Earth Juice AeroBags / Root Pouch / GroPro / Geo Pots

Milk With Pulp · Jun 9, 2013

I was interested in purchasing AeroBags from earth juice but cannot seem to find a place that sells them.
I've searched the forum for posts relating the bags etc kind of a no go.

Was interested in seeing peoples opinions and or reviews on quality of each, I know I left a few names out, didn't want the title extremely long.

If you have any experience with Geo Pots, Gro Pros, Root Pouch, Aero Bags, Smart Pots etc

What are pros/cons of bag, how long have you had, indoor outdoor, would you recommend, post any pictures of your pots etc.
Have been interested in trying Root Pouch and Aero Bags and possibly the geo, I have smart pots a few, only thing I see with them that I dislike sometimes is they seem too thin walled but that may just be me.

Cannot tell you durability wise yet since they are fairly new and no high amounts of heat or abuse have been given.

Appreciate any information help and websites or hints to grab the aero bags

Scarlet Fire · Jun 9, 2013

My 3 overwintered plants from last year are in 7-gallon root pouches. They're cheap (I bought a 10 pack) and have handles for ease of portability. I think the website I bought from said they should be good for 3 or 4 years. I'm liking them so far, and will probably use those for all my overwinters next year.

sosl0w · Jun 9, 2013

I use smart pots and geopots. I grew about 50 plants last year in my driveway. And have about 65 plants this year. 7 of them are over winters in 20 Gallon geopots. The others are in 5 gallon pots. Durability wise, the smart pots seem to be ok, i personally like the geo's better as I agree with you in the smart pots are to thin walled and flimsy for my liking. They also don't have handles like the geo's. I think over all they would last a couple seasons, but I honestly don't see a reason to spend the money on any of them really. They are far to expensive for what they cost when you can use the walmart bags with the exact same results and get the for .50-$1 each. Then all you really need to buy are the bigger ones if you want to over winter and grow a couple plants into small trees. Another thing i have found is its a pain in the arse to water and keep them watered. I suggest when you fill them, you put a good amount of soil around the outside so that the water settles in the middle toward the plant. Otherwise the water runs off the sides and threw the fabric onto the ground instead of soaking in and down.

Noah Yates · Jun 9, 2013

I have some of the root pouches. They are pretty decent except for the fact that a "5 gallon" root pouch is more like 3.8 gallons, as i discussed in another thread. They have slightly less drainage than i would have expected. The best pots for self-pruning and drainage/aeration in my opinion are the super-roots air pots. They are expensive... but awesome..... great investments for your "best" plants.

hydromike · Jun 10, 2013

I'm using geopots this season and I love them. They look good, are thick walled (last longer?), and watering the soil is thorough. They tend to not let water out until the soil is well moistened. Even if you water around the edges at the top the water will seep into the soil rather than leak out the sides.

fireface · Jun 11, 2013

I have had my 2 gal smart pots for 3 seasons and my 7 gal geo pots for 2 seasons. As stated above, the geos are much thicker and seem to have better stitching. To their credit, the smart pots have held up just fine, I can foresee a few more years of use out of them at least.

My main issue with smaller air pruning pots is its a real pita to pull the plant out when you are potting up, mainly due to the super dense rootball they develop. I guess I shouldn't be complaining about having plants with a healthy root system tho, lol

Milk With Pulp · Jun 11, 2013

Appreciate the replies, the more the better. With photos of how your pots are doing planted or not. Seems aerobags will be difficult to source.

Beerswimmer · Jun 19, 2013

I just got 6 of these from the local grow store. They are 7 gallons and seem pretty tough so far. I am going to see what the growth and production difference is between them and regular 7 gallon pots with the same plants/nutrients/sun/location. I am hoping to see a BIG difference since they are about 200% more expensive.

Swamp Monster · Jul 12, 2013

I use the 5 and 7 gal smart pots with handles, and my plants seem to like them. The only real downsides are cost and if you leave them outside in one spot too long the roots will grow through the bottom and render the pot immovable. They don't do a whole lot that 5 gal buckets won't, except they are wider, so the wind won't blow them over. Also they store well and have compact heights for their volume (#7 and #5 are the same height) which is useful under lights indoors. I'll continue using them.

CBaulin · Jul 20, 2013

I'm using reusable shopping bags... Basically the same thing, maybe not quite as thick as the Geopots. A little flimsy until you get them filled BUT at $0.99 a piece I really don't mind. Plants seems to like em, the average size reusable shopping bag seems to fit about 5-6 gallons

amps · Jul 25, 2013

I followed some advice from the forum and planted in reusable walmart bags this year. 50 cents a bag seemed like a cheap experiment.

My plants are easily twice the size compared to last year. There's other factors that have also changed like adding a drip irrigation system on a timer and the fact that the bags have more volume than my pots last year. That being said, I'm still sold. I can water them more frequently without fear of over watering while still missing a day here and there. Also, the root systems that I've noticed are really nice and fluffy. The bags were also nice for squeezing more plants into a smaller area since they're essentially rectangles and can be place right next to eachother.