Smart pot Vs. Air pot Vs. Cheap azz pot...

Three happy Butch-T's
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Cool, luckily the hydro store across the lake has um in stock. I am loving them, I am still waiting for them to get the 1/2 liter for starts. He said they were back ordered so I need to check back with him.
 
here is what i have been farting around with:

before i start........quit laughing.....no, stop it! no giggling either.... stop, you have to get past it.... i am really cheap! not as clever as tupper by asking for free samples, but none the less creative.

left, is a butchT raised in soil, sprouted in about 2 weeks, grew for a bit, then went into stall mode after being removed from its cozy germination station. i repotted a few times but it remained stagnet. it also suffered from a bout of hail when i was gone on holidays for 2 weeks. then, when this post was started, i decided to drill holes into the side of the container(never heard of smart/air/root pots before) and that gave him a bit of new growth. not satisfied with its new growth, i decided to make my cheapy version of an airpot by inserting chopped up straws into the holes.

middle and right, are pequin, the middle is in a 4" coir pot and the right is 2.5" coir container. the middle plant was first to sprout and was always strong. the right has had some challenges. but, the coir is quite porous and should simulate a smartpot.

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here is what i have been farting around with:

before i start........quit laughing.....no, stop it! no giggling either.... stop, you have to get past it.... i am really cheap! not as clever as tupper by asking for free samples, but none the less creative.

left, is a butchT raised in soil, sprouted in about 2 weeks, grew for a bit, then went into stall mode after being removed from its cozy germination station. i repotted a few times but it remained stagnet. it also suffered from a bout of hail when i was gone on holidays for 2 weeks. then, when this post was started, i decided to drill holes into the side of the container(never heard of smart/air/root pots before) and that gave him a bit of new growth. not satisfied with its new growth, i decided to make my cheapy version of an airpot by inserting chopped up straws into the holes.

middle and right, are pequin, the middle is in a 4" coir pot and the right is 2.5" coir container. the middle plant was first to sprout and was always strong. the right has had some challenges. but, the coir is quite porous and should simulate a smartpot.

While the Airpots do aerate the soil nicely their primary design air prunes the root system this way you never develop a circulating root system by roots redirected at the edge of the pot. I found it quite clever more then simply putting holes in a pot the egg-carton shape of the pot directs roots to the holes, air prunes them, and promotes a healthy radial root pattern. Mostly useful for re-potting and replanting purposes but Im going to try them for the long haul to see if a sort of healthy long term stunted bonsaish growth develops.
 
i agree, the real "McCoy" is the way to go but i can't find them here in canada, yes, i know i could order them online from the US but shipping over the border drives up the cost per pot.
wonder if they need a distributor in canada, i would love to promote this type of product to nurseries, greenhouses and the big box stores.
 
Not very long, they only predict frost here like 10 days a year average. So not long. but one really cool thing I thought of is, The guy at the new hydro store is a pepper freak too. they just opened and he said he will take whatever I have... So I bought him a couple of hot peppers. He said he want's to take cuttings, so I will bring him some of mine, let him grow them in the hydro shop over the winter since he has everything at his disposal. If I'm lucky I can have him get me some 3 foot transplants in March... Can't wait for next year.


Sounds like you talk to cory at the Altamont location huh? I am suppose to hook him up with some seeds next time i am out there, that 2 gallon pot, is that the 7.5l or th 5l? I paid that much for the 5L when i was there last thursday.
 
Yeah in Altamonte... I go tropical hydro, not sunshine across the street. I live < 1/2 mile from there... I'm not good with names. You live close by?
 
Yeah in Altamonte... I go tropical hydro, not sunshine across the street. I live < 1/2 mile from there... I'm not good with names. You live close by?

I live in melbourne, I won 100 dollar instore credit and at simply hydro on farbanks, went there to pick some things up and there store sucked. Hardly anything in there. So when i was done i hit them up lookig for the aipots myself. Corey was the tan guy with the long hair. There rumor they suppose to carry the x-nutrients (which i like) and was checking up to see if they ordered any.

I think at simply hydro I plan on getting some guano and crap just so i can use it. So its hard to find out what i want to spend the cash on.
 
Checked with supplier, there shouldn't be any holes in the 2 upper rows to allow water to sit there and go down and not out at the top. The largest holes should be at the bottom, but as long as there is holes under the "bottom plate" it shouldn't be a problem. And also there are two versions, one with holes all the way, and one with two lines without holes.
I just thought I bought a pot, but seems like they did allot of thinking :)
 
1 or 2 rows depends on pot size though.
The "no holes" line should be on top.
The pots in the pictures above are up-side down. The largest holes are on the top, and in any case that is wrong.
You can clearly see on the pot in the middle that the holes are getting smaller the lower down you go..
Sorry to point it out..

AirPot assembly from Airpot site
 
1 or 2 rows depends on pot size though.
The "no holes" line should be on top.
Not to be that kind of person, but the pots in the pictures above are up-side down. The largest holes are on the top, and in any case that is wrong.
You can clearly see on the pot in the middle that the holes are getting smaller the lower down you go..
Sorry to point it out..

AirPot assembly from Airpot site
If I saw a picture of someone wearing a shirt inside out I would also point that out;)

yup, your right. The root ball is compact enough now that I can flip the pots over.
 
When i opened up a liter pot, man the roots were thick, but all were white and healthy, all were directed to the holes , air pruned and new fuzzy growth all over. When i planted some same seed from the same time in a small starter pot, they were in the circle of doom at the bottom of the pot. :beer:
 
Just want to chime in and let you know that "root pots" are a less expensive fabric aeration pot than the other brands.
Made from recycled materials, they are designed to break down over time.
Cost about half as much as some brands. If you are interested, we have them on our site.
 
my butchT really hasn't made any new progress. the kids wanted to go to the Dollar Store to get out of the house and get a Subway(we have them here too) for lunch, whilst wandering the aisles of the Dollar Store, i found these bags. the ones i bought are about 1 gallon, but rectangular, which is perfect for me as they will sit on my window shelf nicer. they had all sizes but for me, 1 gallon is easier for the portability i like. i was a little concerned with how stable the bag would be once filled with medium, so, next aisle over i found plastic storage trays that fit the bottom of the bag perfect. the bags were $1.25 and the tray was $1.00. the bags came in a rainbow of colours but i stuck with black, this way the soil can get heated during the day when our night-time lows get really cold. let's see is little butchie sprouts into big butcher! (made in india of polypropelene, just like the root pouch)

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