Fabric pots or old’school black pots?

[E9noxis]

"Shoulda zigged when you zagged"

 

[Backyard_Boogie]

Fabric pots all the way not even a question. Im assuming that we are talking about comparing fabric to traditional slick sided plastic pots. Its not that plastic doesn't work of course they do. Both will work perfectly fine and both are acceptable if used correctly. However IMO the fabric pots leave less room for user error especially when it comes to accidental overwatering. All it takes is for you to accidentally pack your soil a little tight, even if it happens on only 1 of your plants. A small user error like that and you accidentally push out all the air pockets in the soil. Then on top of that if you accidentally overwater a bit it compounds the issue even more. You can end up with oxygen issues. So just for that reason alone I prefer fabric cuz they dry out fast and breathe better.

Also fabric is less prone to becoming root bound. With traditional plastic pots the roots will often start circling the bottom of the pot as they are searching for more soil. This doesn't happen in a fabric pot because instead of circling around the edge of the slick plastic the roots actually push right into the fabric. As soon as the root tips start hitting light and air they prune themselves and stop growing. Sure the slick sided plastic pots are easier to transplant when you flip them upside down but honestly the velcro lined fabric pots are almost just as easy. A little more work but as log as your gentle you can peel the velcro and pull the root ball right out.

 

[ImpulsiveGrower]

This is how I go about it. Plastic pots until I’m ready to pot the plant into its final home. I also started using grassroots fabric pots the combines the best of both worlds. It has a plastic liner allowing better water retention but the bottom 1/3 is all fabric allowing roots the air prune. With bigger plants regular fabric pots dry out too fast and from all sides!! The roots can’t spread around as much if your always drying back too much around the outside of the pot leaving only the middle a healthy and optimal environment for your roots.

Now you could go out and buy some of these awesome pots but you could always take some plastic wrap and tightly wrap it around the top 2/3 of the pot to get the same benefits during your current grow. Hope this helps

here is the grassroots pots in action in my 5x5

 

[Mycorr]

I switched from 5 gal Home Depot buckets to 10 gal fabric last year and saw a noticeable yield improvement in my outdoor CA grow. I think some of the improvement was due to the fabric posts, some due to increasing from 5 gal to 10 gal, and some as I started introducing mycorrhizal fungus. So, too many variables to know, but I think fabric pots contributed. I think it is harder to over water with fabric pots which helps me as I am on a drip automatic watering system.

 

[Roadblock]

Hey, I've used plastic pots for 20+ years and because of this new ( to me ) fad of fabric pots I'm using them for the first time. I've always used 3 gal plastic so I bought 3 gal fabric. I'm not seeing any negative other than them drying a bit quicker. @ 78f my 3 gal took 3-4 days these new fab pots are drying in 3 days flat.

They're a pain to transplant out of though. I bought some 1 gallon fab as well and I just transplanted up to 3 gal from the 1gal and I used to be able to squeeze around the pot, grab the base to remove it, tap it on the bottom and voila' roots out of pot......not so fkin easy with the fabric, It took a little more finagling to remove the bag.

Run a long blade knife around the inside of the pot, peel down the sides then run the knife across the bottom, it doesn't hurt anything as the root tips are fused anyway.

 

[brownm30]

I grew my first few crops with fabric and they worked well, but I didn't like moving them much, I felt like if they were not bone dry the pot was compacting the soil and roots when I picked them up. I pull my plants out of the tent to prune, lollipop, mainline, etc so I don't use them anymore. I also just use coco, dry ferts and teas, and do not water to runoff. I am not saying I am "THE EXPERT" because I am not, just stating my personal choice. I like easy because I have limited time for plant care with a family at home and career. I like large plastic pots, most of mine run in the 10-15gal range with large plants to keep plant count down. Doing this, I can water just to run off Friday night and camp/ ride in the mountains till Sunday-Monday without killing the girls. I have run as big as 20 gallon but they are a PITA to move around and are now just large baskets for my pot collection. Lol.

You said you don't water to run off then a the next paragraph you said you do. I'm confused

 

[simonkay]

I start in 1 Gallon Air Pots, then go to 7 Gallon and on to 13 Gallon for my Sativa's. You can now get all the pots in white (except 1 gallon, I found them in white yet). What I love about the Air Pots is the ability to unscrew the sides and move them to a larger pot without disturbing the roots.

Hi bro i just got some 1 gallon airpots in.
Can i ask how many holes up you put the base? I got 5 gal with the base up 3 notches but even 2 seems like too high on the 1 gallons

 

[7munkee]

Hi bro i just got some 1 gallon airpots in.
Can i ask how many holes up you put the base? I got 5 gal with the base up 3 notches but even 2 seems like too high on the 1 gallons

I have cherry tomatoes in one gallon air pots. I screw the bottom as low as possible with the 'nipple' facing up. I have to keep them in my 3x3 tent for another month and a half at least.

They are in the back right corner. This Bruce banner scrog will be done in about 4 weeks. And there is an autoflower on the left that will be done about the same time.

 

[Oldguy71]

You can get air pots on Alibaba for $2-3 minimum order 10
Grow bags too

 

[Theancientgallery]

I’d say plastic if you’re growing in living soil. It helps retain moisture if you want to prevent full dry back. And there’s also the issue of transplanting that others have mentioned. If you plan to transplant, use plastic.

I usually plant in a plastic 1g at seedling stage and veg for 4-6 weeks. Then transplant into a 7g plastic pot before flip. Works pretty well. I tried the fabric pots, but they dried too quickly for me.

 

[sirstickyIcky]

I actually have the unpopular opinion.. i prefer 5 gallon buckets with holes drilled in em.. used em first 2 grows and worked amazing...
I now use fabric pots since thats the popular opinion.. and i personally dont like em much.. they do help aerate the soil but with my set up being hard to access (gt move a giant dresser to access closet) i dont like watering often..
Fabric pots are good if you have a heavy hand watering wise though.. they help prevent roots drowning by providing oxygen to the roots through the pot

I'm using fabric for the first time indoors, reason being ,I'm also using coco for the first time indoors.
CoCo needs to breath more than dirt. So holes in a bucket would not suffice as they do with dirt.
*It's my opinion that the choice of container type depends much on the (medium) you decide to use.