Anyone have an opinion on this? I need to transplant my seedlings out of their solo cups but i only have a 2x2 tent and i have 6 plants i'm working with to select the 2 best females. I can't put them in their 5 gallon pots while i wait for them to show sex because i don't have the space.
I don't really like the plastic nursery pots and i was going to use fabric pots but i feel like transplanting will be a bitch from a fabric pot so i found these plastic bag pots but ive never seen anyone that uses them. Is there a reason for that? Has anyone used these before?
Transplanting out of a fabric pot isn't too bad if the root ball is solid. The roots can take more of a beating during transplant than one might think. I actually lift my babies out of their 1 gallon by the trunk and take a hand tine to rough up the sides and bottom. If you don't care about the fabric pot you can also just make a few vertical slits and plop it right into your 5 gallon pot. The roots will eventually pour out of the slits and dig in to the new soil. Growing right in the soil bag works as well, plus you can dump your soil a lot easier after harvest.
Transplanting out of a fabric pot isn't too bad if the root ball is solid. The roots can take more of a beating during transplant than one might think. I actually lift my babies out of their 1 gallon by the trunk and take a hand tine to rough up the sides and bottom. If you don't care about the fabric pot you can also just make a few vertical slits and plop it right into your 5 gallon pot. The roots will eventually pour out of the slits and dig in to the new soil. Growing right in the soil bag works as well, plus you can dump your soil a lot easier after harvest.
Yeah i just don't want to have to put the plant through all that stress if i don't have to. Those plastic bags don't look too bad but i've just never seen anyone using them so i'm wondering if there is a reason for that.
Right now its dry, i cant turn my heat off, my plants are watered lightly every day no problems but my plants in nursery pots stay wetter longer, in other words my smart pots are better suited for summertime. in my humble opinion.
I have been using actual plastic pots again this winter. I think you might be onto something there the dryness, cause they're really not staying too wet like they have done to me in the past. Not sure I'll get the same root ball as fabric but we'll see.
I do mostly use the fabric pots though. For transplanting I make a big vertical cut up the bag and attach velcro before I start, so you can open it on one side and work it out for transplanting. If you're not moving pots around or roughing up your plants a few pieces of velcro stapled to the fabric have always worked for me.
I mean if you're just going to cull them soon though, the plastic bag ones probably work the same as a plastic pot? If Im just waiting to sex I sometimes just throw them in recycling containers painted black (big yogurt tubs or big fast food cups)
2cents - if you are still a new grower. Fabric doesn't let soil escape, and it builds up at the bottom. Causes alot of issues imo. If you must run fabric, just use it as the final pot.