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Smart Pots

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Phildeez

I am looking for recommendations on smart pots, I have heard that the cheapest ones will not last more than a season or two in direct sun, is it worth paying a bit more for some "better" ones? Do any certain brands have superior oxygenation?

Also looking for a good source to buy them from online since they are horribly expensive to buy at stores.

Thanks
-Phil
 
these are the best smart pots imo.
wmtreusable-bag-003.jpg

about 5 gallons and like 50 cents each... i grew 20+ plants in these, when i needed to transplant them i just riped open the seam on the side and the plant comes right out.
plus they have HANDLES! haha...
 
queequeg152 said:
these are the best smart pots imo.
wmtreusable-bag-003.jpg

about 5 gallons and like 50 cents each... i grew 20+ plants in these, when i needed to transplant them i just riped open the seam on the side and the plant comes right out.
plus they have HANDLES! haha...
Click to expand...

Your a Genius.
Cheap practical.
I wonder if we have to worry about the dyes in the bag.
Im gonna snag a bunch of these.
thanks for the idea!
 
RouteBound said:
Your a Genius.
Cheap practical.
I wonder if we have to worry about the dyes in the bag.
Im gonna snag a bunch of these.
thanks for the idea!
Click to expand...

i cant comment about the dyes, other than that the smart pots are dyed as well. PP fabric is naturally white i understand.
they stand up great btw, but they do have a tendancy to tip over when plants get real tall and catch a gust of wind. my aji lemon plant fell over a few times beffore i poted it up to 10 gallons.
 
if you are concerned with dye leak, you could look at burlap.

as an experiment, i just drilled a bunch of holes in the side of one of my potting containers, then pushed a chopstick into the holes to help provide a root path, we will see if this will improve rooting on a stalled butchT. those typical lowes 5 gallon buckets sell for $7.50 here - thus i don't buy lowe buckets.

i do regularly push my chopstick through the bottom holes on my containers and now have many roots peeking through.
 
Phildeez said:
I am looking for recommendations on smart pots, I have heard that the cheapest ones will not last more than a season or two in direct sun, is it worth paying a bit more for some "better" ones? Do any certain brands have superior oxygenation?

Also looking for a good source to buy them from online since they are horribly expensive to buy at stores.

Thanks
-Phil
Click to expand...
So far, these are the best thing I have used. They are cheaper than smart/air pots and are MUCH thicker, reusable, and they even make a couple pvc planter box models. GeoPots

 
Yah i second the Geo pots.
I havnt tried them but have seen enough about them to give them a thumbs up.
Next year i hope to have al my plants in some sort of root pruning system.
 
i doubt geopots want that piece of shit advertising their poducts.
i use 1 gal root maker pots and 5 gal smart pots. this is the first year, so i cant say how well the smart pots stay together and all, but i'm interested in finding out more about the geo pots.

root makers are the original root pruning pots, but they do take up alot of room when not in use, the smart pots can be folded up and put away easily

IMG_2957.jpg
 
fireface said:
anyone know how many times you can re-use these? Im thinking of getting some small geopots for overwintering this year
Click to expand...

Many seasons. The real trick with these type of pots is how you treat them during the season and after. If the sun doesn't hit them directly, and you stay away from synthetically derived fertilizers, they could easily last at least 3-4 seasons. The sun breaks most things down, and unless you get the UV resistant type it will happen with these too. Also the salt buildup from using synthetic ferts will really break em down. A good practice is to keep the pots surface shielded from direct sun and at the end of the season you should remove your plants/dirt, clean them and fold them up to store in a cool dry place.

edit: a few years ago my wife sewed me some DIY air pruning pots. I don't recall the textile co online that we ordered from, but you can pretty much make these with your own roll of similar material. Multiple layered, tightly woven burlap would probably be great too.
 
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