Smart pot Aeration containers test

[budlydoright]

This is basically a simple side by side test of the smart pot fabric containers. I'm really excited to see how well these work and what they can do to enhance my grow. I'm quite confident that they will make some improvement in my coco grows. Seems to be a perfect combination.

There was another thread: Smart Pots Great New Product! regarding these containers and I would urge you to read it if your interested in this incredibly simple but sensical product. BTW these aren't new, they have proven themselves in the tree nursury industry for many years.

 

[Dain Bramage]

looked in at there web cite.have a better idea of what we are talking about.will watch your project befor i buy any.oh ya what size are you useing?

 

[budlydoright]

looked in at there web cite.have a better idea of what we are talking about.will watch your project befor i buy any.oh ya what size are you useing?

I have 6 1 gallon pots going.

They are really moving slow. I think they have gotten too cold on a couple of nights. A bunch of my cuttings went into flower even under 24/0 so they're kind of having a little re-veg period as well. This is from a week ago, I'll post an update soon.

 

[The Weed]

I also I'm watching I like the fact that the have no taper. Meaning that they are the same circumference top to bottom. A very good thing for all grow places!

 

[budlydoright]

there are many articles about the benefits of air prunning your cuttings. how the root structure overall is healthier and more robust. the same applies to mature plants as well, not having a big ball of circular roots at the bottom has got to make a plant stronger and less prone to enviromental changes. they also claim the root zone stays much cooler which is an added benefit.

really, these aren't new and there's tons of documentation that supports their claims as well as a us patent. they are very well received in the tree nursury industry and have only recently started being distributed in our circles.

I've read alot of the research on them and lots of positive things about them in container vegetable garden forums. I expect them to improve my garden. how much remains to be seen, however any improvment is a step in the right direction.

 

[Dain Bramage]

well i just orderd five 3 gallon containers,for my next grow will do a side by side test with ten cuttings from one mother

 

[budlydoright]

Ok, first update. these have been in the pots for 1 week. The plants in the smart pots received their first feeding tonight. The coco was ready for some moisture. The coco in the plastic is still very wet on the top. The clones that are in the smart pots are a little bigger as well. As I expected, the smart pot dries out much faster, so they'll need to be watered more often, at least until there is more consumption than evaporation.

I was unable to take photos tonight, but plan on posting new photos in a few days.

 

[The Weed]

I guess that is a feature being airy, Lets roots search for Moisture/nutients. By drying quickly. Cool.

 

[Dain Bramage]

can plants grown in smart pots be transplanted to larger one's as the plant gets larger?

 

[budlydoright]

can plants grown in smart pots be transplanted to larger one's as the plant gets larger?

That's a good question. I know you can put your smart pot into another one and the roots will grow through it. I don't know if this would impede further growth or not. I would imagine that if your rootball is well formed, you could just roll the bag off of it turning it inside out as it's coming off

 

[The Weed]

Info from their website,...Is it true that plants grown in Smart Pots don’t have to be repotted as often as those grown in hard-sided pots?

Yes, it is true. Remember, roots do not circle in the Smart Pot. Because of the large volume of fibrous roots, plants growing in a Smart Pot can stay longer, and be healthier, growing in a Smart Pot.

 

[budlydoright]

Info from their website,...Is it true that plants grown in Smart Pots don’t have to be repotted as often as those grown in hard-sided pots?

Yes, it is true. Remember, roots do not circle in the Smart Pot. Because of the large volume of fibrous roots, plants growing in a Smart Pot can stay longer, and be healthier, growing in a Smart Pot.

While I'm sure that this is true to a great extent for certain plants: flowers, strawberries etc... I think we'll all agree there's no substitute for surface area when you're looking for yield. That said, I do plan on staying in these 1 gallons all the way through.

 

[CocoJoe]

Hi, you can upcan useing the smart pots. You roll down the sides.

 

[budlydoright]

cocoJoe, what has your experience been with them?

 

[CocoJoe]

Only reading on another forum. I have bought one. A female friend says she can make em. Guys are saying 15 to 30% more yield. One guy did a side by side. Smart pot =1000g ; Plastic pots 600g. Do you want a grain of salt with that? That all said "It looks like a winner".

One dude said he could buy a box of 100 3gals. for $191. $4.95 a piece other wise. I probably shouldn't say that. Oh well to late.

 

[budlydoright]

Only reading on another forum. I have bought one. A female friend says she can make em. Guys are saying 15 to 30% more yield. One guy did a side by side. Smart pot =1000g ; Plastic pots 600g. Do you want a grain of salt with that? That all said "It looks like a winner".

One dude said he could buy a box of 100 3gals. for $191. $4.95 a piece other wise. I probably shouldn't say that. Oh well to late.

Yea I saw that post. Even the manufactures website makes a more realistic claim than that!

I do expect my plants to be a little bigger in the smart pot. What I'm really looking for is a healthier more stress tolorent plant. I suspect, these will help move me in that direction.

I'm sure if you're buying in quantity, the price will drop. That sounds like a dealer price.

 

[CocoJoe]

I'm sure if you're buying in quantity, the price will drop. That sounds like a dealer price.

The guy said you need a tax ID#, I was just wanting to show the markup in our hobby.

 

[budlydoright]

Yea, I know but if you sold 200 of them a month you still couldn't pay your electric bill with all of that profit. It does seem excesive, but I do know first hand how difficult it is to run a small business. Especially when all your customers are cheap sob s like me!

photos coming tonight

 

[budlydoright]

Ok, Here's an update with photos;

Here's a pic of the healthiest clone in plastic.

the rest of them look more like this one:

Here's what a typical clone in a SP looks like:

Here's one that has really jumped ahead.

As you can see the one cut in plastic looks great, actually they all look great. the ones in the smart pot are definetly a bit more developed.

All this really tells at this point is the smart pot makes it easier to provide an optimum enviroment.

Here are a couple of more shots:

 

[StealthtireGr]

Very Nice experiment Bro! The Concept is simple and Logical for sure!

Seems I have found my new Containers, as they would provide much more Soil Area in the Limited STG Chamber. I like soil based grow for the Earthy-ness!

Is it a General concensus that a 1 Gallon container is Adaquite for a Single Plant?

STG