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Pro Opinions - Smart Pots Vs In Ground

  • Thread starter Thread starter papapayne
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Pro Opinions - Smart Pots Vs In Ground

papapayne 46 Replies 20,967 Views
Page 2 of 3 · Replies 21–40 of 47

For max yield / plant size, which do you think is better?

  • 200 gallon smart pots

    Votes: 4 22.2%

  • in ground - highly amended high quality soil, large ass wholes, cover crops been used etc

    Votes: 14 77.8%
  • Total voters
    18
#21
4 gallons of dirt in a small garbage bin - all plastic -
Picture 37 1
Picture 40
 
#23
Picture 20
Picture 38
@Bulldog11

Not regarding quality. I was talking about references regarding breathable pots, timing in direct sun. Indeed, if I expanded root zone space with large pots or in the ground you do get larger plants ....
 
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#25
so, I got the pots, (200s) and also got a 330 foot roll of 8' 11 gauge game fence for my cages.

@Bulldog11 in your experience, how do you prefer the smart pots? I was thinking either A) hardware cloth on the ground, then SP on top, or on B) top of a pallets. or is gravel better? What are your thoughts!
 
#26
I would throw out the hardware cloth idea. I would assume that is for gophers, and the smart pot will keep gophers out. My hillside is swiss cheese with those bastards, but never do they attack my smart pots.

Pallet or gravel would work well. A good pallet can last years, and instinctively I would say go with that or nothing at all. Gravel works well, but can be more of a pain to source and place IME. Most of my smart pots are on the ground, but I did just place my new 1000 on four pallets for fun.
 
#31
papapayne said:
Hey all - been having a very spirited debate with some old timers, and I was wondering what some of your guys think,

I have always been under the impression nothing beats going direct in ground when the soil is high quality.


last year I pulled 3-4# on the bigger plants and 1-2# on some runts - in 65 gallon smart pots. Didnt get to the new house till june, so was behind.

this season, I have my 8 plants already currently in 10 gallon smart pots, and 3 foot tall, topped out many times already, will blow up once sun hits em.

Just curious what yall think! I was planning on burying them, smart pot and all, right in the greenhouse, in my good soil.
Click to expand...

Have you ever gotten your soil tested at a lab? I recommend you start there. That's going to tell you what your soil already has available. Then get your water tested at the same lab. Now, you should have some data you can use to create a fertilizer schedule.
 
#32
Lots of good info here. I definitely have had gophers or moles go through my 200 gallon bags. The first year I didn't put down gopher metal netting and had about half my garden get messed with by gophers. i have a lot of grass and weeds around my grow bags and it's a pain in the ass to constantly be mowing and weed wacking around the metal cages. This year I got a 15 foot wide piece of weed cloth that's 360 feet long. I cut it right in half before I unrolled it and now I have 7.5 ft wide rolls that is the perfect size to put 200 gallon bags on and then put down Gopher mesh.
 
#33
MrBlah said:
Have you ever gotten your soil tested at a lab? I recommend you start there. That's going to tell you what your soil already has available. Then get your water tested at the same lab. Now, you should have some data you can use to create a fertilizer schedule.
Click to expand...

Edited soil sample no name on
 
#34
MendoGiantZ said:
Lots of good info here. I definitely have had gophers or moles go through my 200 gallon bags. The first year I didn't put down gopher metal netting and had about half my garden get messed with by gophers. i have a lot of grass and weeds around my grow bags and it's a pain in the ass to constantly be mowing and weed wacking around the metal cages. This year I got a 15 foot wide piece of weed cloth that's 360 feet long. I cut it right in half before I unrolled it and now I have 7.5 ft wide rolls that is the perfect size to put 200 gallon bags on and then put down Gopher mesh.
Click to expand...

Yea, I am planning on puttin mine on pallets
 
#35
I may have gotten you confused with someone else, but I thought you were in a desert area.
 
#36
I'm no pro, but anyways. I grew with 30 gallon smart pots one year and was happy with the results. That was with bottled nutes. I also put one plant in the ground and fed the same regime as the smart pot plants, and also used the same amount and same type of soil in the hole I dug. They had the same yeild, and maybe the in ground plant has more of an earthy taste. The ones in smart pots of the same strain had purple buds, while the in ground one did not. Most likely due to root temperature, my best guess anyways.

I've now switched over to 100% organic using raised beds and really like the taste and quality, along with not having to water nearly as much. This year for the first time I'm trying to accomplish a living soil that I can use year after year. I was under the impression that this was pretty hard with smart pots or any containers, but never tried it so I can't say. So I have chose raised beds, open to the ground, assuming from what I have read that this helps with soil life.
 
#37
Are you doing cover crops yet? If not, I strongly recommend it. A great cover crop to mix with the clovers people love so much is fenugreek. They're completely edible from the minute they sprout, and they germinate very very quickly! I buy mine in bulk from bulkfoods.com
 
#38
Seamaiden said:
Are you doing cover crops yet? If not, I strongly recommend it. A great cover crop to mix with the clovers people love so much is fenugreek. They're completely edible from the minute they sprout, and they germinate very very quickly! I buy mine in bulk from bulkfoods.com
Click to expand...

Ill have to add that to my list of cover crops. I went with clover over the winter myself. Need to add more then one type of plant next winter.
 
#39
papapayne said:
View attachment 582390
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This is my slightly different background speaking, but those numbers are considered excessive from an agriculture standpoint(for now). So much so, that I wouldn't end up using much fertilizer to start off if I was growing a lot of different crops. Also, did your lab not test for nitrogen? Seems odd.

I see things through a different lens than most people in cannabis, so there's also that. I gather data constantly with soil, water, and tissue samples and make decisions based off that rather than looking at the plants and wondering what is going on.
 
#40
MrBlah said:
This is my slightly different background speaking, but those numbers are considered excessive from an agriculture standpoint(for now). So much so, that I wouldn't end up using much fertilizer to start off if I was growing a lot of different crops. Also, did your lab not test for nitrogen? Seems odd.

I see things through a different lens than most people in cannabis, so there's also that. I gather data constantly with soil, water, and tissue samples and make decisions based off that rather than looking at the plants and wondering what is going on.
Click to expand...


NH3-n ppm .6
no3-n ppm 8.4
 
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