papapayne said:

NH3-n ppm .6
no3-n ppm 8.4

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Underthesun said:

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.

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aunaturale20 said:

Open to sharing if you nute regiment includes both microbes + nutrient blends? Any particular brand you would suggest?

Thanks man!

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aunaturale20 said:

Open to sharing if you nute regiment includes both microbes + nutrient blends? Any particular brand you would suggest?

Thanks man!

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Blaze said:

I'll second what Bulldog and Seamaiden said, they hit the nail on the head. Raised beds are hands down the best way to go, after that, smart pots will give you the 2nd best rate of growth and yields. Growing directly in the ground, in most cases, offer no advantages other than it is cheap and easy initially. However since the growth rate and yield are almost always always less than smart pots or raised beds, your return on investment is less, making it far less efficient in the long run.

Burying smart pots in the ground is utterly pointless, it won't do a damn thing to help you; if anything it will stunt your root growth and eliminate all of the advantages of smart pots, just like Bulldog said. Smart pots will use more water in drier climates, but the larger the volume of soil, the less water you will use and the faster your plants will grow and the bigger they will get. One of the simplest, easiest ways to not only increase growth and yield, as well as to cut down on the amount of water you use, is to give your plants a greater volume of soil to grow in. So my advice - go as big as you can, and use either raised beds or smart pots. You won't be disappointed, I promise.

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