Cheap DIY Air Pruning Pots aka smart pots

zappa66 · Sep 24, 2009

On my last trip to Kmart I ran into this great stuff, its a non skid rubbery mat/cloth type stuff. It easily folds into whatever shape you need and comes in many colors (I'm looking at the dark green and brown, nice and stealthy for outdoor use). I am thinking of doing largish beds out in the swamp, and might have to do one for the veggies too.

Link to Mat:
http://www.rvtoyoutlet.com/c-inside-rv-001/p-RV5400.html

"smart pot" with 3 neglected salvia clones:

FrankRizzo · Sep 24, 2009

Damn I just through out a bunch of that stuff. Nice thinking on your part. About how big is that pot? Would that stuff hold the weight of about a 5 gallon container? I guess you could reinforce it with some chicken wire or something..........................................................

Frank runs to dumpster

zappa66 · Sep 24, 2009

~4-5 gallon

Spanishwilly · Sep 25, 2009

Hi,
Those look great. Have you been using the new pots for a while, or is it a new invention? Like, have you seen root-pruning and does everything work ok?
Thanks for the idea.
Spanishwilly

Dank-j · Sep 25, 2009

Not to bag on your invention but to merely voice a concern. Is that material that fake rubber type material? I would *personally* be worried about the rubber/plastic leeching into my plant. Not that this will happen, just keep it in mind.

zappa66 · Sep 26, 2009

spanishwilly: nope just put it together the other day.

Dank-j: I have some soaking in some water for the past week, can't see any discoloration or anything like its leaching. I think it would be hard to tell if its doing anything. To be honest I'm not really that bothered but its something to think about.

Cheeb · Sep 26, 2009

looks like the stuff you put in a cabinet or tool box to keep your stuff from sliding around..

how did you close up the bottom...or did cut a circle for the bottom and wire it to the upper cylinder?

Spanishwilly · Sep 26, 2009

It's safe

It's safe

Dude, it's the stuff they sell in restaurant supply shops to put on a tray for your glassware after it's been washed. They don't slide around then.
It's foodgrade material. It doesn't bleed or leach anything. It's safe to put into an industrial dishwasher. You don't want your medium to touch plastic?

Spanishwilly · Sep 26, 2009

P.S. I think I love this pot for coco.

flat5th · Sep 26, 2009

Nice!

I saw the official smart pots the other day and was thinking how to DIY them.

Glad i found this. I'm gonna try this for my moms.

+K
Fifth.

chidoctor · Sep 26, 2009

i think its a great idea but might be to flimsy for my taste.i might somehow add some type of rigid support just to ease my own mind

bengie187 · Sep 26, 2009

thats a pretty sweet idea

zappa66 · Sep 26, 2009

Cheeb said:
looks like the stuff you put in a cabinet or tool box to keep your stuff from sliding around..

how did you close up the bottom...or did cut a circle for the bottom and wire it to the upper cylinder?

First I wired it into a tube, then folded the bottom like a paper shopping bag. You can see from the pic. I used wire to hold it all together.

Man, I'd love to do a coco ebb and flow with smart pots out in the greenhouse for veggies... :yoinks:

chidoctor said:
i think its a great idea but might be to flimsy for my taste.i might somehow add some type of rigid support just to ease my own mind

With the folded bottom and full of soil it seems sturdy enough, I might really sew the pot with wire all along the edge if you're making a large heavy pot.

stevefrench · Sep 26, 2009

i thought about using these plastic laundry hampers with holes all in the sides, not sure how strong some would be though

Leviathan · Sep 27, 2009

i like the bottom tub, u could actually cut the top half off of it and make strips which u could then use to make more rows down the middle for air prunning to occur on two sides for a few sections, and it would still be deep enough. thx for the idea-

DiscoBiscuit · Sep 27, 2009

WalMart has wire mesh trash cans in office supply. They're metal though. Don't know how good that would work.

nice tip zappa66

Spanishwilly · Sep 27, 2009

DiscoBiscuit said:
WalMart has wire mesh trash cans in office supply. They're metal though. Don't know how good that would work.

nice tip zappa66

I think by the time I did that, it would be more money than just buying an
Air-Pot, wouldn't it? How about making a tube (or even square walls) out of hardware cloth to line it? I think that might even be rigid enough to not need a base/floor. HEY... SQUARE AIRPOTS...
Someone else has some pretty sexy homemade Smartpots on a thread in here made from hardware cloth and landscaper's fabric. Zappa66's grip mat idea might be even better. I predict we are seeing the start of something that's really going to catch on here.
Thank you Zappa66

Tony Aroma · Sep 27, 2009

If they are securely fastened and won't fall apart when filled, I'd say they would be pretty sturdy without any additional support. No different than the grow bags I use. Once filled with soil, they stand up just fine. You just need to make sure the bottom is flattened when you set it down.

zappa66 · Sep 28, 2009

I was thinking of using stakes to make sturdy immoveable outdoor planters.

"sexy homemade Smartpots on a thread in here made from hardware cloth and landscaper's fabric"

Kind of like fisher15's planters in the outdoor section? That is what I was planing on doing but decided to give this stuff a try. The landscaping fabric HAS been proven to work however.

Edit*
has anyone thought of using reusable shopping bags? look like they might work if they don't rot...

Tilt · Sep 28, 2009

I was at michaels arts and crafts and was looking at the plastic needle point frames .39 each

Cheap DIY Air Pruning Pots *aka* smart pots

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Cheap DIY Air Pruning Pots aka smart pots