Anyone on here use the Smart Pot? Aeration container supposed to be better than plastic, better than raised beds, releases heat, aerates the root zone, stops root circling, and air prunes the plant's root structure. I bought a few to try out in the two and three gallon size.
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Smart Pot
- Thread starter kauaidundee
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Pepper-Guru
Extreme Member
I love air pruning pots. I used a 65 gallon this year for the Fatalii mother.
Morning THP! Just thought I'd share the feeding that the Fatalii got yesterday.
Container plants will always require more feedings than plants that are in ground, just due to mere leeching that occurs through watering so often. Its natural. Anyhow, as you will see in the wide shot of the whole plant, plants talk to you. While most of the time, the plants show optimal health by giving you that super dark green pigment, like almost blue even. When they are just about to start running out of N, they will begin feeding on themselves and the result will be slight yellowing of select leaves. As seen here:
This is the plant "talking" to you, the grower. After a heavy tea of Peruvian Seabird (high in N and P), Kelp meal (light N higher K!!!), Jamaican Bat (high N), worm castings (light N), and some molasses to help build back up sugars for the food soil web. Nutrients will be MORE than sufficient to last me until I chop her and bring her inside for the winterRemember, with a super soil, there is always less need for feeding. In growing, the less you have to feed the better. And with organics feeding is needed hardly ever if at all. This will be the second feeding of the entire season for me
im debating whether or not to get some 65gallon smart pots for my 2 large plants. 65 gallons is like an entire bale of peat however 
so each smartpot+peat would be like 50 bucks.
so each smartpot+peat would be like 50 bucks.
Pepper-Guru
Extreme Member
I bought a brand new bale for this and only used about an 1/8th of it. I have native top soil, peat, compost, perlite, and vermiculite in the mix. I hope you're not using a bale of peat for the whole thing! 50 bucks? That is VERY expensive.im debating whether or not to get some 65gallon smart pots for my 2 large plants. 65 gallons is like an entire bale of peat however
well, actually if i remember correctly i could fill 6 10 gallon grow bags with one bale of that ferti loam peat(3.8cu feet) then i add 25% perlite lime+ wetting agent. so i suppose i could fill one and ALMOST another with one bale if you take into account i already have a 10 gallon container full.
my pricing was comeing from the price of a smart pot + a 28$ bale of peat. peat is expensive here, promix is like 42 bucks w/o tax. i didnt even add in the price of perlite and wetting agent.
whats peat cost where you live?
Pepper-Guru
Extreme Member
I get HUGE bales of peat, verm, and perlite for around 16-20$ each. So when you consider how much soil you can mix with that, it comes out WAY cheaper than buying pro-mix or ready made mediums.
a huge bale is a 3.8 cubic foot bale right? that's what i get. still for 16-20 im jealous. im a hydro guy tho so i dont add anything to the peat but perlite lime and wetting agent, its basically a promix HP clone(which costs 42 bucks here!)
Pepper-Guru
Extreme Member
Oh! Almost forgot. It really is worth looking into fabric warehouse wholesalers online, ordering rolls of the stuff and having the Mrs. sew up some. This way you can make em as big or as little as you want. The Fatalii is in a smart pot. Geo Pots are cheaper, thicker, and better. I have a few of those, waiting for the right plant. This Trinidad Scorpion may just get a shot next year. I really like her this year. Her trunk is just about the size of my wrist or a beer bottle really. Next year will be a great year
how big of a fabric pot should I use for first year plants, planning on overwintering? would 7gal be enough?
That's what I'm using for a few this year. I have no previous experience so I can't really say if it works well or not, but it should be plenty big.
Although, there is the school of thought that a bigger pot=a bigger plant...
I've been reading that everyone says to use 5gal pots for peppers but all the agricultural research says they need space for a 16"x12" root system which translates to a 10gal... wondering if the air pruning idea has some effect on that...
Pepper-Guru
Extreme Member
The air pruning will essentially make any size you chose, more effective in its ability to grow large plants. Root structures that are more fibrous, grow larger, bushier plants. That being said, use a big pot-get bigger plants. Anything over 15 gallons can grow nice plants. Use 65 gallons and up for monsters :
I love Fabric pots nesides all the benifits spoken of above I seem to have better transitions when transplanting. When transplanting there is the transition of the plants roots taking up the larger containers space. For the first week or so you have to only water where you think the roots are to prevent getting the soil soggy. If i do get the soil soggy where the roots "aren't", in a hard container it may take a while for the dirt to dry out, and with no roots there to suck it up yet the soggy soil can cause root rot. The advantage to a smart pot is the added aeration allows the dirt to dry out before any issues occur.
Im a first timer and purchased some 3 gallon smart parts to try out as well as plenty of 5 gallon black plastic pots for growing some super hots and jalapenos. not much room in the garden everything i am growing and thats the reason for potting. I will post up how my peppers react to the different containers this season
How big of a pot can a plant's root system effectively colonize in 1 year? What's the rate at which they should be moved up?
Pepper-Guru
Extreme Member
Well....thats a hard question to answer. I can tell you that I've removed root masses from air pots before that were essentially the same size as the pot. So much that when we removed the root mass, there was little soil left and we actually stood ontop of the root ball like a bale of hay.
I just ordered 6, 5gallon geopots, azos, mykos, and some bat guano for tea, and neptunes harvest fish/kelp mix. Just read your post and got a great big smile 
hoping mine will be like that this year... i'm trying to prove to my dad that organic is better. he keeps raving about how big the plants got when he used miracle grow and that's his reason for not liking organic. well I say bat shit on that ! 
hoping mine will be like that this year... i'm trying to prove to my dad that organic is better. he keeps raving about how big the plants got when he used miracle grow and that's his reason for not liking organic. well I say bat shit on that !
Pepper-Guru
Extreme Member
Bat shit indeed
geopot vs. garden... i added a little extra perlite, peat moss, and crab shells to the geopot... The left is a Datil, the right is a Fatalii.
