Grow bags questions

[#1cheesebuds]

Im ready to switch back to and I have a few grow bags questions.

Whas a good size for a 4w x 4h x6L bloom room? I was thnkig of getting 3 gallon size.
I'm looking to grow huge plants this next time around.

Your Opinions please.

 

[marwachine]

depends on your style as a grower. do you prefer sog style or less pots but bigger plants?

 

[Cactus Squatter]

In a 4x4 I run 4-6 of the 7gallon bags.

I’ve been really liking the AC infinity bags. The handles are very secure, they’ve got grommets for tying down to, and the fabric seems a little thicker so they don’t seep water out the sides like other bags do.
They also hold up well to being pressure washed off.

 

[Ca++]

I'm not sure I understand the dimensions.

12L pots are happy at 4 per meter. With an expectation of Feeding every day

 

[marwachine]

I'm not sure I understand the dimensions.

12L pots are happy at 4 per meter. With an expectation of Feeding every day

Hey there, unrelated question but since I've read your posts and you seem to know your stuff well I wanted to question you regarding watering.

I'm currently practicing on tomatoes. How would you approach watering on soil using fabric pots? TYIA

 

[Ca++]

To question me?
Less of that language around here please lol

I wouldn't use fabric pots, and like drippers.

 

[#1cheesebuds]

depends on your style as a grower. do you prefer sog style or less pots but bigger plants?

I would rather use less pots and gow bigger plants.

 

[#1cheesebuds]

Hey there, unrelated question but since I've read your posts and you seem to know your stuff well I wanted to question you regarding watering.

I'm currently practicing on tomatoes. How would you approach watering on soil using fabric pots? TYIA

When I do use fabric plants I just water whenever the plant needs it.

 

[#1cheesebuds]

To question me?
Less of that language around here please lol

I wouldn't use fabric pots, and like drippers.

I have much better results when I did use fabric pots.

 

[marwachine]

To question me?
Less of that language around here please lol

I wouldn't use fabric pots, and like drippers.

why not fabric pots? they root better with those right, and why drippers?
I'm trying to practice crop steering in soil as well. Any tips? I don't have any drippers btw. Just watering at the top and I'm probably messing up especially with the drybacks lol

 

[Cactus Squatter]

why not fabric pots? they root better with those right, and why drippers?
I'm trying to practice crop steering in soil as well. Any tips? I don't have any drippers btw. Just watering at the top and I'm probably messing up especially with the drybacks lol

I’ve had my best luck with fabric bags doing a combination of Blumats and AC Infinity bottom watering trays.
It allows me to keep a nice even moisture, and if I go out of town for a bit the Blumats take over once the trays dry up. 90% of the time my Blumats don’t run. I also mulch the top 2 inches of my fabric pots to keep the surface from totally drying up on me and creating a crust.

If you just plan on top watering, give half the water you need and wait 15 minutes or so, then give the other half. Let the water gradually soak into the soil instead of just one big watering and you’ll get less dry spots and better overall moisture levels.

 

[Ca++]

why not fabric pots? they root better with those right, and why drippers?
I'm trying to practice crop steering in soil as well. Any tips? I don't have any drippers btw. Just watering at the top and I'm probably messing up especially with the drybacks lol

I don't use fabric, as our plants like water, and wet/dry cycles are useful.

To really grasp this, you might need to look at what plants grow in terracotta pots. Google it. You will find cactus, and some arid landscape grasses. Mixed in with images of pots that went salty, when used for plants that like watering to grow.
Bags are designed to loose water, and create a dry environment. As above, the guys used both top and bottom watering to get the best result. That's two watering systems, to account for the water losses. Losses that are salting that outer layer. With no rtw like cleaning.
Wet dry becomes less effective, as the outside never really gets a good wetting, and if you wait to dry the core, the outer roots are dead. Both from the extended dry, and the salt situation.

No, it's just not for me, or any nursery I know of. A proper pot keeps a nice even moisture level, with only the top really suffering when you dry back. Then you can wet nice and evenly, so the waste leaves everywhere, under it's own weight.

It just seems illogical. I understand that large tree's can be grown in bags, with handles to crane them about. That air pruning stops the roots spiraling around, which is habit forming. I see these trees can be planted, still in the bag, if you want to deal with it later, or use a biodegradable weave. What I don't see, is a reason we should be using them. I just see reasons not to.

Looking to commercial grows offers a good weather vane. The drip system is cheap and effective. Using normal pots, they take on even moisture, dissolving what can be, until the water tension breaks and they drain out enough to stop the residual becoming a problem. They they dry back with an equal consistency, so everything stays fluid and available until the very last moment. When you water again before salts form.
One of our interests is calcium, and it's carried along in the moisture. Dry areas serve no purpose for calcium, except to form salts unlikely to wash away. So bags just can't do a proper dry back routine. It's damaging.

Some people are happy to make it work, with excess kit and labour. It's not my idea of a good system. I only really like drip to waste, or flood and drain. Systems that cleanse the media, automatically. While offering even dry backs, and the oxygenation that brings. DWC has my interest, but I already know I don't have the environment for it.

It's just personal choice at the end of the day. Don't ignore the commercial guys though. Growing empires have enough experience to be worth looking at.

 

[marwachine]

I don't use fabric, as our plants like water, and wet/dry cycles are useful.

To really grasp this, you might need to look at what plants grow in terracotta pots. Google it. You will find cactus, and some arid landscape grasses. Mixed in with images of pots that went salty, when used for plants that like watering to grow.
Bags are designed to loose water, and create a dry environment. As above, the guys used both top and bottom watering to get the best result. That's two watering systems, to account for the water losses. Losses that are salting that outer layer. With no rtw like cleaning.
Wet dry becomes less effective, as the outside never really gets a good wetting, and if you wait to dry the core, the outer roots are dead. Both from the extended dry, and the salt situation.

No, it's just not for me, or any nursery I know of. A proper pot keeps a nice even moisture level, with only the top really suffering when you dry back. Then you can wet nice and evenly, so the waste leaves everywhere, under it's own weight.

It just seems illogical. I understand that large tree's can be grown in bags, with handles to crane them about. That air pruning stops the roots spiraling around, which is habit forming. I see these trees can be planted, still in the bag, if you want to deal with it later, or use a biodegradable weave. What I don't see, is a reason we should be using them. I just see reasons not to.

Looking to commercial grows offers a good weather vane. The drip system is cheap and effective. Using normal pots, they take on even moisture, dissolving what can be, until the water tension breaks and they drain out enough to stop the residual becoming a problem. They they dry back with an equal consistency, so everything stays fluid and available until the very last moment. When you water again before salts form.
One of our interests is calcium, and it's carried along in the moisture. Dry areas serve no purpose for calcium, except to form salts unlikely to wash away. So bags just can't do a proper dry back routine. It's damaging.

Some people are happy to make it work, with excess kit and labour. It's not my idea of a good system. I only really like drip to waste, or flood and drain. Systems that cleanse the media, automatically. While offering even dry backs, and the oxygenation that brings. DWC has my interest, but I already know I don't have the environment for it.

It's just personal choice at the end of the day. Don't ignore the commercial guys though. Growing empires have enough experience to be worth looking at.

what practices of commercial growers are you doing yourself? and what you do not follow and why?

 

[Ca++]

Are you writing a book? lol
My goals are much like those of the commercial grower. Rapid turnover. Low effort. Competitive product. Reliability. Energy and space efficiency.
I just relaxed a bit, and did some really nice stuff. Prior to which, I pulled out 15 in two years, from one flowering space. Including the support space, the turnover per meter was way beyond the standard, and I did it in half the height of the room, to simulate a tiered space. I don't need to do any of that, but had my eye on the people I wanted to compete with. As such, everything I did was commercially viable.

What I won't do is CO2. Nor will I use rockwool. I want to reuse things. Things like our planet. I don't like fetching and carrying much either. Which is the greater reason to work systems that can be reconfigured, and substrate that can be reused. I'm thankful my run2waste isn't a huge amount though. I wouldn't like to account for it.


It's really worth looking at commercial grows for ideas. Or just the local garden center. See what seasoned gardeners are using. Many people online use solo cups, but for batch growing, a seed tray is far quicker to tend to. We have all seen these, and know the nursery uses them on huge flood drain tables. It's a matter of scale. A current project of mine, is 4 little flood drain trays, as big as a 40 cell propagator. That could be just a timer and pump. I'm going the whole hog with floats and solenoid valves though. Because gravity drain is just too easy. While needing the tank below, and I don't want raised trays. It's not efficient use of space.


I will get to online feed injectors one day. I'm not entirely happy with their reliability though. So for now it's still tanks, with daily batches. That should fill and set themselves, though that's also work in progress. I have had 6 months being lazy. Almost forget everything I knew. Then came back here again to submerse myself in it all again, and find some focus. I think I'm back on form, but could still use a steroid injection to actually do something.

 

[Cactus Squatter]

I run bags primarily to prevent root binding.
Most of what I grow is 12 weeks + flowering time and they tend to get temperamental towards the end in hard pots from being so bound up. In bags the roots are happy and healthy when I pull the plant at the end.

I also never have much for salt buildup on the sides of my bags. I run recycled organic soil and most of the time the build up on my bags is fungal.

 

[alexm78]

What led you to change? Hey, it might be a good idea to start getting ready to use grow bags again. Choosing a 3-gallon container appears acceptable for a 4' x 4' x 6' bloom area; however, I prefer a 4-5-gallon container. They give roots plenty of room to grow. This ought to work, as your objective is to produce large plants in fewer pots. I also use cloth pots, and they appear to work well. You know, appropriate aeration and decent stuff.