Air Pots Vs. Regular Pots

Every time I read someone is growing in air pots their yield is considerably higher than someone growing in regular pots. Is there a reason for this or is it just a coincidence? Would it be worth shelling out $8 each air pot?

Fuck yea it's worth it! 100%

wow i think im going to get some i jsut looked them up and it makes sence it naturly prunes the roots so the dont bunch up and allows more roots to grow doesnt sound to expencive either im gonna do more recrech someone should do a air pot next to a 5 gal bucket to test and see the differance in yeild

stickyicky0420 said:

wow i think im going to get some i jsut looked them up and it makes sence it naturly prunes the roots so the dont bunch up and allows more roots to grow doesnt sound to expencive either im gonna do more recrech someone should do a air pot next to a 5 gal bucket to test and see the differance in yeild

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That would be an awesome project to watch!!

I get my air pots with handles for $3 per 5 gallon locally. I just started using these this new grow and in veg I've had the best growth and health ever. Can't wait to see what these girls do in flower.

If you are talking about hard plastic air-prune pots don't bother, they are more expensive and fabric pots do the same thing.

What is an air pot? Are we talk "Smart Pot" or something?

Stride said:

Every time I read someone is growing in air pots their yield is considerably higher than someone growing in regular pots. Is there a reason for this or is it just a coincidence? Would it be worth shelling out $8 each air pot?

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The idea is that.. Roots are like branches. If you cut off the tip, new growth starts out from the sides... So with air pots the root tip will grow out of the pot, dry and be 'air pruned'. Then new roots shoot out from the sides and you end up with bushier roots and more root mass then you might otherwise.

BUT!!!!

This is not something that I think a fast growing annual cares too much about. Yes, in extremes it can make a difference. There are other things to consider as well. In a fabric pot there is more air exchange, roots might keep cooler as well cause of evaporation (outside). This comes from people wanting to avoid something called strangle root. This is when a shrub or tree is kept in a small pot for too long. Roots grow out to the edge of the pot and start to circle around the plant. Later, they plant it in the ground and after years of growth the trunk of the shrub will grow larger as well as the root that was going around in the pot. As they grow the root can start to strangle the trunk of the shrub or tree. This takes years to develop and only happens if you leave it in the pot for too long. So, people that sell trees and shrubs need plants to be able to stay in a pot until it sells with out getting a strangle root. This is one way of doing that.

I don't think a plant (indoors) that is only grown for a few months can really get a super large boost. Assuming you were doing things correctly in the first place.. If you over water then they might help you that way too..

My .02.. I tried them and it was the same old. Tore open the roots and it wasn't that much better.

Outdoors in 200 gals might be a different story..

i hate air pots. i've used every size and shape pot available over the years. the air pots are a pain in the ass to water, especially if you have a lot of plants.

i read hundreds of posts about the air pots and the biggest complaint was the difficulty in watering.

i threw out all my air pots, 16 of the smallest and 16 of the 3.something gallon pots. i didn't dislike anybody enough to give them away.

i'm a smart pot guy these days. easy to water, same great root mass.

just my 2 cents.

I use them currently but I am going to get away from them with the next crop and go back to smart pots. I like them, they're not that hard to water as long as you do it slowly at first, but they just dry out too quick for me.

I hand water so having to water a bunch of plants everyday uses up a lot of nutes. I've gone through way more nutes than I did growing with smart pots.

tehgenoc1de said:

I use them currently but I am going to get away from them with the next crop and go back to smart pots. I like them, they're not that hard to water as long as you do it slowly at first, but they just dry out too quick for me.

I hand water so having to water a bunch of plants everyday uses up a lot of nutes. I've gone through way more nutes than I did growing with smart pots.

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that means they are sucking up the water and nutes and want more, that is not a bad thing

They can be a pain to water.
I use coco and bottom feed in trays. It is easy to fill up a tray.

Hmm interesting so it seems to be a split decision. Some say they suck some say they are good and others are saying that smart pots are better?

Ive never used smart pots but im loving the root masses I get from airpots.

mnmobbin said:

Ive never used smart pots but im loving the root masses I get from airpots.

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Do you think it significantly helps yield and overall plant health? Considering roots would be getting more oxygen as a whole it would be harder to overwater?

Smart pots and air pots, almost the same thing, they both have their merits smart pots are easier to water, less messy, I find water pours out of the holes in the sides quite ridiculously sometimes from air pots, but air pots are easier to take the plant out, transplant etc (just undo the tags and unroll the air pots) or just plant small pots in big ones without removing them, once the roots aren't in contact with air, they'll just grow through the side into the next one (but you may be able to do that with smart pots too not sure what sizes they come in).

They both give significant improvements over normal pots as the root structure is just ridiculous, more surface area, better nutrient uptake, more oxygen etc = better/healthier growth, you can also fit a much larger plant in a small pot, I've done a full grow in a 4.5 litre air pot vegging for 5 weeks, and they were fine, just needed watering quite often when they got big.

As for oxygen, they get more because the roots have a larger surface area, you can't really over water because, unlike normal round or square pots, any excess water seeps out of the sides and evaporates or goes into the drip tray so the soil doesn't get waterlogged really.

The problem i have with air pots is that when i pick up the plant to LST the soil moves around and it fucks up my root mass. It might just be my shitty cheap airpots though.

i make airpots from landscaping fabric. its cheap, easy and i can make any size and shape i want. for this years guerilla grow i made a raised bed out of landscaping fabric. while i cant yet comment on whether it improves yield, i have to say that the plants seem to love it..they are big, healthy, grow really fast and are >60% female. i had no problems with water leaking out. next year i want to grow a giant weed tree in a diy airpot...

i love smart pots ive used them side by side with regular buckets and the smart pots were healthier faster growing and better yield, and the 2 plants were clones off the same mom grown at same time side by side in same tent with same nutes

as ddimebag said you can make smart pots out of landscape fabric. Make sure it is fabric, not plastic. You can make them as big or as small as you want. A $20 roll would make you a lot of pots.

I have seen plants grown in those fabric, reusable grocery bags.
You can improve a hempy bucket by drilling a bunch of holes in the side of the bucket and lining it with landscape fabric.

A super roots air pot can be used for numerous years.

Trousers said:

as ddimebag said you can make smart pots out of landscape fabric. Make sure it is fabric, not plastic. You can make them as big or as small as you want. A $20 roll would make you a lot of pots.

I have seen plants grown in those fabric, reusable grocery bags.
You can improve a hempy bucket by drilling a bunch of holes in the side of the bucket and lining it with landscape fabric.

A super roots air pot can be used for numerous years.

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The fabric is called " geotextile" fabric its used in construction for erosion control.

Smart pots are the shiznit.... started using them earlier this year and i love them. Only one small draw back... u have to water more often because the soil tendz to dry out a bit quicker. Other than that its all good.