GG7's Indoor/Outdoor Grows!

[Goldengoose7]

Wow...those look very cool Goose.
You gave me an idea.. I think I will go grab my shotgun and shoot buckshot into my current pots and make my own air pots...

So can you explain the entire theory behind this my friend.
So all these holes introduce more air right. What happens when you water, all the water runs out all those holes?

I have a few houseplants where I have had a sour soil problem. I think these would be great for those. But can you use these for hanging plants too? Just thought if the water flows out of those holes then you would have to take the hanging plants down of course and water them in your sink or outside.

Hey Budman!

There is a little more at work here than simple holes in the side wall of the pot!

Here is a LINK to the Air-Pot UK based website that shows how these work with neat little computer animation on the right side of this page.

In brief, the conical projections in the pot wall guide the root tendrils along and into one of the air holes where it gets air pruned and stops growing but has access to oxygen. As more and more roots are guided to these holes, you end up with a nice symmetrical root structure that is free from the usual "circling" you get with a conventional pot. This helps to protect the root ball and reduces the effect that day to day soil condition can have on long term root health. It basically provides a level of protection against poor drainage, overwatering, etc. etc. and allows you to keep a potted plant alive and thriving much longer than you could in a conventional pot. More roots means more efficient uptake of nutrients, which adds up to healthier plants!

Here is a video showing how to assmble the pots when you first get them.

When Ganja suggested these and I checked out the video I have linked to above, I immediately flashed back to the challenges of long term overwintering of potted plants under artificial lighting. The Air-Pot design overcomes many of the potential pitfalls I have run into during past winters while overwintering my peppers, tomato and Cannabis mother plants. The potential of getting double and perhaps even triple the life out of a soil pot without the need to transplant sounded great to me! Based on the concept, I really think this will allow me to stick with the same final pot for the life of the mother plant, which for Jalapenos can be up to 7 years!!

All the problems I had with GDP #1 for example would probably not have happened if I had been using these Air Pots this season!

As far as using these as hanging pots?

When I soaked the pots prior to transplanting, water came out of all the side holes, so I don't think these would make very good hanging pots!

I would urge you to check out that video and consider picking up a half dozen or so to try during the winter, and if you like the results, pick up more for next season! If these work as well for me as they have for Ganja and OMM, I will likely use Air-Pots exclusively for all of my 2012 grows!

 

[Debudman]

Hey Budman!

There is a little more at work here than simple holes in the side wall of the pot!

Here is a LINK to the Air-Pot UK based website that shows how these work with neat little computer animation on the right side of this page.

In brief, the conical projections in the pot wall guide the root tendrils along and into one of the air holes where it gets air pruned and stops growing but has access to oxygen. As more and more roots are guided to these holes, you end up with a nice symmetrical root structure that is free from the usual "circling" you get with a conventional pot. This helps to protect the root ball and reduces the effect that day to day soil condition can have on long term root health. It basically provides a level of protection against poor drainage, overwatering, etc. etc. and allows you to keep a potted plant alive and thriving much longer than you could in a conventional pot. More roots means more efficient uptake of nutrients, which adds up to healthier plants!

Here is a video showing how to assmble the pots when you first get them.

When Ganja suggested these and I checked out the video I have linked to above, I immediately flashed back to the challenges of long term overwintering of potted plants under artificial lighting. The Air-Pot design overcomes many of the potential pitfalls I have run into during past winters while overwintering my peppers, tomato and Cannabis mother plants. The potential of getting double and perhaps even triple the life out of a soil pot without the need to transplant sounded great to me! Based on the concept, I really think this will allow me to stick with the same final pot for the life of the mother plant, which for Jalapenos can be up to 7 years!!

All the problems I had with GDP #1 for example would probably not have happened if I had been using these Air Pots this season!

As far as using these as hanging pots?

When I soaked the pots prior to transplanting, water came out of all the side holes, so I don't think these would make very good hanging pots!

I would urge you to check out that video and consider picking up a half dozen or so to try during the winter, and if you like the results, pick up more for next season! If these work as well for me as they have for Ganja and OMM, I will likely use Air-Pots exclusively for all of my 2012 grows!

Damn Goose...
I checked out the video.. That looks pretty awsome.
What are they going to think of next. I will have to pick a couple of those up for myself to try. If they work as good as they say they do then perhaps they will sponsor some of your grows and you can help market them .

 

[Goldengoose7]

Damn Goose...
I checked out the video.. That looks pretty awsome.
What are they going to think of next. I will have to pick a couple of those up for myself to try. If they work as good as they say they do then perhaps they will sponsor some of your grows and you can help market them .

Heh Heh! Not a bad idea!

Thing is... I didn't tell them I was buying these for Cannabis at the time, I told them I was buying them for my peppers, which is true cause I am definitely planning to use these for my Jalapenos as well next season, just not right now.

I guess I shouldn't feel that I need to keep the use under wraps. I am sure they get a ton of business from Cannabis growers anyway whether they know it or not!

It really is an ingenious design! And since they are made out of quality materials, they should last us forever I would think! The other thing that is cool about them is that if you need to transplant, all you do is remove the thumb screws and UNWRAP the pot from around the soil and PRESTO! You have instant access to your root ball for easy transplanting! When you are dealing with large pots in the 5 gallon and larger range, that feature alone would be worth the price of an Air Pot to me!

Based on what I know now, I would recommend going with the 2.4 and 3.4 gallon sizes for indoor use, and the 4.6 and 5.2 for outdoor use. Like I said earlier, these things aren't cheap, but they won't break the bank either. Last time I priced some of those colorful ABS plastic pots at our local nursery, they were very close to the same price per pot as these things are, and those were just fancy versions of the ones I get for free from the same nursery!!

I'm pleased that you are going to pick some up for your grows! Definitely let us know when you get them and how they work for you!

 

[Debudman]

Will do Goose... Thanks again for educating me on these new Air Pots.

 

[filekv5]

If they will work for you, Ill pick few of those myself.. I need that extra air )

 

[Goldengoose7]

Will do Goose... Thanks again for educating me on these new Air Pots.

My pleasure Budman!

I'm just perpetuating what Ganja started last week!

If they will work for you, Ill pick few of those myself.. I need that extra air )

Sounds like a plan KV5! If you end up buying them online from CalGrowers, be sure to tell them that goldengoose7 sent you!

 

[Goldengoose7]

BBK #4 Gets Her Own Air Pot!

As I promised yesterday, our fifth transplant into Air Pots is for our BBK mother plant, BBK #4.

I used a 5.2 gallon pot for this plant because I plan to keep this girl in veg through most of the 2012 season to provide me with BBK cuttings through that growing season. I figured that it made sense to use the larger pot, but MAN this thing is HEAVY when it is loaded with water! For now, she will remain under our Turbo Klone light station until we need to start cloning for next season.

Thats it for now! We will be back soon with more photo updates!

 

[clayhead]

Hang on to your hat Brother you are going to love the Air Pots..........I know that OMM loves his, But I did not have instructions with the first batch I bought and put them together upside down andthey didnt work well. Their reservoir idea works great ....fill that soil to the Top.
A stange thing happened with my pots......... I know that you are new to the Air pots but you still may have an Idea or this might start your wheels turning about pots.
I ended up with Air Pots, Cloth pots, and had to use a few plastic.
The Air Pots flush nice and fairly clear (when assembled correctly) same with the Cloth Bags (coffee filters) But naturally the plastic was slower flushing but the water came out black full of nutes .... So plants in plastic don't suck up the nutes as well as Air and Cloth pots ??? Any Ideas

 

[Goldengoose7]

Hang on to your hat Brother you are going to love the Air Pots..........I know that OMM loves his, But I did not have instructions with the first batch I bought and put them together upside down andthey didnt work well. Their reservoir idea works great ....fill that soil to the Top.
A stange thing happened with my pots......... I know that you are new to the Air pots but you still may have an Idea or this might start your wheels turning about pots.
I ended up with Air Pots, Cloth pots, and had to use a few plastic.
The Air Pots flush nice and fairly clear (when assembled correctly) same with the Cloth Bags (coffee filters) But naturally the plastic was slower flushing but the water came out black full of nutes .... So plants in plastic don't suck up the nutes as well as Air and Cloth pots ??? Any Ideas

Hey Clayhead! Long time no see!

Thanks for the info! Fortunately my pots came with instructions so I didn't make the same mistake! I can see how you could easily get them upside down or worse... Inside out! Now inside out would not guide the roots to the air holes, thus defeating the whole purpose of the pot! Are you sure that isn't what happened? I can't see how just putting the intended top portion with the closed cones on the bottom would make that big a difference other than water leaking out the top sides.

I saw in the video demo and in Ganja's photos that you are supposed to fill them to the brim with soil, but I still left about an inch of space between the top of the soil and top of pot. I don't see how one less inch is going to make any difference. I like to have that space to fill up to the brim with water instead of having to sit there slowly adding water to a flush soil/pot surface.

I went ahead and transplanted my one surviving Blue Cheese clone into a 3.4 gallon Air Pot as well as one of my three Northern Lights clones. That second BC clone was a dud. It hadn't shown any new growth and was still sporting a flower top after three weeks under 20/4, so i pulled it out of the soil and the few root spikes were gone and there was no root activity. The thing was basically a zombie with no future. Makes the surviving BC clone that much more valuable!

I am now out of 3.4 gallon pots, so I placed a second order this afternoon for more!

Here is what I picked this time:

6 - 3.4 gal
8 - 1.5 gal
6 - 2.4 gal

The smaller 1.5 gal ones are primarily for my pepper seedlings, but I may use some for Cannabis clones next season too. I was going to wait till closer to spring, but since the dealer was offering me such good pricing now, I figured it made sense to just buy the rest of what I will need now. I still have two NL to transplant and then I am done with all the vegging Cannabis for overwintering!

Sent from my iPod touch using Forum Runner

 

[Goldengoose7]

If you pack it to the top you get max roots and the resevoir works mo' bettah. True you do have to water more slowly, this is a labor of love! I hit my plants with enough H2O to wet and expand the media, WAIT awhile, and then hit them again very slowly. They will get very heavy this way and you don't have to hit them as often if you saturate the soil [field capacity]. The beauty with the AirePotz is that you really can't super-saturate the soil unless your media is junk, i.e., not friable.

I'll b getting some of the smaller ones for clones as soon as I have dialed in the proper veg thymes for my proprietary genetics, they grew too fast [translation, I vegged them too long].

Enjoy!

Thanks as always Ganja!

I figured that their logic was that the higher to the top you put the base of the plant the more potential roots you would have starting at the very top row, so I only left the very top set of cones exposed to split the difference. When I start planting clones out of the Turbo Klone into these, I will likely fill them to the top, but these established plants would likely not root that close to the surface anyway.

The 1.5 gallon size looks like a good choice for starting clones and seedlings. The size chart I have here list that one at 10" tall x 9" in diameter.

The Latest Transplants!

Here we have our lone surviving Blue Cheese clone on the left with our transplanted NL clone on the right. In between are the two other Northern Lights clones that are showing the classic signs of becoming root bound! I watered them an hour ago and they are still "floppy". Hopefully I will have the new order of Air Pots by Friday and can transplant those as well.

I'm obviously going to have to move a couple of these into the bathroom under the second light station since two more 3.4 gallon Air Pots are not going to fit under this 4 foot T5 fixture!

Blue Cheese #2

Northern Lights #2

 

[Mr. Krip]

Good to see you enjoying those airpots, GG7! You know I'm a "hydro guy" but I've heard nothing but great things about those airpots from numerous soil growers!

 

[Goldengoose7]

Good to see you enjoying those airpots, GG7! You know I'm a "hydro guy" but I've heard nothing but great things about those airpots from numerous soil growers!

Thanks Mr. K! Me too!

Old Med Man swears by the things, and in fact his latest grow on his new journal thread is using them exclusively. Speaking as someone who prefers to go light on the nutes and whatnot, these pots are exactly the kind of productivity booster I have been looking for!

I like the whole concept and the fact that it really economizes on nute use while increasing nute consumption by the plants. Less waterings per week too it appears, which I am looking forward to experiencing in 2012!

Those odd soil problems I ran into with BBK 1 and 2 and more seriously with GDP #1 made me start to question the long term viability of Cannabis in soil pots. But since I am not setup for a hydro system like you are, I must use soil, and these Air Pots appear to be the answer to my prayers for a more stable long term growing solution in soil.

These are going to be a real boon to my Jalapeno crop in 2012! I'm going to plant seeds directly into Air Pots next year and dispense with all the interim potting stages!

 

[OldMedMan]

Hi GG7 !

Well, I've been hiding in the bushes and watching all that has transpired. I see you like those Airpots as much as I do.

That 5.2 is a big sucker isn't it? By the way transplanting from one AirPot to another is very simple too.

I do have a question for you......and this is just me......when you put the root bound plant into the airpot, why didn't you take a razor knife and cut some of those roots? I use B-1 too and a bit of super thrive too. I've found on root bound plants that if you make 4 or 5 vertical cuts through them they seem to come back very fast. I also cut diagonally across the bottom of the roots and shake off some of the soil too. I'm not saying you should do this. I have found in airpots the roots grow very fast and out and down just perfect.

I've also have found most company's use different color bottoms than the original AirPots and this causes some confusion too.

All said and done....your replanted pants look healthy and are going to give you some great growth and plants.

 

[clayhead]

Thanks for the welcome back brother .....been busy.... us in the mid-west are preparing for ...well the next season, I can't say the word it makes me cold.
Looking at your pics your soil level is fine ...........The reservoir is important so the water or nutes leaches down the center of the plant and out the bottom not down the sides and out the side holes
Ganja must be a carpenter because he hit the nail right on the head and explained things much better than I can. I agree 100% the watering or feeding maybe a little slower but it is a labor of love.
The Old Med Man Knows.

 

[Goldengoose7]

Hi GG7 !

Well, I've been hiding in the bushes and watching all that has transpired. I see you like those Airpots as much as I do.

That 5.2 is a big sucker isn't it? By the way transplanting from one AirPot to another is very simple too.

I do have a question for you......and this is just me......when you put the root bound plant into the airpot, why didn't you take a razor knife and cut some of those roots? I use B-1 too and a bit of super thrive too. I've found on root bound plants that if you make 4 or 5 vertical cuts through them they seem to come back very fast. I also cut diagonally across the bottom of the roots and shake off some of the soil too. I'm not saying you should do this. I have found in airpots the roots grow very fast and out and down just perfect.

I've also have found most company's use different color bottoms than the original AirPots and this causes some confusion too.

All said and done....your replanted pants look healthy and are going to give you some great growth and plants.

Hey Old Man!

I was hoping that you were still following my exploits over here!

Yeah! The 5.2s are monsters! I got your PM after I had already ordered the first batch, and might have changed that to the 4.6 had I known how big they actually were! No worries though, since I can definitely use pots that size for my outdoor growing next season, and it was a good choice for BBK #4.

As for slicing up the root balls on transplants... I use to do that years ago, but I slowly got away from it with my peppers since I found that the plants actually recovered better overall say two weeks down the line if I just left the root balls alone, soaked the ball with Liquinox START transplant solution and simply dropped the uncut root ball straight into the larger pot and finished with another round of START.

Liquinox START is my B1 solution of choice. In addition to the B1 it also contains Chelated Iron/Phosphate, Yucca Extract and a few other things in it. Been using it now for... WOW! Going on 15 years! I never see any transplant shock or stunting, and as a rule, the transplants start back to adding new growth within 36 hours, sometimes sooner. The best part is that it is dirt cheap! Even up here I pay less than $4.00 for the bottle you see in the photo.

Here are some photos I just took to show how fast the plants have responded to being transplanted.

GDPs 4-7 • 48 Hours

Blue Cheese #2 • 24 Hours

Northern Lights #2 • 24 Hours

I've never done a side by side comparison using two identical clones to confirm which method works best, but that might be an interesting little experiment?

As for the color of the bottoms of the Air Pots... CalGrowers where I bought mine is the authorized dealer in California for the original Air Pot product made in the UK by a company called "Superoots" distributed by TerraHydro. I got Calgrower's URL from the UK website and also was referred to them when I emailed the UK factory on pricing and shipping costs. The size chart that came with my first order looks to be current, so the colors listed should be correct for any Air Pots ordered today.

 

[Goldengoose7]

Thanks for the welcome back brother .....been busy.... us in the mid-west are preparing for ...well the next season, I can't say the word it makes me cold.
Looking at your pics your soil level is fine ...........The reservoir is important so the water or nutes leaches down the center of the plant and out the bottom not down the sides and out the side holes
Ganja must be a carpenter because he hit the nail right on the head and explained things much better than I can. I agree 100% the watering or feeding maybe a little slower but it is a labor of love.
The Old Med Man Knows.

Hey Clayhead!

Ah yes! Winters in the Mid-West! I definitely sympathise with you guys when we get into January and February!

I was just reading the latest long range climate forecast from the Climate Prediction Center at NOAA and there is some disturbing news in the latest ocean temp readings! It appears that a relatively STRONG La Nina pattern is setting up once again in the Pacific which means a very likely REPEAT of the winter of 2010/11 for 2011/12.

For us up here in the Sierra, that translated last year into a record breaking snow pack that in spots was 300% above normal! The lower elevations saw rainfall increases of 200% above normal. This was all very welcome news for California last year cause we were still trying to claw our way out of a serious drought, but this year, that drought has been totally busted, so I am not sure how we will cope with a repeat if it comes. All of our reservoirs are now full to capacity, so where is all that snow melt going to go this next Spring?

Meanwhile, the horrible drought in the desert southwest is going to continue through 2012, so poor Texas is going to remain a literal hell hole for at least another 18 months!

The one BIG variable in all of this is Climate Change, which has definitely altered the normal La Nina pattern behaviors. Normally a La Nina spells drought for California, but this last winter was one of the wettest on record, so we can no longer predict with any level of certainty that drought is what we will get this year. We can't even say with any certainty that we will get the same over the top storm activity we saw from the last La Nina!

Either way... I expect we are going to see more over the top weather this winter one way or the other!

Hmmm... That turned into a rather long reply!

Definitely check out that link to the Climate Prediction Center! Interesting stuff!

 

[Goldengoose7]

It's not just you bro, and I will say that you should do this:

Root pruning is neither hard nor harmful, if done properly, and in fact, like these two olde farts say, is not only helpful, but somethymes necessary.

Hey Ganja!

As I mentioned to OMM, I've had good results just plunking the entire unaltered root ball into the new pot and soaking it with Liquinox START. Normally, I don't let my smaller plants get this root bound before transplanting, but I had to wait for the Air Pots to arrive which added several days onto everything. Under normal circumstances, I would have transplanted all of these plants early last week.

Still... It was good to know that even when allowed to get as root bound as most of these plants were/are, they still bounced back quickly after the transplants!

 

[Goldengoose7]

Cannabinaceae and Solanaceae don't respond the same as each other when it comes to transplant shock. In my experience, our girlies are much more robust and shock-resistant that the members of the nightshade family.

Liquinox b da bomb! That stuff is loaded. Any cessation of growth is a sign of transplant shock, however minor, but our ladies are tuff broads and they respond very quickly, especially when all of their needs have been met. GG, try transplanting any of the Brassicaceae, cauliflower is a good example, and you'll see what I mean, they take it hard. Response varies by family, we're lucky our women are so strong and liberated.

Once they get a full head of steam, you will be amazed at how fast they grow, these damn AirPotz and my new F1 clones have me ahead of schedule on my veg cycles, I'm going to have to cut down the veg thymes in order to stay on schedule.

your ladies b looking fine,
they're livin' large in their new digs.

GA

Thanks Man!

Actually, I would prefer if these gals in the veg rooms would "lay low" and take their time with the vertical growth! Its a LONG WAIT till April of 2012, and I only have so much rope on my light fixtures!

As I mentioned to XL the other day in his journal... I wish I could put these plants into suspended animation for the winter and pull them out when spring was about to pop!

Glad you like the Liquinox Start as much as I do! It was recommended to me by a relative who does a lot of growing and transplanting, and she is seldom wrong in her recommendations!

When I transplant those other two NL clones, I will try OMM's 5 vertical cuts down the root ball method and compare the results to just leaving the ball untouched and simply soaking with START.

I'm hoping to have my second order of Air Pots here tomorrow, but so far, I have not heard back from CalGrowers with my shipping confirmation. Hopefully they can get them out to me today, otherwise I will have to let those two remaining NLs go root bound through the weekend.

UPDATE: Just heard from the folks at Calgrowers and my order is packed and ready to go out today at 4PM! They gave me the same great deal as last time! I should have them here tomorrow afternoon!

On another subject...

Check out my new toy!!

I have been looking for a decent grinder for a long time. I've got a drawer full of those cheap acryillic ones as well as some metal ones, but I have never been happy with any of them! The biggest problem is that the bud I grow has so much resin in it that these things get gummed up within minutes of use even after a thorough cleaning, making it VERY hard to get them to turn and grind down the herb.

I decided to pick up one of these CRANK type ones to see if having the added leverage of a little crank would help. While it is still hard to get the thing turning with a few uncut bud pieces in there, it is MUCH easier to grind than the other type once you get it going. When done, all the bud has made it through the first layer and into the screen section. My other multi-chamber grinders always seem to leave big pieces stuck in the grinder teeth. This one ground up the entire nugget completely which was a welcome difference!

The results are definitely a cut above every other grinder I own!

I bought this off of Amazon.com for $33.00 delivered. We shall see how it holds up under daily use.

 

[MSquared]

Hey GG7,

LOL let me know if find that solution to suspended animation!

Love the grinder, ive been eye ballin one of those as well.

The cuttings look really good too - you should be very proud
Keep it up!

 

[Mr. Krip]

If I had a problem grinding my herb, I'd get a little "cranky", too!