Old Reviews smart pots...

[Mr Piggy]

Amen...smart pots are the business...:thumbs:

It's worthy to note that you can turn any plastic container into a "smart pot" (square ones more easy) by lining your container with landscape fabric. Also works like a charm outdoor, just line your hole with landscape fabric...:thumbs:

Not trying to be contradictory here, just confused. Wouldn't lining a plastic pot with fabric defeat the purpose of exposing the sides to air? That just seems like it would be a plain ol plastic bucket with a blanket on the inside. I use 20 gallon smart pots in the garden for tomatoes and the way I understand them to work is the sides have to be exposed to the elements, specifically air. ?

 

[Mr Piggy]

Here's something I found over at UDG the other day about building large smart pots for larger plants outdoors. It's a re-post so I figured there's no harm in re-re-posting it

DIY smartpots the easy way (not my invention)

I use field fence and landscape fabric for making my fabric root pruning pots (smartpots).

• Take 3'x100' 16ga field fence with 2"x4" mesh and cut it with a skill saw and metal cutting blade while still in the roll (you'll end up with 2 18"x100' strips of wire fence).
• Cut to length depending on the size of the pot wanted (cut wire at middle of mesh). A 10' piece will make an aprox. 3' dia. pot.
• Form a hoop with the fencing, overlap about 6", bend wire to secure (that's why we cut middle of mesh).
• Set hoop on rototillered and prepped soil.
• Cut 3' wide heavy landscape fabric 6" or so longer than you cut the wire fencing for pots.
• Fold landscape fabric in half and wrap around wire hoops 'taco style' with the wire as the filling. (if that makes sense, basically the wire hoop is in the middle with the fabric on either side with the fold on the top so you don't see any of the wire hoop when finished)
• Fill with soil of choice.

Commercial tree growers have been using root pruning pots for almost 20 years with great success. Do some google searching for 'root pruning pots' and see some of the trees that have been grown in small contained pots... you'd be amazed.​

 

[SmashedByHashish]

Not trying to be contradictory here, just confused. Wouldn't lining a plastic pot with fabric defeat the purpose of exposing the sides to air? That just seems like it would be a plain ol plastic bucket with a blanket on the inside. I use 20 gallon smart pots in the garden for tomatoes and the way I understand them to work is the sides have to be exposed to the elements, specifically air. ?

well he drills wholes in the plastic pot...poor mans sm/pot, genius!

also remember if you dont set them up off the ground the roots will grow out the bottom(not exactly air pruning) & in the winter it could stunt the plant from the cold floor.

 

[Mr Piggy]

Yeah, a couple of the tomatoes went right through the bottom of them this year. Next year I may set them on a board or some gravel.

 

[beenjammin]

hay smashed great post. ive had one problem that you guys mentioned. i had so many roots come out of my 2 gallon smartpot it was crazy. i put the pots on plastic saucer so any drainage wouldnt be spread around the tent and i took the saucers out next day and they would sit on tent floor.i personally just threw my smart pots out after the grow. that grow i used 5 2 gallon smart pots and 2 .8 gallon airpots and both airpots yielded a couple more grams dry than any of the smart pots. and the airpot was less than half the smartpots size. just my . i also had to water my airpots more too. i have since then switched to 2 gallon airpots for my ladys except a couple .8 that im using for breeding purposes. im not trying to down smartpots they performed as they said i just didnt like all the roots going through the bottom.

 

[low_and_slow]

Yeah, a couple of the tomatoes went right through the bottom of them this year. Next year I may set them on a board or some gravel.

...or a fill and drain tray filled with large chunk Perlite

 

[yodabuds]

Just killed two males, one was in a smart pot, a lot of soil came loose upon dumping plant, the 2gal air pot? Pics say. Thousand words:
View attachment 178028
Just a solid root mass! Loving the airpots!
Yoda

 

[low_and_slow]

There's no doubt the air pots are superior, and that's coming from someone who only grows in smart pots...gotta get my butt on Amazon and pick some up!

 

[SmashedByHashish]

imo, there is no difference between air pots and smart pots...they do the exact same thing, air prune.

@beenjammin ...all you needed to do is raise them up off the floor so they wouldn't grow through. that is the hole purpose of air pruning...

 

[yodabuds]

My smart pot was in a plastic saucer (things used to catch run off) emptied pot looks like new... Wonder why they'd grow through? Does it matter what they are top of? Or is it cause the Saucer has divets which allow air under the pot?
Yoda