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Smart Pots how exactly do they work?

RetroGrow

Active member
Veteran
Hempy bucket is just a container with NO HOLES in the bottom as to not allow drainage. You simply drill a hold about 2" up from the bottom of the container which then allows the bucket to fill up a few inches with your "run-off" before spilling out of the hole.

They put 2" inches of perlite in this lower "reservoir" (remainder filled with coco) and gives the plant the ability to wick as needed.. thus allowing you to water less and I also believe some kind of perched water table magic happens as a result - eliminating a lot of the common problems with coco...

You're almost right. With Hempys, for maximum growth, you water every day or more as it's a hydro medium. If you don't water every day, you will not get hydro roots, but plants will still do well. They explode if you water to run off every day, or better yet, use drip rings to water constantly. I get bigger plants in two gallon pots watered daily then I do in 5 gallon pots watered every 2 or 3 days. At least twice as big.
 

Cmobile9

Member
You're almost right. With Hempys, for maximum growth, you water every day or more as it's a hydro medium. If you don't water every day, you will not get hydro roots, but plants will still do well. They explode if you water to run off every day, or better yet, use drip rings to water constantly. I get bigger plants in two gallon pots watered daily then I do in 5 gallon pots watered every 2 or 3 days. At least twice as big.

RetroG to me the way your water that sounds like a simple flood to drain hydro set up, but without the tables.
If you have a big enough rootball in a SP one will have to water daily because the roots will dry out quickly. Smartp can sit in a plant saucer water from the top, saucer will catch water and plant will water itself from bottom as needed.
 

RetroGrow

Active member
Veteran
RetroG to me the way your water that sounds like a simple flood to drain hydro set up, but without the tables.
If you have a big enough rootball in a SP one will have to water daily because the roots will dry out quickly. Smartp can sit in a plant saucer water from the top, saucer will catch water and plant will water itself from bottom as needed.

Yes, it's a true hydro set up, but many don't use it that way. If you don't water every day, you will not get hydro roots. Still will turn out nice though for those who don't want to water daily. Drip rings ideal for Hempys .
Plants get huge in only 2 gallon pots. You can yield half pound per plant with right strain and 6 week veg. My biggest was 13 zips.
I have also used smart pots with coco. No comparison. Hempys blow them away.
 
S

SeaMaiden

Yes, it's a true hydro set up, but many don't use it that way. If you don't water every day, you will not get hydro roots. Still will turn out nice though for those who don't want to water daily. Drip rings ideal for Hempys .
Plants get huge in only 2 gallon pots. You can yield half pound per plant with right strain and 6 week veg. My biggest was 13 zips.
I have also used smart pots with coco. No comparison. Hempys blow them away.

K, this is the nugget. Coco hempy method, or another medium for your hempy method? I've done perlite once. Very, very easy, but they got root aphids (un-Dx'd until much, much later in the season).
 

FlowerFarmer

Well-known member
Veteran
Yes, it's a true hydro set up, but many don't use it that way. .

That is why I said allow.. key word there. :moon:


Been doing the same thing for a bit now and wanna start playing around with some different methods. Going to try running some Hempy buckets.. automated DTW as you're describing.

I was curious of a few things. It seems as though many simply put one hole a few inches up from the bottom. Why are they not adding more around that perimeter at the top of that perlite layer. It seems as if one was watering too quickly the pot would fill up (above the spill-off point) until it has time to drain out of that small overflow hole. Not an issue?

Furthermore.. previous poster mentioned having a smart pot in a saucer of water to allow the plant to soak that run-off back up. Now.. without dripclean or low EC across the board we've always been taught that this is a bad idea due to accumulated salts and letting the coco keep its feet wet in its won run-off.

Could one essentially run hempy style.. with a decent saucer filled with perlite and their smart pot on top... thus kinda achieving the same thing keep the coco's "feet" out of water while still gaining the advantages of a root pruning pot?



Also, for larger setups it is completely ok to use a 1/2" grommet/barb to link my buckets and allow drainage of that overflow hole.
 

DaleW

Member
smart pots how do they work, now yer on about hempys,lol.

I just checked and this is all you have to bring to the conversation, seriously, how informative. well thanks anyway i'm sure some way some how I will find your input useful....somehow -_-.
 

RetroGrow

Active member
Veteran
That is why I said allow.. key word there. :moon:


Been doing the same thing for a bit now and wanna start playing around with some different methods. Going to try running some Hempy buckets.. automated DTW as you're describing.

I was curious of a few things. It seems as though many simply put one hole a few inches up from the bottom. Why are they not adding more around that perimeter at the top of that perlite layer. It seems as if one was watering too quickly the pot would fill up (above the spill-off point) until it has time to drain out of that small overflow hole. Not an issue?

Furthermore.. previous poster mentioned having a smart pot in a saucer of water to allow the plant to soak that run-off back up. Now.. without dripclean or low EC across the board we've always been taught that this is a bad idea due to accumulated salts and letting the coco keep its feet wet in its won run-off.

Could one essentially run hempy style.. with a decent saucer filled with perlite and their smart pot on top... thus kinda achieving the same thing keep the coco's "feet" out of water while still gaining the advantages of a root pruning pot?



Also, for larger setups it is completely ok to use a 1/2" grommet/barb to link my buckets and allow drainage of that overflow hole.

You are taking something simple, and making it complicated. There are NO advantages of a root pruning pot over Hempys. NONE. Do some reading:
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=147954
 

shirami

Member
Yes, it's a true hydro set up, but many don't use it that way. If you don't water every day, you will not get hydro roots. Still will turn out nice though for those who don't want to water daily. Drip rings ideal for Hempys .
Plants get huge in only 2 gallon pots. You can yield half pound per plant with right strain and 6 week veg. My biggest was 13 zips.
I have also used smart pots with coco. No comparison. Hempys blow them away.

Have you tried perlite hempys as well? If so how does it compare to coco?

What type of drip rings are you referring to?

Thanks
 

Propagate

Member
from my experience the Smart pots and copy brands work very well. However, I only had one large root penetrate the exterior wall of the fabric of my 3 gallon off brand smart pot at start of flowering/just after transplant. I am sure the original is best, but not always available.

Using FF light warrior, nothing else added. They breath very well, and seem to dry out slightly faster than a reg container, but the plants have accepted it as "ooo, food sooner!". I do feed 1tsp/gal Maxi at every watering with good flushes every 2-3 weeks.

Smart pots do hold some salts in it's lining only(visible by white coloration on it's skin throughout flowering). The plant does not seem to be at all affected by this.

I love the handles they put on them. my off brand's fabric has not stretched as since 2 cyles with them. I have not tried washin them yet(more than rinsing with tap).

Do I think they have an advantage over regular plastic containers of the same size? yes, for me they do exactly what I need.

Hope this helps someone
 
N

noyd666

hempy.

hempy.

9l buckets and square holders for ease of handling and runnoff, used for years excellant job, hempys easy no ph , coco and perlite. colored containers 12l and longer. proberly better for horizontal root growth?, just toying around wth these but they stack inside each other leaving a gap for runoff, adios. aaa run to waste.
 
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DaleW

Member
from my experience the Smart pots and copy brands work very well. However, I only had one large root penetrate the exterior wall of the fabric of my 3 gallon off brand smart pot at start of flowering/just after transplant. I am sure the original is best, but not always available.

Using FF light warrior, nothing else added. They breath very well, and seem to dry out slightly faster than a reg container, but the plants have accepted it as "ooo, food sooner!". I do feed 1tsp/gal Maxi at every watering with good flushes every 2-3 weeks.

Smart pots do hold some salts in it's lining only(visible by white coloration on it's skin throughout flowering). The plant does not seem to be at all affected by this.

I love the handles they put on them. my off brand's fabric has not stretched as since 2 cyles with them. I have not tried washin them yet(more than rinsing with tap).

Do I think they have an advantage over regular plastic containers of the same size? yes, for me they do exactly what I need.

Hope this helps someone
this is very helpful to me thanks for briging your input to the thread. what was some of the copy brands you have used?
 

FlowerFarmer

Well-known member
Veteran
You are taking something simple, and making it complicated. There are NO advantages of a root pruning pot over Hempys. NONE. Do some reading:
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=147954


I'm not making anything more complicated...not sure how you came up with that from my post. I do not see anything more complicated about sitting a smart pot on top of a 2" bed of perlite...the spill-over when the saucer overflows being the same as when water spills out of the "rez hole" in a Hempy bucket. Root pruning benefits or not...I already own a bunch of smart pots. I don't own a bunch of sold bottomed buckets.

I've read the Hempy thread before. Thanks though..good read. I didnt see anywhere in the thread that answered my question regarding the "rez hole" and speed of "spill-over".

Why only one? Why not a few around the perimeter of the perlite layer to allow the coco portion of the pot to drain faster. What I'm saying is when watering the coco portion.. do you need to water slowly enough to allow that perlite res to fill up and spill over. Otherwise if you'd water too fast that solution would "back-up" into the coco before the draining.

I ask because due to garden size I'd want to connect all of the hempy "res hole" together as to not have the "spill-over" make a mess. Doing this would slow down the speed of which a hempy can drain since all of the rez hole overflow combined would be leaving via 1/2" tubing linked together. The coco portion would stay saturated with solution longer. Retro, I know this is a bit more complicated then a stand-alone hempy, but this is still a valid question is it not?

Can you put a hose to your hempy bucket and continue to flush as much water as you'd like through it without the water backing up and ultimately spilling over the top of the container before it has time to drain? Through a small single hole near the bottom of the pot.. I doubt it.



Sorry to derail this thread. I figured the "How do smart pots work" question was answered already..so why not?
 
N

noyd666

of course it would overflow, never got around to linking buckets with outflow tube, i think it would be more trouble than it was worth, i was going to have one hose per bucket to drain, but no good to me, as i shift buckets around a lot. moving 40 hempys with hoses connected lol big angry snake. try it your self t farmer.
 
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