Grow Mediums Thinking About Getting An AutoPot System, But Have Questions

[TheHerbCultivator]

I've been reading a lot of the threads, and I think the AutoPot system is definitely what I'm looking for. I do have a couple of questions before pulling the trigger.

1. Knowing what you know now and your experience with the AutoPot system, would you still purchase it/recommend it? What don't you like about the system?
2. I've always grown in fabric pots and saw they have their Spring Pot XL system, but I don't see many people using them. Is there an advantage over using the plastic pots? I'm also assuming that if I go the fabric route, AirDomes would be pointless.
3. The medium I use is a super soil recipe. I'm pretty sure from posts I've seen from @pop22 that AutoPots will work with super soil and organics mediums, so you can use water only. I just wanted to double check that this is true, cause it seems like most people use coco and nutes.
4. From what I read it looks likes AutoPots can grow some monsters. The tent I grow in is 4' x 4' x 73", I wanted to check with you guys if the Spring Pot 4 System will fit in my tent.
5. Besides what comes in the kit, is there anything extra I should get? Is it advised to increase to 1/2" tubing and fittings?

Thanks in advance

 

[pop22]

I would certainly buy them again. And they have improved auto pots since i got mine years ago. they now use larger diameter feed tubing as the valves have been redesigned to use such. All the new systems come with the larger tubing and valves.
Their spring pot system is fairly new, just don't think it's caught on yet. I see no advantage of one or the other, it's mostly a matter of choice. I like the plastic pots. If your buying the kits, you should have all you need. I'd get an extra length of tubing.

I used super soil in my pots several times with great success. You can run pretty much anything in auto pots! Ad some coco or perlite to your soil. 20% is plenty.

Depending on the strain, yes, you could have some monster plants! Your tent is a bit short s you'll have to do some serious plant training.

I've been reading a lot of the threads, and I think the AutoPot system is definitely what I'm looking for. I do have a couple of questions before pulling the trigger.

1. Knowing what you know now and your experience with the AutoPot system, would you still purchase it/recommend it? What don't you like about the system?
2. I've always grown in fabric pots and saw they have their Spring Pot XL system, but I don't see many people using them. Is there an advantage over using the plastic pots? I'm also assuming that if I go the fabric route, AirDomes would be pointless.
3. The medium I use is a super soil recipe. I'm pretty sure from posts I've seen from @pop22 that AutoPots will work with super soil and organics mediums, so you can use water only. I just wanted to double check that this is true, cause it seems like most people use coco and nutes.
4. From what I read it looks likes AutoPots can grow some monsters. The tent I grow in is 4' x 4' x 73", I wanted to check with you guys if the Spring Pot 4 System will fit in my tent.
5. Besides what comes in the kit, is there anything extra I should get? Is it advised to increase to 1/2" tubing and fittings?

Thanks in advance

 

[Olderfart]

I've been reading a lot of the threads, and I think the AutoPot system is definitely what I'm looking for. I do have a couple of questions before pulling the trigger.

1. Knowing what you know now and your experience with the AutoPot system, would you still purchase it/recommend it? What don't you like about the system?
2. I've always grown in fabric pots and saw they have their Spring Pot XL system, but I don't see many people using them. Is there an advantage over using the plastic pots? I'm also assuming that if I go the fabric route, AirDomes would be pointless.
3. The medium I use is a super soil recipe. I'm pretty sure from posts I've seen from @pop22 that AutoPots will work with super soil and organics mediums, so you can use water only. I just wanted to double check that this is true, cause it seems like most people use coco and nutes.
4. From what I read it looks likes AutoPots can grow some monsters. The tent I grow in is 4' x 4' x 73", I wanted to check with you guys if the Spring Pot 4 System will fit in my tent.
5. Besides what comes in the kit, is there anything extra I should get? Is it advised to increase to 1/2" tubing and fittings?

Thanks in advance

FWIW, here is my take after about four grows with the autopot XL fabric setup.

1. The jury is still out on whether I would buy it again. The sub-irrigation design, and hence no runoff, tends to build up nutes/salts in the medium. I have run into issues with this on virtually every grow, and I know other autopot growers on here experience the same issue at least once in a while. Had I to do it again, the choice between autopots and automatic top watering would be a really tough one for me. However, if I ever manage to get the nute buildup issue sorted, I would be really happy with autopots. Also, if you are able to set up a water only grow, they would be golden. I am going to try that on an outdoor shelter grow this summer just to see what happens.

2. I use the xl fabric pots, and would not choose plastic, but I have not tried plastic and others have good results with it. They both work. In my opinion, air domes are a waste of time with fabric pots, and may be a waste of time with plastic pots, at least they would be with reasonably aerated medium. In soil with little aeration additive, they might keep you out of trouble, but I have no experience with that setup. In any case, I have yet to set experimental results that would clarify whether air domes actually help.

3. As I mentioned above, I am going to try a water only grow, but have not done so yet. I have run autopots with both coco and peat media and they both work just fine with one proviso. I think you need to make sure that your soil is aerated especially in the bottom inch or two of the pot which is flooded by the autovalve. I would not try it with any less than ~40% perlite and/or vermiculite in the flood zone if not throughout the pot. If you do not ensure that the flood zone aerates well every time the tray empties, you could run into root rot. If your soil mix is really heavy, I imagine that you could run into root issues even if you aerate the flood zone, but I have no helpful experience with that. The autovalve will keep the medium moist all the time - it will never dry out, so you need to manage accordingly.

4. I would put 4 plants in your 4x4 with the xl fabric setup, as long as they are autos that do not get huge. I have managed three in my 2x4, but that always included at least one or two plants known to be on the small side. Your 4x4 could get crowded with four plants if they are large, or if you veg photos too long. OTOH, there would be no wasted space, and topping, training, and trimming can keep things under control in spite of the plants' opinions. If you kept the plants small, you could get 9 plants in there, but I am not sure it would be much fun.


One last thought - when I used the xl fabric setup, I rolled the pots down so that they were more like 3 gallons, not 5. With salt nutes, even 3 gallons is likely excess with autopot irrigation. However, with your soil mix, I would fill them up to near the rim as you will want as much soil available to the plant as possible.

Good luck with it, tag me if you try a grow with the autopot/super soil, I will be really interested to see how you make out.

 

[pop22]

I ran 8 pots of organic soil for about 2 years, I neverhad a root issue and I did not use air domes. I've tried vairious mixes and as long as it wicks well your good. I was using about 30% coco instead of perlite and that worked fine also, butI believe it retains air better some perlite. Do NOT put any so called drainage matererial in the bottom of your pots, it's a mytth and is contrary to the laws of hydraulics.

@oldfart, I don't know what nutrients and or EC/PPM you ran, but i know there have been a lot of successful coco growing auto pots users here. I also know coco can be fussy. If you like, pm me and we'll discuss this, maybe we can find a solution.

 

[Olderfart]

I ran 8 pots of organic soil for about 2 years, I neverhad a root issue and I did not use air domes. I've tried vairious mixes and as long as it wicks well your good. I was using about 30% coco instead of perlite and that worked fine also, butI believe it retains air better some perlite. Do NOT put any so called drainage matererial in the bottom of your pots, it's a mytth and is contrary to the laws of hydraulics.

@oldfart, I don't know what nutrients and or EC/PPM you ran, but i know there have been a lot of successful coco growing auto pots users here. I also know coco can be fussy. If you like, pm me and we'll discuss this, maybe we can find a solution.

Thanks for the offer mate, much appreciated. If I get into head scratching mode on the grow this fall, I'll touch bases with you.

 

[Simplicio]

I tried them once, the 2 x 2.2 gallon version, and have gone back to dwc.

 

[pop22]

I went the other way, I started with DWC and didn't like it. Everyone has their own style!

I tried them once, the 2 x 2.2 gallon version, and have gone back to dwc.

 

[pop22]

Ask @Nosias what he has done with auto pots!

 

[TheHerbCultivator]

Thanks for all the info. Think I've decided to go with the Spring Pot 4 System. @pop22 I use Roots Organic Original for my base, not sure if you're familiar with it. I remember seeing someone saying that it already has a lot of perlite in it, wondering if I should add more, or would you advise to add coco instead?

 

[Mizzo81]

I love my autopot systems. I’ve used the plastic and fabric pots both work fine. I would buy again and actually now have two autopot systems