Smart Pots

[Clackamas Coot]

Air Pots

Air Pots

Lt. Dan

The auto-pruning pots (APP - I'm tired of typing it out!) definitely allow for a massive root structure. Looking at the photos that you provided it's pretty obvious that these type of containers far surpass the results using standard nursery containers.

Let's stipulate that there is absolutely no benefit from using APP vs. grow bags, plastic lipped nursery containers, et al. as far as yield. Nada, zip, nix, nien, no, hell no, f*ck no and not even. It's a wash.

The major advantage is the overall health and vigor of the plant having more & stronger roots and as we all know, stronger plants are more resistant to disease, better defenses against infestation, etc. This is not a small detail.

Better drainage is a strong point. Especially if one is using coco as their strata and I'm assuming that you have to 'flush' out the strata, right? I know nothing about coco so I'm going on assumption here - LOL. Having the sides open to allow for drainage from top to bottom, it would seem logical (to me at least) that this would be a good thing.

Then again maybe I don't have a clue about growing in coco.

RE: Pricing

On an earlier thread I said that SmartPots were worth every penny and the time necessary to source them. I didn't make it too clear that I was only talking about the brand name product 'SmartPots' specifically.

My comment was not intended to include the Air Pot brand. I bought some used ones from a fellow nursery grower a couple of months and ran them through a flower cycle vs. the SmartPots I have been using.

I grew the same clones from my favorite strain, ever, the 'Jack Herer' strain from a cutting I picked up last year from one of the MMJ organizations. I love this strain - it's the best medicine I have found for my needs.

Sadly though it wasn't until I looked up this strain on this board and discovered that I'm a complete dimwitted moron because I'm growing the WRONG phenotype!!!! The 'preferred' phenotype according to most posters here at ICMAG is the 'sativa-dominant' version and not the indica-dominant that I have. What a moron, eh?

Then only to find out that I'm a total FNG when it comes to growing any strain of cannabis what with the tall tales of 10 oz. per plant yields under 600 watt lights, cloning in 4 days, 10 day veg cycles - whew!

Then more sadness filled my days when after reading a whole grow diary or posting about the yields from these Master Cannabis Growers, I learned that for these yield levels you have to have PH meters, PH up, PH down, Cal-Mag this, birdy-doo that, piranha yo' mama, BallzOff, Cat Scratch Beaver, et al. and I just can't afford all that stuff - dagnabit!

In any event, I know this plant pretty well. Growing side by side, the Air Pot produced exactly the same results that I expect from the SmartPots.

Given the huge price disparity between the SmartPots brand vs. the Air Pot brand, I would be hard-pressed to come up with any reason that would justify the Air Pot prices. Not to mention the stress of sourcing them.

Unless it's a situation where you are using the Air Pot for growing plants to a certain point prior to be planted outdoors down the line. For that specific usage the Air Pot prices are outstanding and more than worth it.

BTW - I wasn't able to find a board at ICMAG with a title something like I'm Growing the Wrong Phenotype - What Should I Do?

Is it possible that I need change the Search terms?

Thanks for any help!

CC

 

[robotwithdreams]

hey suby,

first of all let me thank you for your contributions.

How did your homemade airpot work out?

Can someone tell me if it would be wiser to use square pots. I remember reading somewhere that with square pots the roots do not circle around the edges, but actually hit the sides and start branching inward.

 

[Suby]

hey suby,

first of all let me thank you for your contributions.

Thanks for the props, it will be ready to use in 2-3 weeks only, I am currently sexing a batch of seedling that's why I have a holdup.

 

[bdlt]

Three Weeks in that Air Pot!!!! Now I'm getting excited! Can't wait till I receive mine and can start my tests!

~bdlt

 

[bdlt]

Lt. Dan,

I'm curious as to how your side by side comparison is going? Lets see some pics!

~bdlt

 

[Lt. Dan]

Lt. Dan,

I'm curious as to how your side by side comparison is going? Lets see some pics!

~bdlt

I don't have anymore recent pics since I posted a few days ago but I'm transplanting in the next day or two so I should have some new pics by Tuesday/Wednesday. I'm transplanting one plant into a 1 gallon air pot from the starter air pot and then the other plant into a standard 1 gallon round nursery container from a 16 ounce cup. I'll post as soon as I shoot the new pics

 

[bdlt]

Lt. Dan: You're about 30 days ahead of me with the Air Pots so please forgive my anxiousness! Can't wait to see the results in a side by side.

~bdlt

 

[Lt. Dan]

Lt. Dan: You're about 30 days ahead of me with the Air Pots so please forgive my anxiousness! Can't wait to see the results in a side by side.

~bdlt

I understand anxiousness very well I'm out of buds and my next crop won't be ready until July 4th weekend

 

[Lt. Dan]

Maybe these pics will help you bdlt I'm running the comparison on my LSD pheno #2. I called it #2 because it was a slower grower than my LSD#1. #2 is a nice pheno that gets really frosty starting at week 3 of 12/12 but the yield is not very much compared to some other LSD I've had before.

I'm going to run my next comparison with either some BMR or Bobbubble starting in August. But for now these LSD are in the experiment.



Getting ready to transplant





These are the roots from the 16 oz cup





These are the roots from the starter air pots





Side view of the new transplants





Top view of the new transplants




I planted the smaller cutting into the starter air pot from the beginning so it looks a little shorter than the one in a traditional pot. I will eventually top them at the same node so they will be the same height. I like to top between the 8-10 node and then take clones off the bottom for next generation.

 

[clowntown]

Couldn't you do an air-pruned micro SOG with dirty socks?

I tried growing in peanut butter & jelly. It failed.

I tried growing in a cleaned out jelly conainter... looks good.

I'm even trying growing 40oz malt liquor style, complete with paper bag.

But dirty socks... ??? Would the bacteria in dirty socks be considered to be beneficial or harmful to plants?

 

[Cali smoke]

clowntown, the only thing with that would be trying to get the sock to sit up right, plus all the water leaking out since it doesn't have a solid base. I think the question of whether or not their will be beneficial bacteria involved would have a lot to do with the sock owner.

Also you can get some wire and make a mold of your foot standing and then put it in the sock and fill it up, that should work. Good luck

 

[C21H30O2]

has the discussion turned to whether or not there are beneficial bacteria in dirty socks...

 

[sunnydog]

Maybe these pics will help you bdlt I'm running the comparison on my LSD pheno #2. I called it #2 because it was a slower grower than my LSD#1. #2 is a nice pheno that gets really frosty starting at week 3 of 12/12 but the yield is not very much compared to some other LSD I've had before.

I'm going to run my next comparison with either some BMR or Bobbubble starting in August. But for now these LSD are in the experiment.



Getting ready to transplant





These are the roots from the 16 oz cup





These are the roots from the starter air pots





Side view of the new transplants





Top view of the new transplants




I planted the smaller cutting into the starter air pot from the beginning so it looks a little shorter than the one in a traditional pot. I will eventually top them at the same node so they will be the same height. I like to top between the 8-10 node and then take clones off the bottom for next generation.

Can't tell from the pics, are the air-potted ones superior?

 

[clowntown]

I think the plants are too small right now to be able to tell. Maybe after a few more weeks of veg from here and a "cutaway" or "pie slice" out of the rootball / medium is performed, you can really see what's going on.

Are you prepared to do that?

 

[3dDream]

If you bottom feed the roots don't grow on the bottom. I have yet to get root rot. I use valves that allow the roots to dry a bit and then they flood. This repeats and the whole process draw fresh air into the roots. The plants in the trays dictate when they eat by the amount they drink. There is a limit where too much water at the roots is a bad thing, but when you have the right amount the plants soar. The air pots are neat, but if you can feed a plant as much as it wants you wont get root bound in coco. I have also heard of people putting air cages at the bottom of pots to pump in air to the roots.

Can you take a pic of the bottom? If they are flat it might be worth a test.

 

[bdlt]

Lt. Dan:

Update?

~bdlt

 

[Dignan]

Suby,

Your bucket idea for the homemade air pruning pots... what about doing the same thing but with milk crates? Line a milk crate with the same screen material and you have a really strong, 5-6 gallon container that is also square so as to maximize space in an indoor garden.

Just thinking out loud.

Dig

 

[vhGhost]

sorry if its been mentioned but here goes.... today i baught a flat of eggs. and i tosted out the old flat egg carton, and i started to think that it looks alot like the air pots... soooo why couldn't we make a rubber mold of the flat carton and bent it into an air pot ? .. any one follow what i'm trying to say? or should i put the bong down ? lol

 

[lilo]

Because making a mold would cost you much more on materials then just buy the real thing.

 

[clowntown]

Why not just use a burlap sack, wire mesh trash cans / baskets, a large net pot, or any other "device" if you don't want to go with the real thing?

All the nooks & crannies creates additional surface area, I'm sure, but probably isn't going to overcome the fact that the holes are quite small relative to the total surface area of the pot compared to say a net pot or other forms of containers where the entire wall is a mesh.

I'm just guessing and going by gut feel, but I have a feeling that the "real thing" is really more of some idea that was originally created to make shipping & logistics easier and cheaper, and possibly even using materials that is recycled from some other entirely different purpose. But instead, it's marketed as something else? I dunno, again just a gut feeling...

I'd still love to see a rootball sliced apart compared to a regular pot.