Smart Pots

[drinky_crow7]

Yo Dave,
I just made the tables when I needed more cause I'm lazy too. They are just 1x4ft Linen Shelves from Home Depot. Zip-tied the shelves to the PVC frame. Currently I am almost rid of a gnat & spider mite infestation. I just had that one vent to the right of the bucket open with my a/c unit outside of that. I think bugs & shit get in through it cause there are a few tears in it. Going to go for filtered intake. Definitely going to re-think my setup here in a few weeks.

 

[SecretGardener]

. . . Going to go for filtered intake. Definitely going to re-think my setup here in a few weeks.

I wonder how much (if any) does the filter reduce air flow etc? I was thinking about buying some standard vent filters and just rigt them up to my tent's passive intake vent? What did you have in mind?

 

[drinky_crow7]

I'm sure it reduces the air flow a small amount. I will be re-vamping my garden very soon. I tried rigging the filter to the passive intake but I could not keep it sealed on there very well. Plus I am trying to get rid of ALL light leak if possible. When I test my air flow I use about 10 incense & burn them to get a feel for the air flow & if it is too restrictive or not. This is the only the 2nd grow I have done in one of these secret jardin things. I used to use a rubbermaid storage cabinet but I felt I needed more room haha. Hope this helps. GL!

 

[SecretGardener]

I'm sure it reduces the air flow a small amount. I will be re-vamping my garden very soon. I tried rigging the filter to the passive intake but I could not keep it sealed on there very well. Plus I am trying to get rid of ALL light leak if possible. When I test my air flow I use about 10 incense & burn them to get a feel for the air flow & if it is too restrictive or not. This is the only the 2nd grow I have done in one of these secret jardin things. I used to use a rubbermaid storage cabinet but I felt I needed more room haha. Hope this helps. GL!

Yeah I'm worried about light leaks in my grow tent when I start flowering. I mean the back vent is just wide open...no light trap etc...

I tried using 1 incense and it didn't really work it just dissipated before it got out the exhaust. I didn't think to use multiple. Colored would be great, is there such a thing?

 

[drinky_crow7]

Yeah, I use a good handfull, rubberband together & use a small DIY holder so you can go inside your tent & see how your system works. I had to make huge changes after my 2nd grow when I tried this. Anyways I was a novice back then anyways hana

 

[airphat36]

Does any one transplant from smart pots into a new container?

Im worried about tearing roots that grow through the Smart-Pot when I remove the root ball. Would I be better off just planting the root ball with Smart-Pot in place rather than removing it?

I use 3.5 gallon pots to veg five weeks. I want to flower in 5 gal buckets but they dont fit in my veg tent. Could I get away with using smaller 1 gallon Smart-Pots or do I need a similar size to achieve same size plants when I air prune?

 

[Maj.Cottonmouth]

Here is my transplanting method with SP.

http://www.icmag.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=1135

 

[Dave Coulier]

Does any one transplant from smart pots into a new container?

Im worried about tearing roots that grow through the Smart-Pot when I remove the root ball. Would I be better off just planting the root ball with Smart-Pot in place rather than removing it?

I use 3.5 gallon pots to veg five weeks. I want to flower in 5 gal buckets but they dont fit in my veg tent. Could I get away with using smaller 1 gallon Smart-Pots or do I need a similar size to achieve same size plants when I air prune?

I just transplant into new bags with my root pruning bags. Of course doing that with Smart Pots is expensive, but I use Root Pouch. A much cheaper alternative that works just as well.

I dont think 1 gallon smart pots are going to be large enough. The plants do make better use of the soil when they are in smart pots, so you may not need as large as bags because of that, but Id probably go with 3 gallon size for flowering, unless you are growing really large plants.

 

[Dorje113]

...but Id probably go with 3 gallon size for flowering, unless you are growing really large plants.

One thing to keep in mind is that SP's need more frequent watering. Anything larger than a very small plant is a 3 gal pot will need to be watered very frequently.

I grow med. sized plants in 20 gal SP's and still have to water every 2-3 days.

 

[SecretGardener]

One thing to keep in mind is that SP's need more frequent watering. Anything larger than a very small plant is a 3 gal pot will need to be watered very frequently.

I grow med. sized plants in 20 gal SP's and still have to water every 2-3 days.

I wonder how frequently. Daily or every other? I guess it doesn't matter, I enjoy being among the plants and they like my CO2 haha

 

[Absolut]

I just switched to smart pots. I grow in one of those tent things temporarily for now. I wanted to take advantage of the breathability, if you will, of the pots. I rigged up these small tables & vent fresh air to the middle under my entire grow. Check it out:

I don't have it in the pic but I use a duct booster from home depot to push the air under everything. I have noticed a huge difference in health & vigor in my plants. Nothing like those 300gal ones though hahaha.

Awesome setup dude!

I am in the midst of planning something like this but inside a room. I was thinking of building the frame out of wood and using some sort of fencing material. Was going to use 5 gal SP's so it has to be sturdy. Also if it was rust proof that would be a plus. Any suggestions? Initially I was thinking about using chicken wire type stuff but I'm worried it might rust.

Or if you think the wire shelving will be better, where can I get that stuff in quantity?

 

[Dave Coulier]

One thing to keep in mind is that SP's need more frequent watering. Anything larger than a very small plant is a 3 gal pot will need to be watered very frequently.

I grow med. sized plants in 20 gal SP's and still have to water every 2-3 days.

Frequent watering is a good thing though, so I dont mind having to water more often. Im also using Blumats for watering, so its easy on me

Plus not everyone can afford the space for 20 gallon pots in their grow space.

 

[SecretGardener]

Frequent watering is a good thing though, so I dont mind having to water more often. Im also using Blumats for watering, so its easy on me

Plus not everyone can afford the space for 20 gallon pots in their grow space.

Watering pushes stale air out and new air into the soil pore spaces right? Keeps the roots oxygenated.

 

[airphat36]

Here is my transplanting method with SP.

https://www.icmag.com/viewarticle.php?articleid=1135

Yea great idea Major...thanks for the video. It looked to me like the roots stay mainly inside the medium and dont cling to the bag too much.

 

[airphat36]

I just transplant into new bags with my root pruning bags. Of course doing that with Smart Pots is expensive, but I use Root Pouch. A much cheaper alternative that works just as well.

I dont think 1 gallon smart pots are going to be large enough. The plants do make better use of the soil when they are in smart pots, so you may not need as large as bags because of that, but Id probably go with 3 gallon size for flowering, unless you are growing really large plants.

Cool man, I’m also using another brand they had at the local hydro shop. It seems like there are quite a few versions out there.

I think your right about the 1 gallon Smart-Pots. There are times I cannot water daily so when these require it I must transplant into larger containers. I won’t flower in Smart-Pots for this reason so I can just transplant sooner since I have some going in 1 gallon Smart-Pots right now.

I will only have six plants going under 1KW when I flower the ones now in Smart-Pots. After my current run with six plants I was thinking 5 gal buckets may improve yield. I just recently placed nine plants under 1KW 12/12 in 3.5 gal Hempy buckets which should suffice for plants of that size.

Next time I’ll try flowering nine plants per 1k and see if 3 gallon Smart-Pot get me through five weeks 18/06 under 600W, watering every second or third day. Then Flower these in 5 gallon Hempy buckets.

 

[airphat36]

One thing to keep in mind is that SP's need more frequent watering. Anything larger than a very small plant is a 3 gal pot will need to be watered very frequently.

I grow med. sized plants in 20 gal SP's and still have to water every 2-3 days.

Thanks for the tip Dorje but wow 20 gallons is allot of coco.

I hope 3 gal pots can get me through 5 wks 18/06 as long as I don’t flower in SP’s. Otherwise I can just transplant into my Hempy buckets sooner.

I would love to see a 20 gallon monster. These must be outdoor right? How many would you place under 1KW indoor if using 20 gal SP’s?

 

[Dave Coulier]

Watering pushes stale air out and new air into the soil pore spaces right? Keeps the roots oxygenated.

Its something like that.

When we water, we are forcing air out of the soil, and replacing it with water. There is some remaining air, but its mostly replaced by water, since most common soil mixes over the shelf are too water retentive.

The air doesnt return until the soil drains well, or the plant uses enough of it up to allow air back in. This is why fast draining, low water retentive soils are best. They get that air back much faster than a medium consisting of lots of compost, or peat moss, which ends up killing root hairs when they can't breathe.

 

[SecretGardener]

... which ends up killing root hairs when they can't breathe.

This recently happened to me. I made my own organic mix and I think I screwed it up going too heavy on the EWC and the mix held way too much water. What is the solution to fix the mix, more perlite? I've always assumed perlite is strictly for aerating your soil mix but I've read it also helps with water retention? That is the exact opposite of what I am trying to acheive.

 

[Lazyman]

I just got some of CAP's gropots, they're taller, narrower than Smartpots, and have nice handles sewn on. They are also a LOT cheaper, check out htgsupply for prices, but they only come in up to 7 gallon, nothing bigger yet. I'm putting my moms in them!

 

[Dave Coulier]

This recently happened to me. I made my own organic mix and I think I screwed it up going too heavy on the EWC and the mix held way too much water. What is the solution to fix the mix, more perlite? I've always assumed perlite is strictly for aerating your soil mix but I've read it also helps with water retention? That is the exact opposite of what I am trying to acheive.

Unfortunately extra perlite really wont help. Compost and EWC in containers just create one big muddy mess when used in excess. Even at 15% its nothing but muck. You should water a container thats got lots of ewc or compost in it, then dump it out and look at the bottom. You'll most likely see muck.

I limit myself to 10% personally, and will probably completely eliminate it from future mixes. I only use them for the microbes. The rest of the small amount of macros and minors are easily supplied from other components or fertilizers.

To borrow a line from Tapla(gardenweb forum guru), adding perlite to a compost/ewc laden mix is like adding perlite to pudding. You can add tons and tons of perlite to it, but you still have pudding.

The only time perlite will really help aerate your soil is when all the soil particles are nearly the same size as the perlite. If you have a wide mix of particle sizes, the smaller ones fill the macropores(space between the larger particles), and you end up with poor aeration, and too much water retention. This is why its best to try and use components that are nearly the same size.

If you'd like to learn more about soil structure, and get a leg up, I can provide some links from Tapla. Its really eye opening stuff. Ive learned alot from him.

Oh, and taller pots are better than shorter ones. The taller the pot, the more air that is available for the roots.