A look at Root Pouches

PepperJam · Dec 11, 2011

So i finally got my root pouches. I got mine from http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/, very friendly group of people and excellent customer service.

I got 10 gallon, 7 gallon, 5 gallon, and 1 pint root pouches. They sell them real cheap there compared to everywhere i've seen. I bought 20 - 5 gallon, 5 - 7 gallon, 5 - 10 gallon, and 50 - 1 pint root pouches.

Here are some pics

From left to right, 10 gallon, 7 gallon and 5 gallon

They are nice and thick, have good sturdy stitching.

Here is a 5 gallon plastic container vs 5 gallon root pouch

5 gallon plastic inside a root pouch, fits perfectly

7 gallon plastic inside a 7 gallon root pouch

7 gallon plastic inside a 10 gallon root pouch

The 1 pint one, about the size of a soda can

1 pint in my hand

underside of 1 pint

Great thing about 1 pint root pouch is bottom watering potentials when growing seedlings.

S.S.Tupperware · Dec 11, 2011

Do the 1 pints have a velcro side? i know I played holy hell getting one out of a one gallon, if it didn't have such a tough stem it never would have come out...

PepperJam · Dec 11, 2011

S.S.Tupperware said:
Do the 1 pints have a velcro side? i know I played holy hell getting one out of a one gallon, if it didn't have such a tough stem it never would have come out...

It does not have a velcro side. I'm planning to cut the pot and remove the root ball. Each pot is only 24 cents or so, not worth trying to keep it if trying to remove it tears up the plant's roots.

S.S.Tupperware · Dec 11, 2011

can't beat .24 cents I suppose...

Pash · Feb 27, 2012

I have a root pouch related question. I've been thinking of using root pouches to overwinter my plants at the end of the year. I will overwinter as many as 20 plants, and my space is very limited. What does everyone think of cutting back the root ball of 10 month old plants (some grown in the ground, others in pots) and sticking them in 1 pint root pouches? Does that seem too drastic? It would be a great space saver to use the pints, but if you guys think it would not be healthy for my plants, I will probably overwinter less plants in 1 gallon root pouches.

Any input would be appreciated.

EDIT: I just looked on Greenhouse Megastore, and they have a 1 and 2 quart sizes. Maybe one of those would be a better size for overwintering?

MegaSpokaneMan · Feb 27, 2012

Has anyone used these before ? What are the advantages / disadvantages ?

fireface · Feb 27, 2012

Pash said:
I have a root pouch related question. I've been thinking of using root pouches to overwinter my plants at the end of the year. I will overwinter as many as 20 plants, and my space is very limited. What does everyone think of cutting back the root ball of 10 month old plants (some grown in the ground, others in pots) and sticking them in 1 pint root pouches? Does that seem too drastic? It would be a great space saver to use the pints, but if you guys think it would not be healthy for my plants, I will probably overwinter less plants in 1 gallon root pouches.

Any input would be appreciated.

I pruned 3 plants and their root balls out of 7 gallon containers and made them fit into 2 gallon smart pots. 2 made it and one died, seemed like the one that died wasn't able to get enough water, and it died within 2 weeks. I would measure your available area and go with the biggest possible pots you can fit in the space. That would ensure your best chance for success.

compmodder26 · Feb 28, 2012

MegaSpokaneMan said:
Has anyone used these before ? What are the advantages / disadvantages ?

I use these too. The biggest advantage of root pouches/smart pots/fabric pots is that you don't have to worry about roots circling the pot. The fabric pots air prune the roots so they don't circle. Instead the roots grow very dense.

In the case of root pouches they also have economical advantages as they are very cheap. I bought mine from the greenhousemegastore too, and for 25x1pint, 25x1gallon, and 10x5gallon the cost, after shipping, was $0.83 per pouch.

coheed196 · Feb 28, 2012

I bought root pouches from greenhousemegastore as well, I just got 20-5 gallons. I havent put any plants in them yet but I'm excited to try them. I used 5 gallon Lowe's buckets last year and they worked, but as stated the roots just circle around the pot some I'm looking forward to all this air-pruning business

Noah Yates · Mar 31, 2013

How did you like these?...

frosty · Mar 31, 2013

this is a smart pot (same thing as root pouches) in a flood and drain system. I decided today to put in a bigger "pot". I don't know if the pictures do it justice but it is a huge plant in a little pot. Turbo pube if you are wondering

scrufy · Apr 1, 2013

I had great luck last year with Wally mart and target cloth shopping bags. They are about 4 or so gallons and I think they are similar in results to these. The bad part is they were trashed after a season. Disintegrating around the top and I had to transfer to buckets over winter.
Growth was: 5 gal depot buckets then wally bags then In ground was next and hydro was best.
Just my results with 50 plants. Not scientific and just the way my cards laid out.

Wilfonzo · Apr 24, 2013

What is the best media for pouches. I was planning on using an 80/20 coco/perlite, they're going to be drip watered and manually fed. I've been having great results with that mix so far in my vertical towers