FertilPots

[ice minus]

Has ICMAG ever tried a FertilPot?

Fertilpots Products from Black Swallow Living Soils, Brantford ON

Fertilpots are wood fiber biodegradable pots composed primarily of Spruce (Picea Abies) fibers, and are manufactured without the use of glues or binders. Fertilpot is OMRI listed and USDA Bio preferred.

blackswallowsoil.com

Fertilpots are wood fiber biodegradable pots composed primarily of Spruce (Picea Abies) fibers, and are manufactured without the use of glues or binders. Fertilpot is OMRI listed and USDA Bio preferred.

Fertilpots are truly biodegradable and are intended to be planted directly in the ground or the next larger container. Unlike rice-hull pots, or starch-based polymers, and ‘biodegradable’ plastics Fertilpots do not require a composting situation to degrade.

No other container; biodegradable, compostable or plastic, can allow a more natural development of the plants’ root structure.

Because water, air, and roots will penetrate the walls of the Fertilpot so easily, there is no need for drainage holes. The natural root structure that develops helps to ensure a successful transplant.

They're on promotion for 15 cents a piece, so I grabbed a stack of 10 for $1.50 to give them a try

Will be looking to start a Drago x Cherry Queen, just watered it

Think it's worth loading up on some more at such a cheap price?

Any experience with them?

I'm all ears!

 

[couchlockd]

Yes they sell jiffy Brand of these in hardware stores. Been around for about 30 year's or better

 

[ice minus]

Ah, okay, I was under the impression these were a different material or patented formula of some kind

I have no idea why they'd bring them to compete with established brand like Jiffy then, strange

 

[ice minus]

They are different! I was bored while eating my bagel and was staring at the FertilPot I have with a seed I'm waiting on

FertilPots are made of Spruce Fibers and contain no glues or binders at all - the Jiffy versions are made from Peat Moss and binders

So they are different materials indeed!

I just ordered some more of them before they are sold out or not on sale anymore, might as well grab a stack of 50 of them for under 10 bucks, they look super convenient

 

[chappie]

KIS "Cultivation Science" podcast had a rep for them on a while back:

I have some on order too, they look pretty great if they work as promised.

 

[ice minus]

KIS "Cultivation Science" podcast had a rep for them on a while back:

I have some on order too, they look pretty great if they work as promised.

Agreed!

I listen to that podcast too but I'm only on episode 13 or so , thus far

They do look cool! I just ordered another stack before they stop being on sale as well

My first test with them is here

Drago x Cherry Queen

Someone I know bred these two and sent me the seeds for free! Drago x Cherry Queen Starting in a small FertilPot (never tried one before but bought 10 on clearance at my grow shop) filled with recycled Black Swallow KIS Mix soil from previous runs which has been reamended

www.icmag.com

Just popped a Drago x Cherry Queen in it!

 

[chappie]

So my first run with these has not been great; but maybe I am using them wrong. I have some month-old plants in light soil in these pots, which I set on an Autobot Tray2Grow. The sides of the pots wick up so much moisture that I think the soil then stays saturated. Roots are starting to poke through the sides of the pot, so it is probably time to transplant them, but the plants are showing signs of overwatering stress that I want to clear up first. I've turned off the Tray2Grow and will just manually water them for a bit.

 

[KIS]

Agreed!

I listen to that podcast too but I'm only on episode 13 or so , thus far

They do look cool! I just ordered another stack before they stop being on sale as well

My first test with them is here

Drago x Cherry Queen

Someone I know bred these two and sent me the seeds for free! Drago x Cherry Queen Starting in a small FertilPot (never tried one before but bought 10 on clearance at my grow shop) filled with recycled Black Swallow KIS Mix soil from previous runs which has been reamended

www.icmag.com

Just popped a Drago x Cherry Queen in it!

I would suggest starting with the most recent podcast and working backwards vs starting at the beginning of the podcast, as some of the older ones are outdated in regards to their information or science.

 

[ice minus]

So my first run with these has not been great; but maybe I am using them wrong. I have some month-old plants in light soil in these pots, which I set on an Autobot Tray2Grow. The sides of the pots wick up so much moisture that I think the soil then stays saturated. Roots are starting to poke through the sides of the pot, so it is probably time to transplant them, but the plants are showing signs of overwatering stress that I want to clear up first. I've turned off the Tray2Grow and will just manually water them for a bit.

Hello, chappie!!
I haven't had a great experience with them so far either -- but maybe chalking it up to not knowing or expecting to deal with them yet, in such a way. I too encountered the excessive wicking by the container and actually neglected them too long and they almost completely died.. I had one growing from seed and one rooting a healthy clone I snipped and stuck in moist dirt.

My seedling is looking way too pale from seed in it, and the clone is doing better now and I believe to be rooted which is good. But clearly have stressed these guys already just trying to stay on top of them.

Also, I have yet to see any roots poking through a sidewall yet, so I'm unsure actually what to do

Do they need to be really wet & saturated for the roots to pop through?

I might pre-maturely just transplant it and surround it with more soil

 

[ice minus]

I would suggest starting with the most recent podcast and working backwards vs starting at the beginning of the podcast, as some of the older ones are outdated in regards to their information or science.

WOW! Never thought I'd hear from Tad himself in my humble newbie threads!

Huge thanks for the suggestion, maybe I will give that a try!

I have been going through them in chronological order but would love to specifically find episodes that relate to growing in KIS Mix/Black Swallow too, as it's the only media I use still! But have always had a bumpy ride thus far

I shop at Black Swallow in person and they are as good of guys as I've ever met, even indulging me for over an HOUR of chit-chat when picking up orders as a nobody.. so I'm glad to be on board and supporting great people

Thanks again for popping in! If you run any chat rooms or communities please feel free to send me a link as well as I'd love to pick your guys brain some more

Have a great halloween

 

[chappie]

My plants are only barely beginning to recover. My theory is that these pots just stay way too wet for healthy cannabis. Maybe in a soil with much more drainage it would work, but what I mixed is pretty light already.

I'm wondering if what Tad meant by some obsolete information is that these pots haven't turned out to be such great ideas and maybe that's why they are still not very common

Still, I don't doubt that they can be easily buried and roots will grow right through them. I might try some for my outdoor vegetables this spring, but I'm afraid to risk any more seedlings to them for now. Maybe I'll play with them when I end up with some hermie seeds or something.

 

[KIS]

WOW! Never thought I'd hear from Tad himself in my humble newbie threads!

Huge thanks for the suggestion, maybe I will give that a try!

I have been going through them in chronological order but would love to specifically find episodes that relate to growing in KIS Mix/Black Swallow too, as it's the only media I use still! But have always had a bumpy ride thus far

I shop at Black Swallow in person and they are as good of guys as I've ever met, even indulging me for over an HOUR of chit-chat when picking up orders as a nobody.. so I'm glad to be on board and supporting great people

Thanks again for popping in! If you run any chat rooms or communities please feel free to send me a link as well as I'd love to pick your guys brain some more

Have a great halloween

Hey guys, thanks for the kind words. This forum is where I started in cannabis in what feels like a lifetime ago, so I still like to linger and see what folks are talking about. The Black Swallow guys are great, like you said. Good people!

I haven't had an issue with the Fertil Pots in terms of the pots breaking down. My issue initially was probably the opposite, where they composted too quickly from my waterings. Though I have had one experience where I was able to find som Fertil Pot remains in my garden bed at the end of an outdoor grow, but it didn't limit or impact the plant negatively. The Fertil Pots will dry out a bit quicker than plastic pots, similar to fabric pots vs plastic pots.

One really positive thing about these pots is less plastic. I'm trying to be more responsible and use less plastic in my day to day life, and much more aware of microplastics and their impact on plant and human health.