AirPots vs regular cups/pots

joedogsong · Apr 9, 2012

Greetings,
Don't have any results yet but if I don't start now I won't get it done.
What I'm doing is trying to decide if the airpots do what they claim and is it worth the initial investment. They are a little more up front, but down to brass tacks not really in the long run. If perform as claimed no more need for root stimulants and the possible end to root bound.

What I noticed was when I finished a run and would go to recycle the soil (FoxFarm) the rootball created by the circling of the roots at the bottom surface really bugged me.

The hardest of the balls is always created by the first pot/cup that the roots are in. The second and third re-pottings are always really loose and the soil just falls away from the roots when shaking the soil off for re-cycling. The first potting roots are hard and secure, can't even knock the dirt off.
I have tried re-potting earlier but don't really have the room for big pots and little plants.

These pots have been written about else where but lets see how they do.

I've got 13 airpots and seven cups with the most recent BOG Medley of Lifesaver, Sour Strawberry Kush, & Blue Moon Rocks.

:tumbleweed:

Indoor Odor · Apr 21, 2012

ill be running this test soon myself, interested to see the results.

DeoXy · Apr 21, 2012

should be intresting.. I run a sea of 2gal aurora fabric pots - smart pot equiv., they seem to support as large of plants as 3gal. solid plastic container with out needing to transplant.. and plants seem generally more happy with the increased o2 in/around the root area.

~Shhh~ · Apr 21, 2012

Nice test, I seem to get less stretch on plants in airpots. Just pullin up my chair :lurk:

supermanlives · Apr 22, 2012

hell ya . my opinion is if you veg really short there is no benefit.

supermanlives · Apr 22, 2012

in my greenhouse experience root taming methods like spinout ,airpots ect doesnt benefit short term veg growers. works great for extended vegging. just my experience. i was making raised beds with fabric and wire when og started.

PuReKnOwLeDgE · Apr 22, 2012

~Shhh~ said:
Nice test, I seem to get less stretch on plants in airpots. Just pullin up my chair

That is funny you say that. Just this week I was in the shop buying smartpots and was chatting with an employee about them. I mentioned I ran a room before with 7 gallon regular pots and 1 7 gallon smartpot. He said" see any difference?", and I explained yes I did. The smartpot plant was shorter and stouter. I mentioned that maybe it got a clone that wasn't up to par or wasn't in the perfect location. Now I see this is just what they do possibly.

Why do airpots/smartpots seem to do that?

OP good luck with your test, I am running 30 20 gallon smartpots indoors right now, hoping for some sweet results!

lost in a sea · Apr 22, 2012

its not just ganja either,, airpots encourage stouter healthier growth in all plants ive grown in them,, my guess would be that a better formed healthier root mass means the plant is less likely to stress and stretch when flipped,, in fact other plants love them even more than ganja,,

SativaKeith · Apr 22, 2012

Smartpots

i started to use Smartpots for my past 2 grow, i can say that for me the normal plastic container is much better so far, my old plastic pots are deeper in size compare to smartpot and i think that is the key to a bigger plant/fast growth. smart pot are wider the most normal plastic, but not deeper.. watering correctly on plastic worked for me better.

ill give the smartpot another try this round but I'm almost sure that my old cheap plastic pots are better for cannabis, also want to try AirPot soon and do compression of all 3.

PetFlora · Apr 22, 2012

Another excellent use of APs is for a Super Charged F & D. I v/c in my DIY bubbler, using SuperStarter Cubes inside small net pots. Once a decent golf ball size root ball develops I transfer to small APs, and surround with lava rock. I place these inside a high wall tote. Flood is done with lp pump and pvc into which I drill holes. Each time the pump comes on the nutes come out of the holes hitting the top and sides of the APs. The lava drains quickly but retains some nutes in the pockets. This allows me to flood ~ 45 minutes (~60 when young). Growth was explosive!

Root and plant photos (one plant!) was my first attempt, where the entire bottom was lava. APs offer flexibility to move/remove plants

40AmpstoFreedom · Apr 22, 2012

PetFlora said:
Another excellent use of APs is for a Super Charged F & D. I v/c in my DIYB, using SSC's inside small np's. Once a decent g. ball size rb develops I transfer to small APs, and surround with LR. I place these inside a high wall tote. Flood is done with lp pump and pvc into which I drill holes. Each time the pump comes on the nutes come out of the holes hitting the top and sides of the APs. The lava drains quickly but retains some nutes in the pockets. This allows me to flood ~ 45 minutes (~60 when young). Growth was explosive!

Root and plant photos (one plant!) was my first attempt, where the entire bottom was lava. APs offer flexibility to move/remove plants

Added some more short hand in case it was easy to read for some people. LOL

Interesting thanks for posting.

ethnobot · Apr 23, 2012

interesting thread. read about these, but not used them.

joedogsong · Apr 23, 2012

pot challenge

pot challenge

This is a photo of 2 identical clones; same mother, same times, lights, nutes, love.
They were put in the Solo cups for the first 3 weeks then transplanted to these pots 3 weeks ago.
These are not part of the side by side as they were not started in the air pots originally.

These are BOGS Sour Bubble and I cannot see any differences yet. I'm waiting until rootbound slows, which I know will happen in the regular pot. The question is will the air pot plant continue to grow at that point

joedogsong · Apr 23, 2012

Pot challenge

Pot challenge

These are the challenge specimens. While not actually comparing apples to apples due to phenotypic differences within the plants, we may be able to see trends as to group size differences. Who knows...
All other environmental conditions are the same.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=36482&pictureid=874599

whatsupdoc · Apr 23, 2012

Subscribed! K+!

skunkbear · Apr 23, 2012

Im in for the show!

joedogsong · Apr 23, 2012

One thing I did just notice, and I believe it to be coincidental, is that the three seedlings that died when breaking ground were all in the Solo cups. I didn't lose any of the seedlings that came up in the air pots.

supermanlives · Apr 23, 2012

grower error. i been sprouting seeds in cups 25 years or more

jammie · Apr 23, 2012

i'm about 8 wks into my first grow using 14 liter airpots and sunshine mix4, and am also noticing the shorter stouter plants. the real pain in ass is watering. i found that its best to use a small pump-it-up pressure sprayer. otherwise the water finds the path of least resistance and runs out, usually on the side holes 2-3" down. by doing multiple spray applications ( wait 1 hr between), i get much more even soil penetration and not a gush of water from the sides or bottom. ps- pic is a couple weeks old

Jungle.Microbes · Apr 23, 2012

I have been running the air pots for about a month, I'm flowering my first batch with them. I've found that the rootball is much smaller and dense when grown in these pots, the growth is a bit faster, but the watering sucks.

AirPots vs regular cups/pots

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