Pro's Vs Con's... Plastic vs. smartpot, Beds Vs Pots ???

[persiankid]

Whats good fellow farmers! Sooo I'm in the mood to change things up a little bit at this particular garden and there are a few things that I cannot make up my mind on even after hours of reading here at the farm... Here is a basic rundown of what im working with right now for this spot.

9 x 16 rm with 7 ft ceilings and posts running down the center of the room. cement floor w/drain.

7 x 1K's in Blockbuster air-cooled hoods, fans, blowers, etc..

I have built two tables in the room... one measuring 4 x 16 that has 4 1K's over it and the other measures 4 x 12 and has 3 1K's over it.

Tables are simply walls built from 2x4's sheeted with 3/4 ply with slight angle for drainage into a gutter nailed to the face of each table. I cover the tables with a sheet of panda paper that i run down the wall onto the tables with the end of it kind of creating a flap for run-off into the gutter. On top of the panda I have the corrugated plastic roofing (the wavy stuff). Hope that wasn't too hard to picture I'll have a cam in a few days i'll post pics then...

Nutes are a botanicare mix with a few additives

I usually have anywhere from 6-9 plants per light in 3 gallon nursery pots, i've tried a few sets with the 3 gallon smart pots too.. all watered with a sump pump and wand currently. I'm medical and this is home version of a collective 45 plant garden.

Now you have a pretty good idea what im working with.. the changes i'm looking into making are medium and containers, automation of watering, and adding Co2 ( I have the equipment just need to move it and set it up)

I can't decide on anything except for the automation part haha i'm def going to be doing that! If I decide to go the coco route should I do a 50/50
coco/perlite mix or just strait coco? I've also heard of good results coming out of a Sunshine #4/coco mix at different ratios or should I take the plunge into the organic soil world? I really dig GrowMaster's beds and soil style...

Which leads to the next question keep rockin 3 gallon pots or switch to beds? If I were to run beds I've been thinking mono cropping a 4x4 bed per light with probably 7-9 plants per bed... As far as my automation goes I'm going to use my existing pumps, plumb them out with pvc and use the 1/2 inch risers with the multi-drip line manifolds you can get from HD or Loews... I figured one line per bucket or 8-12 per bed it all depends on what drip-line manifold I end up going with. I'm not sure what my watering schedule would be like with the automation I usually water this set up every day with about a half-gallon per plant so with automation I'll probably be watering 3-4 times a day for 15-30 seconds...

Also.. wanted to shout out to everyone here on the farm that posts grow shows and answers tons of questions... Thank you Thank you Thank you!!! We all know how much time our work/passion takes to keep on track and the fact that you guys are pullin killer crops and still have time to post methods, advice and respond to questions is bad ass!! I hope my rambling session isn't too hard to understand i've thought about these options for so long that i'm just scatterbrained :sign0065: and need some new perspectives!! Keep tokin!!
PK

 

[persiankid]

Damn 60 views and no opinions? lame sauce!

 

[mastacheeser]

get some porn up homie

i'd say rock the 3 gallon smart pots, the aeration alone makes it worth it

if you can, ask for root pots, way cheaper

 

[mal]

Love

Smart pots, or anything similar


mal

 

[ibTheMan]

F some smart pots, plastic broski. 7 gallon.

 

[DrCALIGREENTHUM]

Bump

 

[motherlode]

you will get as big and bushy a plant in a 3 gal smartie as a 5-7 gal bucket

unless frequent watering/feeding is an issue Id go with the smarties

 

[Surfr]

I switched to beds this round and will never use pots again. The consistency in growth and watering if awesome! I used to have to water my coco pots everyday. With the beds I only water once every 3 days. Think about the roots being stuck in a pot versus a bed where they have MUCH more room to wander. Just some food for thought!

Surfr

 

[Emithsuk]

Surfr have you noticed an increase in yield that you directly attribute to switching to beds?

 

[DrCALIGREENTHUM]

Double bump

Thats a good ? E

maybe surfr will chime in

 

[Surfr]

Hey guys, I can't comment on the yields yet as this is my first run with the beds, but I can tell you that they are easier than any pots I have ever used... I can also tell you I have more tops under each light than ever before. The yields are pretty much guaranteed to surpass any before.

Surfr

 

[mrbong73]

+1 for the beds.
If you go organic soil and don't add a bunch of chem nutes you can use the same soil for a very long time.
Surfr's got it right. Yields won't be a problem.

 

[true grit]

Beds ftw...and if you use coco and flush well you can keep using coco for a hot hot hot minute.

glad you diggin em surfr!! finally got my overhead cranking again, bout to put the beds back to work...watering every other day sucks!

 

[Buddy Hemphill]

I'm running 16'x4'x12"tall beds on casters. Kinda like your set up.

I will post some pics later.

I have run 5 gallon hard pots and 3 gallon smart pots. 7 gallon smart pots and 5 gallon smart pots.

The planters blow them both away.

Heres the thing....In a planter, root growth is not impeded laterally. They just keep going and going.

No pot in the world can give me the root system these planters can.


13 bags of 707 and 4 bags of CHUNKY #4 perlite per 16x4 table.




Watering is soooooo easy with a pickle barrel, pump and hose.


I havent seen a bug either. I think I have stronger colonization of microbial life also. The colonies can huge in that amount of area.

DE and microbeLift for the win. Actinovate halfway thru flower.

 

[ogplatinum]

+1 for the beds.
If you go organic soil and don't add a bunch of chem nutes you can use the same soil for a very long time.
Surfr's got it right. Yields won't be a problem.

Realllly would like to try your smart pot idea bong. Would you think a 150gal smartie would fit in a 4x2 sunhut?

Im trying to decide on a bed or smart pots for my next flip. Got time, but need ideas. Was thinking of maybe a nice res as a bed with some drain holes?

I like the smartie bed idea, but idk if it would fit in a rectangular tent...

Also bong, how do you collect runoff? Is there any? How many gals per plant in your bed?

Thanks for the info guys!

 

[true grit]

Just get garden liner fabric and make your own...pretty much same ish. and might wanna check smart pot sizing. We were using 200g for 4x4, and by the time I got to making more beds smart pot already had 4x4 tray liners that didn't need cutting.

 

[Emithsuk]

Thanks for all the feedback guys I am building big mambas today like buddy and persian have a 16 and 12 footer today. And of course casters ftw pics to follow.

 

[mrbong73]

Realllly would like to try your smart pot idea bong. Would you think a 150gal smartie would fit in a 4x2 sunhut?

Im trying to decide on a bed or smart pots for my next flip. Got time, but need ideas. Was thinking of maybe a nice res as a bed with some drain holes?

I like the smartie bed idea, but idk if it would fit in a rectangular tent...

Also bong, how do you collect runoff? Is there any? How many gals per plant in your bed?

Thanks for the info guys!

You may have to go with two smaller pots like 45 or 65 gallon to fit in a 4x2.
I have my bed sitting in a 4x4 tray on a small plywood table. So far I haven't had any runoff to collect.
I have ten plants in around 130 gallons.

 

[TylerDurden119]

i was jus in a similar situtation. i had been running beds forever and decided to give the air pots a try. I wanted to switch primarily to help reduce the amount of dirt im bringin in n out but watering every other day by hand jus ain't worth it!!! its hard to say what the yield diff is if there is any as im in the process of finding new keepers and everything going thru is new. in time I'll do a comparison but for now im goin back to beds of HP, i made mine out of 2x8 n left over 6 mil black n white. n now that i think about it, its waaaaay easier setting up netting for scrogs with the beds. i drilled 1/2 holes into the top of the wood n slid bamboo stakes into them n then jus slide the netting over the four corners and pull taught. yeaaa, beds ftw. unless your growing tree/bush style.

 

[norm]

beds are money but use alot of medium and cant move plants

smart pots are nice but they are weak and easily fall over, last for a while but not as long as plastic, and I have not seen an increase in yield in test vs regualr plastic maxipots.

airpots work as advertised with not allowing the roots to circle and really creating a solid root mass, but they make the buds less dense and I have not seen an increase in yield from them.

plastic- cheap, easy to get, easy to clean, last a long time and still with proper feeding, medium, and a rooting stimulate can provide massive roots. with coco I have gotten over pound plants in 3 gal pots feeding 1 time per day

this is what ive learned over growing in soil, coco, hydroton, wool, indoors and outdoors.

I grow in 100% coco cuz it has excellent aeration, just make sure your medium provides enough oxegen to your roots and your golden