Percentage increase with Grow Bags?

[Bush Doctor 77]

After growing indoors for a few decades, I've been growing more than enough in my greenhouse for many years, with 4 plants. After joining here, I started to grow indoors again, as fun and for variety. Started in plastic pots as I had always done, 5 gallons, I think. peat/perlite media. I then went to 10 gallon pots, with 7 gallons of soil(ran out). Now I am in 7 gallon bags. What kind of increase can I expect going from 7 gallon pots to bags?

 

[Emilya Green]

I think you could expect a 50% increase... nothing like the bags to increase the density of the rootball.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

That's more than I'd expected. How would Air-Pots compare, or even generously drilled plastic pots/buckets? I wouldn't say no to a 50% increase in yield...

Edit: I've considered fabric pots, but I need to move my pots in and out of the tent and handle them a bit for watering and training, so I'm afraid that with fabric the soil and roots would be disturbed a lot as the pots deform while being handled.

 

[Bush Doctor 77]

That's more than I'd expected. How would Air-Pots compare, or even generously drilled plastic pots/buckets? I wouldn't say no to a 50% increase in yield...

Edit: I've considered fabric pots, but I need to move my pots in and out of the tent and handle them a bit for watering and training, so I'm afraid that with fabric the soil and roots would be disturbed a lot as the pots deform while being handled.

I'm doing a 4X4' scrog, so they won't be moved, though I do heft them to tell when to water.

 

[Emilya Green]

That's more than I'd expected. How would Air-Pots compare, or even generously drilled plastic pots/buckets? I wouldn't say no to a 50% increase in yield...

Edit: I've considered fabric pots, but I need to move my pots in and out of the tent and handle them a bit for watering and training, so I'm afraid that with fabric the soil and roots would be disturbed a lot as the pots deform while being handled.

Air pots come close, but nothing is better IMHO than the cloth bags, and among them there are winners and losers. I prefer the GeoPots... they are just better made and with better materials. Nothing comes close to being able to air prune all of the roots like a true cloth bag can do, and this is why the root systems end up light years ahead of what can normally be achieved in a hard sided container, even those with lots of holes or funny bumps with holes.
As far as moving them around and disturbing the soil... soil around the outer edges that is not tied up in the rootball can be disturbed and soil on the surface can be disturbed... but you could roll a cloth bagged plant with a good rootball across the room and the rootball would remain intact. Don't be afraid to move a cloth bagged plant. Don't always assume that what you can see at the top is what is happening everywhere in the container.

 

[BigD13]

That's more than I'd expected. How would Air-Pots compare, or even generously drilled plastic pots/buckets? I wouldn't say no to a 50% increase in yield...

Edit: I've considered fabric pots, but I need to move my pots in and out of the tent and handle them a bit for watering and training, so I'm afraid that with fabric the soil and roots would be disturbed a lot as the pots deform while being handled.

My 5 gallon fabric pots fit perfectly inside plastic milk crates. Not only does the crate have handles for moving the pots around, it also provides lots of places to tie stuff to when doing LST. They also provide for drainage, since the crate keeps the fabric pot off the ground. I love them!

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Those US milk crates look nice. Unfortunately it costs several hundred dollars to get a few shipped to Europe, and I can't find anything quite like them here. Some mesh waste bins might work, but they're usually conical in shape which isn't ideal.

I also found that the GeoPot brand is way too expensive in Europe (typically 4 times the cost), and if ordering from the US, shipping kills the deal. Many "US specialties" end up costing several times as much in Europe which is a bit of a bummer as we miss out on many nice things.

So for people in Europe, something like these from Amazon are affordable and seemingly well made. There are many others to choose from on Amazon and eBay.

I'll do some more research and see if I can find a matching fabric-pot/basket setup. With such high potential increase in yield, aerated pots has to be introduced at some point. I'd still think that a generoulsy drilled plastic pot will have to have some the same effect, though(?)

BTW, fabric pots with a matching mesh basket for structural support would be a nice product - there's a business opportunity for someone!

 

[Emilya Green]

yes, when it comes down to it, any economically feasible grow bag is going to work better than any hard sided container or even one with holes drilled all over the place... the point in these bags is not so much to provide aeration, but to provide an infinite amount of points where the roots will find the edge, and not a barrier per se, but air on the other side... and the air prunes the root. There is not one spot a root could randomly go, where it will not encounter air pruning. This simply can not happen in a hard sided container, no matter its design, although some designs such as the air pots, do come a little closer.

 

[BigD13]

@NorthernCosmos How expensive are plastic file folder storage crates like these?

 

[NorthernCosmos]

That specific set of crates (not rectangular, BTW) is up from $18,5 on amazon.com to $40 on amazon.co.uk and not available for delivery here anyway. However, amazon.com offers delivery and import taxes here for a measly $368,65, or if I switch country $452.17 (I have addresses in in two European countries) - the sales tax here is 25% and we pay tax for the shipping cost too.

@Bush Doctor 77 : Sorry for the thread hijack

 

[Bush Doctor 77]

@Bush Doctor 77 : Sorry for the thread hijack

All data is good data!

 

[multiVortex]

@NorthernCosmos, what about from a hardware supply type store? One that sells big storage totes usually sells those crates like that, so may be worth a look. Or an office supply store, too.

 

[NorthernCosmos]

Aye, multiVortex - I'll be looking for it now that it's on my mind. No big hurry though, I have a few plants to keep me busy for a while

 

[multiVortex]

Surely they have them at Boots. Those muppets got everything else!