Why do experienced growers still use plastic pots?

[xtsho]

Regular old NC5 plastic pot treating me fine.

View attachment 18971929

Is that coco?

 

[Treetroit City]

Is that coco?

Yes 100% coco.

I will also add that for me trying to remove rootballs from fabric pots is too labor intensive.

 

[xtsho]

Yes 100% coco.

I will also add that for me trying to remove rootballs from fabric pots is too labor intensive.

Those look great. I do 100% coco as well. I stopped adding perlite years ago. I hate that stuff and there is no need to add it.

 

[StickyBandit]

100% coco here too with hempy (plastic) buckets. I like being able to lift them to check weight/water and they're very well aerated. Tried fabric bags but they dry too fast and they're dirty for re-use and the fungus gnats love them!

 

[xtsho]

100% coco here too with hempy (plastic) buckets. I like being able to lift them to check weight/water and they're very well aerated. Tried fabric bags but they dry too fast and they're dirty for re-use and the fungus gnats love them!

If you use Blumats they never dry out. They stay consistently moist and perfect the entire grow.

 

[CharlesU Farley]

They work fine and last a lifetime.

My memory sucks horribly these days but I think you had to step back from the forums from some reason or another a couple of weeks / months ago. If that's the case, welcome back!

If you have no earthly idea what I'm talking about, chalk it up to the ramblings of a memory impaired old man.

 

[CocoNut 420]

.

 

[fuzzymuffin]

I switched to fabric pots on a whim about a year ago to try them out and love them. They're easy to move around and I never have to worry about root rot as the pot won't trap moisture. They're also very inexpensive and, IME, more durable than plastic pots. I've not had a single bag break whilst moving stuff around which would happen sometimes when using plastic or clay pots.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

I switched to fabric pots on a whim about a year ago to try them out and love them. They're easy to move around and I never have to worry about root rot as the pot won't trap moisture. They're also very inexpensive and, IME, more durable than plastic pots. I've not had a single bag break whilst moving stuff around which would happen sometimes when using plastic or clay pots.

Really? My plastic pots are almost indestructible.

 

[StickyBandit]

I think a lot of people's preferences relate to their grow medium and climate to an extent, there are so many combinations

 

[CharlesU Farley]

I think a lot of people's preferences relate to their grow medium and climate to an extent, there are so many combinations

I'm so content with the soil mix I use, other than seeing it mentioned on various cannabis fora, I'm totally ignorant about all things coco. Apparently, Ca/Mg really is needed in that environment, which totally astounds me.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

I'm so content with the soil mix I use, other than seeing it mentioned on various cannabis fora, I'm totally ignorant about all things coco. Apparently, Ca/Mg really is needed in that environment, which totally astounds me.

Are you reusing your soil?

 

[Poptart Smoothie]

One negative imo with fabric and other air pruning pots is insects in the soil. Fungus gnats for example have access to a larger surface area. It just makes it slightly more annoying.

 

[CharlesU Farley]

Are you reusing your soil?

Always, I'm a cheap ass... always looking for the most efficient, least expensive way to do things. Every spring, I buy several bags of Miracle Grow or StaGreen potting soil, or whatever cheap shit is on sale. Soon as I get it home, I douche it with hundreds of gallons of spring water to leach out the bullshit, then mix it up with the old soil that I've emptied out from the last harvest. Throw in a couple bags of Black Cow composted cow shit, a couple handfuls of dolimetic lime and a small handful of Epsom salt, thoroughly mix that together, water the shit out of it again and I'm good to go.

After that, all I need is Peter's 20/20/20.

 

[moose eater]

Fabric pots have been around for quite a while now. I know this is not a popular opinion but I believe, for indoor soil growers, fabric containers are the best innovation (with the possible exception of LED lights) in the past 25 years.

Here's some videos to illustrate why I feel this way:







A large, fully encircled/encased root mass, around the insides of plastic pots, with almost no root mass in the interior _soil_ of the plastic soil container, just doesn't make any sense to me. But I see so many experienced and knowledgeable growers still using containers that were originally developed almost 50 years ago.

Why?

Almost want to make a meme with my ass sitting in front of a table, with a large sign that says "This is my opinion, change my mind!

Convenience, cost, reusability, stability, and habit.

You asked.

(*Though several years ago I moved on from Classic 2200's to 7-gallon thicker-walled plastic. And yes, there's likely the 'forever presence' of micro-plastics in my cannabis' roots now, but hey....).

 

[PadawanWarrior]

Always, I'm a cheap ass... always looking for the most efficient, least expensive way to do things. Every spring, I buy several bags of Miracle Grow or StaGreen potting soil, or whatever cheap shit is on sale. Soon as I get it home, I douche it with hundreds of gallons of spring water to leach out the bullshit, then mix it up with the old soil that I've emptied out from the last harvest. Throw in a couple bags of Black Cow composted cow shit, a couple handfuls of dolimetic lime and a small handful of Epsom salt, thoroughly mix that together, what are the shit out of it again and I'm good to go.

After that, all I need is Peter's 20/20/20.

Right on. I've been using the same soil for 5+ years. Well not exactly the same since I've added a bunch of shit but it was once plain FFOF. I started doing cover crops last year and I think that helps a lot. Check out langbeinite. That shit is awesome if you need Mg and K. Build a Soil said it was a better to use that than Epsom.

I actually overdid it a bit last run and the Mg was a bit much and started creating a K deficiency. So I need to use more potassium sulfate instead now that I'm loaded with Mg. I think the Gnarly Barley has helped too overall. All I know is this run is better than it's been in awhile. I think I'm finally starting to figure this shit out.

 

[CharlesU Farley]

Convenience, cost, reusability, stability, and habit.

You asked.

(*Though several years ago I moved on from Classic 2200's to 7-gallon thicker-walled plastic. And yes, there's likely the 'forever presence' of micro-plastics in my cannabis' roots now, but hey....).

Totally understand, especially the habit aspect. I've just always been focused on doing shit as cheaply and most efficiently as possible. I've got a heavy science background but I'm skeptical as shit. These fabric bags have made a world of difference in my environment. I'm all about root and leaf development and I noticed an immediate change when I switched over.

Didn't realize it until I went back and looked at my old report cards from elementary and junior high school but there's a pretty good possibility I was hyperactive, if not on the autism spectrum. I'd say idiot savant... other people would just say idiot.

That's probably why I've been kicked off so many cannabis fora.

 

[CharlesU Farley]

Right on. I've been using the same soil for 5+ years. Well not exactly the same since I've added a bunch of shit but it was once plain FFOF. I started doing cover crops last year and I think that helps a lot. Check out langbeinite. That shit is awesome if you need Mg and K. Build a Soil said it was a better to use that than Epsom.

I actually overdid it a bit last run and the Mg was a bit much and started creating a K deficiency. So I need to use more potassium sulfate instead now that I'm loaded with Mg. I think the Gnarly Barley has helped too overall. All I know is this run is better than it's been in awhile. I think I'm finally starting to figure this shit out.

You might want to think about simplifying things, you've got a lot going on there. I mean no disrespect and I'm not making fun of _you_ whatsoever, but I used to make fun of people who mentioned langbonite (I'm an old fuck so I can't take the time to figure out the correct spelling right now ) back on RIU. That super specialized, trendy additive is something I would never even consider.

But remember, I'm an old dinosaur... that's why I've got a fucking drunk and disorderly Barney as my avatar... I come out swinging.

 

[growsjoe1]

Langbeinite

A short explanation (1 min read): I find it a functional additive in living soil.

On topic, I use 10-gallon fabric pots with a plastic liner about 2/3 of the way down to the bottom. This allows for more water retention, and the pots dry from the bottom up, which I think is more like how it happens in nature. Roots completely fill the pots... throughout the whole pot.

Yea, they're a bitch to clean. I take mine to the laundromat and fuk up their washers. That is the only reason I miss plastic pots. I still have a bunch lying around.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

Langbeinite

A short explanation (1 min read): I find it a functional additive in living soil.

On topic, I use 10-gallon fabric pots with a plastic liner about 2/3 of the way down to the bottom. This allows for more water retention, and the pots dry from the bottom up, which I think is more like how it happens in nature. Roots completely fill the pots... throughout the whole pot.

Yea, they're a bitch to clean. I take mine to the laundromat and fuk up their washers. That is the only reason I miss plastic pots. I still have a bunch lying around.

Langbeinite helped me a lot. My soil was getting calcium toxicity from my amendments and well water. That stuff helped replace some of those Ca ions with Mg and K ions. I'm on my second 5lb box.