Smart Pots outside- how large?

someone else

Active Member
I've got 6 1/2 foot G13/Haze in 5-gallon buckets....I can only imagine what they would look like in those 200's.

Really impressive, thanks for sharing!
 

Spanishfly

Well-Known Member
I used a 65 gallon Smartpot last year. The roots did not begin to fill it completely - bit of a waste really.
 

cazador

Active Member
I hear you. we will see. I had an early plant totaly snap at the base durring a wind storm before supporting them early on and I can tell you the roots were already massive. It depends on your soil and microbes. bigger is not allways better. I'm glad I tried the 200gallon.
 

shizz

Well-Known Member
it very easy and cheap to build your own smart pot out of weed barrier. all you need is a cheap sowing machine. 50bucks. you dont even have to sow the bottom. just the sides. i dont like using pots. they dry out to fast. but some spots don't have good soil and you need them. i find 5 gallon buckets to be alittle small once the plants get big the wind blow them over. if the sun hit the sides it cooks the roots. and lugging all that dirt really sucks. i like to prep the soil in the ground the best i can. i dig hole 1 foot down 2 feet wide. place some compost or potting soil mixed with natural soil so i dont have to lug in as much. then i take old 55 gallon garbage cans the green ones everyone uses. the handles rip off and people throw them out a lot iv been collecting them for yrs. i cut them in half. regular saw works also cut the bottom off. place that on top of the hole you pre dug. fill with your mix. the roots grow down into the natural soil holding them up. and also giving them extra water. just some ideas maybe you can us and come up with your own idea. there are alot of containers out there. i saw a guy us a plastic bed liner form a pic up truck once. anther filled a baby pool with hydro tron for a flood table. also i like to get compost a yr ahead of time. i place it in buckets in my garage. i let them dry out tell spring they get really light to Carry. and yes they do really take that long. at least where im at. humid
 

JayTrinity

Active Member
I packed hay around my smart pots 65 gallons.
everything the above poster said is true but if you cant use earth, (Rock and clay) then smart pots are the best.

Next year Im going 300 gallon pots each.
They get HOT but wire trellises to support the branches and then hay around the bottom.
 

shizz

Well-Known Member
good idea. with the hay. where on different coast so this vary s. clay where im at i dont see as a big prob. different clay. mines not as compact. and that why i break it up with some compost or sand. one time i even made a small dam on a creek to collect the gravel washing down the river so i didn't have to carry it as far. lots of different inventive ways to get ur soil better. maybe even take bails of hay and stack them in a big square and fill the middle in with ur soil. id prob us straw tho its lighter. hay prices are alot also depending where your at. im currently trying to figure out a way to get soil into a spot 3 miles in. there a river i could float to with in 700 yrds and then carry it. but its up a step slop. i think i might take most of it in the winter on a sled in the snow. i don't want people seeing the tracks tho so id prob have to do it in the storm or right before one hits. so many ideas. i read a artical yesterday about alfalfa that it has a chemical that hinders root formation. it naturally weeds its self. i now that it does not effect all plants. they say using pellets in ur grow soil is good, i was wondering if any has any info on weather it effects marijuana?
 

Burger Boss

Well-Known Member
i cant imagine a plant growin to 14-16 feet in a 14 gal container......theres no room for the roots to support a plant that big in such a little pot
If you check my 2009 grow journal, (in sig below), NOTHING will be left to your imagination, lol.........BB
 

cazador

Active Member
Shizz - you have some good points and ideas. I wouldn't suggest using a large smart pot for a gorilla-grow but I do advocate them for a backyard grow.

Jay T - Straw sounds like an idea for some of the smaller pots. I like how the 200 gallon pots are working on their own. The more you need to water/feed (up to a point) the more air you push to the roots and the easier it is to adjust any deficiancies along the way. As I said eairlier depending on the mix you fill the bags with will greatly determine the growth and watering frequency.
 

ElectricPineapple

Well-Known Member
now that i see that pot, i now think, that it isnt overkill at all. i dont know why i thought of this, but when i grow out side, ill dig a 6 foot wide 6 foot deep hole and fill it with my own soil. so i guess 200 gallon pot isnt that big ha
 

ElectricPineapple

Well-Known Member
it is haha. you cant truly flush soil, only hydro. you can leach the excess salts out of soil from nutrients. and it would be all organic if i grew outside, with maybe a few additives for flower.
 

cazador

Active Member
I have no doubt that it's a 14 footer but there is a differance between growing in a 10 gallon tote and a 100+gallon tote. I think your (Burger Boss) plants look great.

h2o2.jpg
 

dirrtyd

Well-Known Member
I have no doubt that it's a 14 footer but there is a differance between growing in a 10 gallon tote and a 100+gallon tote. I think your (Burger Boss) plants look great.

View attachment 1117712
Those are looking nice Caz stop by my thread I got some stalks like that in the ground. Oh yeah glad you went big I know you are now good work.Dirrtyd
 

Burger Boss

Well-Known Member
I have no doubt that it's a 14 footer but there is a differance between growing in a 10 gallon tote and a 100+gallon tote. I think your (Burger Boss) plants look great.

View attachment 1117712

I would absolutely agree, 10 to 1 is a magnitude apart.
I'm thinking that in 100 gallon, the plant wouldn't recognize that it's in a "container", and behave as any plant in the "ground".
I use the formula, "2 feet for each gallon", so a 10 gal. on my patio would ALWAYS be sufficient.
YOUR stumps LOOK like Oak trees, LOL, just how tall were those? Very good job.......BB

View attachment 1117712[/QUOTE]
 

cazador

Active Member
I would absolutely agree, 10 to 1 is a magnitude apart.
I'm thinking that in 100 gallon, the plant wouldn't recognize that it's in a "container", and behave as any plant in the "ground".
I use the formula, "2 feet for each gallon", so a 10 gal. on my patio would ALWAYS be sufficient.
YOUR stumps LOOK like Oak trees, LOL, just how tall were those? Very good job.......BB

View attachment 1117712
[/QUOTE]

The branches and buds are bigger too. ;) The average height this year is 9 feet so far.
 

Burger Boss

Well-Known Member
The branches and buds are bigger too. ;) The average height this year is 9 feet so far.[/QUOTE]
WOW! You GO, Caz. Keep that girl bulking, and as we used to say, back in the day......"Keep On Truckin'"
Good luck & good grow.......BB
 
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