What You Guys Think Of Smartpots Indoor ?

[Ecompost]

I have a catalog that I go to often. View attachment 659009

yes here bacteria, anaerobic types are used to clean salt from historic buildings,

 

[420Artie]

White vinegar mixed with hot water can be used to remove salt build up in between grows.

 

[Ecompost]

White vinegar mixed with hot water can be used to remove salt build up in between grows.

Brown Rice Vinegar at approx 8ml per gallon is a good solvent for general use too :-)

 

[420Artie]

is actually salt build up we're seeing on fabric pots? seems to more like calcium build up. reason I say this it's because the residue is a white chalk like residue.

 

[Ecompost]

is actually salt build up we're seeing on fabric pots? seems to more like calcium build up. reason I say this it's because the residue is a white chalk like residue.

I agree this is very likely right, way to know, test the ph, break some off, fizz test it for carbonates. I suspect you are right. I can show you my pots are covered in mycelium, cant speak for anyone elses tho. This is the same media and pot i have been using for 2 years and i promise, the tap water here, which I dont use unfiltered anyway, is 7.4 and full of ca carbonates, and very sticky Na and Mg since this entire area is underpinned by Limestone as bedrock.

 

[Ecompost]

I dont get any salt build up, if I do, something has gone wrong in my system which is very active. What I do get is multiple strains of fungus that after 2 years begin to eat my pouches for lunch, seen here where we have brown, yellow and white fungal mass

 

[Ecompost]

contrary to what one might imagine, it is the clear fungus that you dont want :-)

 

[420Artie]

next time I pick up dog food for my dogs at the pet shop I'll also get a carbonate test kit used for aquariums. I do highly suspect that the white residue is calcium from tap water and cal-mag and not salt buildup.

 

[THELORAX802]

do you understand how N fixation works? I dont want to sound like a dick but i would argue you are struggling with the concepts of leaching and exchange. There isnt any over activity because there is more air, there is a finite amount of N that can be fixed based on the players and mass, ions dont just leach they adhere to the bodies of the organisms until such times as they are slayed by higher organisms, or destroyed by silly growers lacking skill, or consumed by plants.
A smart pot is a tool, not a principle

? I dont want to sound like a dick but i would argue you are struggling with the concepts of leaching and exchange. Yeah you don't mean to sound like a dick but have no clue how to approach folks online without being sarcastic or trollish? Is their a NORTH AMERICAN cannabis forum anywhere? No offense to the UK but ive met some super space cadets from there online in the last few months man wtf.

 

[rmoltis]

I'm not against smart pots.
I think they have their uses.

But my main quirk is how I can't use the top of the pot for training the plant. I need a solid surface to tie off to that can resist the pressures holding the branches down.


The other thing is when using plastic pots. The soil pulls away from the edges about. 5" and stay there once soil is settled and shrunk. This leaves me a space where aeration occurs all around the rootball perimeter.

So using plastic pots I get the benefit of root zone aeration, enhanced drying cycles (2 days for my 10 gal plastic pot to dry from fully saturated).

Smart pots dry out too fast for my taste. I let my rootball fill my pots and they suck the soil dry.

If I added smart pots I would be endangering my plants by increasing soil drying rate. Which some days might create a drought situation while I'm not available (work, sleep, lights off) to fix.

So in short I use plastic pots to train & to decrease soil drying times.

I agree with some peeps here that smart pots can either help make things easier for an overwaterer.

Or makes things difficult for a person like me who fill their soil with roots and have warm environments with good air cycling and large light density. Which leads to already high transpiration rates and increased drying rate.


I think people need to do some research on the differences between the 2 pot styles and make an educated decision as to which suites their relative situation best.

Both pots work great. But are simply tools, tools that need to be used in the correct application. There is no simple right or wrong.

 

[Homesteader]

took out a root ball last night from a smartpot and noticed that the center was bone dry. All the water I have been giving it runs through channels and out the side and bottom without any/much getting to the centers where the root ball is. Thinking I am going to have to start burying a 1 1/2" pvc pipe in the center or something.

 

[rmoltis]

took out a root ball last night from a smartpot and noticed that the center was bone dry. All the water I have been giving it runs through channels and out the side and bottom without any/much getting to the centers where the root ball is. Thinking I am going to have to start burying a 1 1/2" pvc pipe in the center or something.

What I do do combat this with all pots.

I take said plant out of the tent.
I pour a measured amount of nutes or water I know will saturate the substrate %100 over time.

I then pour it through slowly from the top to allow it to soak in. Much runs down the edges of the pot into the drip tray.

Now while sitting in its puddle it wicks more water up. You give it 5 mins between pours. Then recollect the drained fluid and reapply to the top of the soil over and over until it's fully absorbed.

Now take the extra runoff and add it back to your nute mixture or the next plant.


After a few times repeating this cycle your rootball will be fully saturated.

 

[Smerb]

took out a root ball last night from a smartpot and noticed that the center was bone dry. All the water I have been giving it runs through channels and out the side and bottom without any/much getting to the centers where the root ball is. Thinking I am going to have to start burying a 1 1/2" pvc pipe in the center or something.

Do you stir your soil up? Before watering you can stir up that soil and it will penetrate that rootball all the way. The day after I water I will usually stir the top soil,a little airation is always good.

 

[Homesteader]

I am in 45 gallon bags and i kick them regularly but that didn't seem to help

 

[Smerb]

I am in 45 gallon bags and i kick them regularly but that didn't seem to help

Indoor 45 gallon?, garsh. That rootball huge?

 

[Homesteader]

Yeah for the most part but I am curious if I am killing the center of the root balls or at least not tapping into tht nutrient reserve. My mixes has a decent amount of peat, so it is very hard to wet when it dries out. Im thinking that I may put the plants in a 5 gallon smart pot with some 1" holes in the bottom to slow the drain into the larger bag but still let the roots escape. Ill have to check out the other six in a few weeks to see if I am having that same issue, but I bet it is.

 

[rmoltis]

Do you stir your soil up? Before watering you can stir up that soil and it will penetrate that rootball all the way. The day after I water I will usually stir the top soil,a little airation is always good.

I'm not a fan of stirring up the hard upper layer.
It helps protect from erosion when I water my plants.

I am in 45 gallon bags and i kick them regularly but that didn't seem to help

I would feed from the top then let the runoff in the drip tray wick back into the substrate until it's fully saturated.

Over time you'll figure out the precise amount to saturate your media %100

 

[Homesteader]

I would feed from the top then let the runoff in the drip tray wick back into the substrate until it's fully saturated.

Over time you'll figure out the precise amount to saturate your media %100

I control my CO2 output by the amount of water I saturate with my mix but I need to balance that with what the plant wants by keeping it close to the root mass.

 

[NightsWatch]

took out a root ball last night from a smartpot and noticed that the center was bone dry. All the water I have been giving it runs through channels and out the side and bottom without any/much getting to the centers where the root ball is. Thinking I am going to have to start burying a 1 1/2" pvc pipe in the center or something.

and leaves one hell of a mess when trying to grow indoor where cleanliness is utmost importance
and dealing with water on the floor but that is just me
People that use peat based soil have the problem with soils like a sponge when it drys up it shrivel's one of the reasons i stay away from peatmoss its worthless it repeals water .
But like anything else experiment find what works for you and run with it
I notice it always turns into a shit show in threads people are over thinking make a good soil and plant it, in anything? and she will grow
I seriously crack up when people worry about microbes or adding microbes haha
I past that stage years ago i let mother nature dictate sequencing it does it all naturally all i worry about is making sure there is enough N in the equation thats it
I have grown in totes for years now its the only way i grow specially indoor no drains no side holes
Master your watering techniques that is only thing a person needs to do



 

[WonderDawg]

I'm not against smart pots.
I think they have their uses.

But my main quirk is how I can't use the top of the pot for training the plant. I need a solid surface to tie off to that can resist the pressures holding the branches down.

You could always veg completely in plastic then flower in a smart pot. I've always done that and have had great success. I also do the graduated potting system anyway so regardless all of my plants go through at least three plastic containers on the way to their last flowering smart pot. Only my two cents.