Fabric Pot VS Air Pot?

[Cannagrowerled]

So I have fabric pots. All I’ve used besides 5gal buckets. Is it worth using the plastic air pots vs fabric pots?

 

[Silverfox125]

Following. I’ve never used airpots but have definitely thought about it!

maybe I’ll do a side by side soon to compare

 

[Cannagrowerled]

Following. I’ve never used airpots but have definitely thought about it!

maybe I’ll do a side by side soon to compare

For real that would prob be helpful to a lot of people

 

[thinkbetter12]

In my experience, the airports can help you avoid over watering, if you tend to overwater. I don’t use them much now after getting the idea how to do the watering. They get a lot of air exposure. But if you get the knack of them, the fabric are pretty simple as well. Probably require less regular watering. Both are good!

 

[Cannagrowerled]

They def help with watering. I’m using promix in 5 gal and Im not sure how much I like the promix honestly though. May switch to coco soon in the fabric pots. I find that the promix drys fast on top and sides but still moist deep in the center so I find myself watering still about once a week or so. But every few days I’ll take a cup to keep the top moist. I’ve seen some people use clovers for ground coverage as their a nitrogen fixator. I think that’s the term.

 

[Emilya Green]

buying a specific pot to help you figure out how to water is silly. Just learn to water properly.

In my sometimes more than others humble opinion, air pots are just another way to sell injection mold plastic containers. They are only slightly better than a traditional hard sided container, until you try to transplant.

Nothing however comes as close to 360 degree no gap air pruning of the roots as a cloth container. No system out there can possibly grow as dense of a rootball as a cloth container... it just has too robust of an active surface area to do the magic on your roots as compared to any other kind of container.

For me, hands down, cloth grow bags are the best way to grow using a container.

 

[Cannagrowerled]

Thanks for the feedback. I’ve heard that air pruning causes a denser root ball but all I’ve ever used was fabric pots and I’m just now starting my 3rd grow so I don’t have a lot of experience. Albeit I do have a decent understanding of biology. I’ve used 5 gal buckets before but they had holes drilled all over em like Swiss cheese for air flow to help o2 get to the roots. I didn’t like the gal buckets at all

 

[TurboBucket]

I run soilless drain to waste and I use fabric. I have a couple sets of air pots. They collect dust now. A waste of money really, thankfully they were generic and not branded, or it would have been an even bigger waste.

As emilya mentioned the whole surface of a fabric pots works in your favor, with the airpots it's only a fraction of it.

 

[Nunyabiz]

100% agreement with Emily on this one.
Airpots are better than a plain plastic pot but not even close to nice fabric pot.
You can not beat a full wrap around air pruning pot.
Dont forget to put fabric pots on top of pot elevators to get airflow under the pot

 

[Cannagrowerled]

Thanks for the feedback and yeah I keep mine elevated on a grate to keep airflow under it. Plus it allows me to capture runoff

 

[thinkbetter12]

I just drill/cut/hack holes into any plastic pot I may use now — to make sure roots get enough air. I found the airpots useful early on, but now that I learned (thanks Emilya!) to treat it like the weed that it is, aka do not over water, now I’m good with just about anything (fingers crossed). I find the fabric can hold so much soil for the space they take and minimal tending they require in terms of monitoring watering, they are pretty simple. But I have a couple I over watered in when I first tried them and that was a hassle to resolve. So I’m always leery of my tendency to over water.

 

[Cannagrowerled]

Yeah I tend to underwater now. Week 4 or 5 since pistils popped and I’m still only watering once a week. Not a very big plant though

 

[RedZedHead]

Dont forget to put fabric pots on top of pot elevators to get airflow under the pot

can't believe this passed my mind. I scanned your journals. do you have pics of these elevators? trying to get an idea of what I can use DIY. might just get a bunch of cookie-cooling racks at Walmart.

 

[Nunyabiz]

can't believe this passed my mind. I scanned your journals. do you have pics of these elevators? trying to get an idea of what I can use DIY. might just get a bunch of cookie-cooling racks at Walmart.

Gro Pro NX Level Pot Elevator - 13 in up to 7 gal pots direct from Growers House

Gro Pro NX Level Plant Elevation Platforms are specially designed to help raise your fabric or plastic pot out of the bottom of a saucer. Best for use with up to 7 gallon plant pot or fabric bags.

growershouse.com

Can use about anything that gets about an inch of air under the pots.
I used a simple metal grate on top of two pieces of a 2x4 for a awhile, but when I went to 25 gallon pots I needed something more substantial.
Can use milk crates if you have a high enough ceiling.
These actual pot elevators is what I use now and they work perfect.

 

[Cannagrowerled]

Gro Pro NX Level Pot Elevator - 13 in up to 7 gal pots direct from Growers House

Gro Pro NX Level Plant Elevation Platforms are specially designed to help raise your fabric or plastic pot out of the bottom of a saucer. Best for use with up to 7 gallon plant pot or fabric bags.

growershouse.com

Can use about anything that gets about an inch of air under the pots.
I used a simple metal grate on top of two pieces of a 2x4 for a awhile, but when I went to 25 gallon pots I needed something more substantial.
Can use milk crates if you have a high enough ceiling.
These actual pot elevators is what I use now and they work perfect.

You can get pot elevators with wheels at Dollar General for $3 each. I picked up 2 yesterday for my 5gal fabric pots

 

[Stunger]

For what it's worth I couldn't find any cloth pots here is NZ a couple of grows ago, so instead I drilled out lots holes in my plastic 50L & 30L pots as well as giving them a porous landscape fabric liner to stop the soil coming out the holes. They seem to work great, with some supercropping one of my current plants which shortly to be given the chop grew a nearly 4.5 foot canopy.

 

[Jackalope]

I guess I am the only idiot that used fabric grow bags then went back to molded plastic pots LMAO. Mostly I did it because they are easier to move. I move my plants daily to get to all of them. With pots I can grab 2 at a time when they are small. With bags it took both hands no matter what size the plants were.

Pretty stupid reason looking at it now LOL. Maybe it is time for me to revisit fabric bags.

 

[Stunger]

It sounds like fabric is simply better. Although the plastic pots feel reassuringly firm enough to move, and I gotta move real carefully with my stealth grow so I don't make a big noise and draw the attention of the neighbors.

 

[Nunyabiz]

Fabric pots are much better as long as you're able to use them.
Far better root system.
If you think of your plant as basically two plants, one that grows above ground and one below ground.
What a fabric pot does for the roots is similar to what LST and SCROG does to the above ground part.
A plastic pot is like just letting the lower plant go, no topping, no LST, just let it grow straight up/down.
A fabric pot is like topping, LSTing and SCROGing your roots.

You get a much larger root system, more oxygen, harder to overwater.

 

[Cannagrowerled]

I second that opinion. I haven’t had any prob overwatering with my 5gal fabric pots and I’m in all promix and she holds onto a bit. I’ve just switched to coco so with that combo it won’t even be on my mind .
I have been curious about dif dimensions of fabric pots and how they effect the root system via control of the maximum length of the tap root