rectangular closet.2x4.5x7.5ish with the door on the left side. i use the whole space so they have to sit in something strong enough bc i dont want them to just sit in waste water....and I'm sick if knocking my elbow on the fucking handle LOL . And so much water bleeds out I don't believe a tray would hold it all..
 

Nizza

Well-Known Member
roofing material works. line the inside of a tray with it and use liner adhesive and some sort of sealing compound to join the seams. you have to elevate the tray so you can put a spigot on it and gravity drain it into a bucket or straight outside?

also its important to water slowly, with a watering can
the can disperses the water into a soft rain, reducing splatter on the soil and helps you thoroughly water

I find when you water from a jug and do it quickly the water just finds the quickest way through the soil and keeps going that way, making lots of water escape
an option instead of a watering can is hydroton balls. the balls will make the water disperse more evenly and also ensure that there's no splash up. also keeps the soil down and looks neat
i just use a thin layer, they're reusable too.

so maybe you could get away without making a fancy gravity drain tray setup. I dream of a nice drain setup but isn't going to work in my space

i take everything out at once and water them all slowly, so the moisture travels evenly throughout the medium. once they're moist i put them in a cooler and water two at a time until a little runoff water comes out. then i put them onto an upside-down big ass tub lid, this hold the extra runoff. I proceed to dump the cooler water into a bucket saved for my garden and then water the next two plants . there are 23

after theyre done dripping i take them all off, dump the lid into the bucket and put em back in. The key to having the water not keep coming out is to water slower, and softer. I alternate watering each bucket for about two seconds at first to save time . once the medium is moist it makes it easier to dump water in there quickly.
 

arron5377

Well-Known Member
u havent got to leave the waste in there plenty of ways to build it so the waste runs out or gets pumped in to waste but yeh a tray would hold it thats what they are designed for get a nft tray flood and dray tray loads u can do
 

hockeyrichard

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the ideas! Gonna take a look at those hydro ton balls.... I water from a jug to cup but maybe a can would work better, I just feel so girly using one lol,... Mandards lol but yeah I'll just have to manage till I figure sumn out.. The basement was concrete but my floors aren't appreciative ATM lol....
 

Nizza

Well-Known Member
hydroton perlite or even marbles will help spread the water as you water it, but its more important to get a can with a shower type head on it
 

prosperian

Well-Known Member
Ok guys I've fucking had it with these things... I had to move from a square tent to a closet.... I didn't mind the pots in the tent they do great if you have the right soil amendments and drain well..... But any who i had to move them to a closet and I'm sick of managing the bleeding that occurs,fucking wet towels fucking everywhere. Lbvs! what's a good drain system that I can build so I don't have to physically move all the plants.... I'm thinking something on the short side or im going to have height problems... I've thought rubber maids and cutting them down but there's gotta be something better, help me out here stoners! Sorry forgot he rambling dabs dabs dabs lol understand now? Cool
I think you need to address the original problem. You are watering too fast. I use fabric pots in my closet and have small 1" tall saucers underneath. Never get any water on the floor. I use a 2 gal plastic watering can and start at the center working out to the rim slowly. Maybe rethink how and what you water with can save you a lot of work, money, and headaches. Good luck brother.

 

rwbrock

Active Member
I found some little rubber made square storage containers that fit around my 5 gal smartpots perfect (home depot). What is nice about them is they have cutout handles on the side which makes it easy to move things around if needed. I fill up a couple 1 gallon containers mix my nutes then use a smaller water bottle like 1.5 liter to water. Another good tip is to water half what you normally water then wait a couple hours and come back and water again to drain, kind of a pain but worth it if you have the time.

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hyroot

Well-Known Member
Just go get a $5 tarp at walmart and larger saucers. Pour water slower in a cicrcular fashion from the center out. Whatever water drains into the saucer. The plant will soak it back up through the pot.
 

justugh

Well-Known Member
what ever water goes in the saucer u want to dump it out .......it is how u get little nats and stuff ......if the bag is soaking wet u should use one of those cooling racks for cooking set it on there and have a pan or saucer under it to get water dump it out after 12 hours for a day and then u can move it back to pan alone

the fabric bags are great anything more then the soil can hold will be knocked out by gravity in about a day then the rest the roots do............if u do this with highly oxygenated waters it is even better for the plant ............the droop last for 24 to 36 hours instead of 48 to 72

if u use a larger bag just matter of knowing the limit .....i am working with 7 gallon bags for some of the higher yelid stuff i gave it a gallon 2 days ago the probe on the meter is reading wet net the bottom and normal up to about 4 inchs from top then dry ...so i have changed over to 26 fl oz a day ....use anouther gallon in a week ......no water leaks so far


one thing i have noticed is smart around the 3rd week of veggie........flush the bag out so the roots know the limits with out needing to do all the circling ......after that just water so top floods one half let it sink in do it again and repeat the other side ..........just need to have good draining in the soil and rem to put in one cup wait 30 secs then repeat with the part u want to give that side ...................i have done a total of 5 root checking after harvest this method gets roots to partly grow in the bottom of the bag
 
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