SmokingCrow
Active Member
I'd heard of smart pots, but until recently I had no idea why they were smart. I thought I'd share what I've found and my personal experience.
Smart pots, are trademarked and is used much like band-aid, astro-turf, flit gun and serrano-wrap. Other brand names are air pot, sprung pot, fabric pot, geo pot
In my research much like above the ground, the root tips that are growing produce a hormone (auxin) prevent other roots from forming; apical dominance. As an aside; when transplanting now, I nip the tips of any roots I see.
Back to smart pots.
Let's imagine your plant is in soil, it's roots spreading out and one root tip finds a stone. It changes direction to grow around it and then continues to fan out from the main stem.
In a conventional plastic pot, the root reaches the plastic wall, and tries to grow "around it." In the process it can grow in a circle, the beginning of a hangman's noose. As it wraps around the pot, few other roots grow, because those root tips are producing auxins preventing other roots from forming.
A smart pot, be it fabric or plastic does something different; it allows the perimeter/outer layer of soil in the pot to dry out more quickly than the core. When a root reaches the pot wall, the root tip 'dies' because of lack of water and exposure to air. The production of that hormone/auxin is stopped and new roots form, much like nipping out a bud above ground, to encourage bushy growth. A hairy healthy root ball is formed, rather than a strangulated snake-like root ball. It also prevents the pots from becoming root bound. See photos of fir trees below.
The four big air pots I've used, do what it says on the tin, lovely roots, good crops but the pots are pricey. I bought them as an experiment. The tree below with the dimpled look, is exactly what my roots look like when knocked out of an Air pot.
I'm now sewing pots using spun woven weed suppressant as pictured below (not the nylon woven material) It's cheap and easy to use a standard sewing machine to make a range of sized pots. I've a whack of pint sized (500ml ish) and 3 litre/US quart pots. I add a turn up on the top of the fabric to make it a little stronger. Youtube is filled with simple designs; all you need to remember is that PI x diameter is the length of the circumference, volume is PI x radius squared, x height of the pot and you're off. Most modern thread is nylon so is probably going to outlast the fabric. I did it watching TV during the adverts, it's pretty mindless after a while.
If you want a detailed example of how smart pots work watch
View: https://youtu.be/LdGzn8kbULc
- a little dry but makes it's very clear why pot choice can be important. Searching the internet, for examples it appears these are used smart pots are used extensively by growers on the dark side.
Smart pots, are trademarked and is used much like band-aid, astro-turf, flit gun and serrano-wrap. Other brand names are air pot, sprung pot, fabric pot, geo pot
In my research much like above the ground, the root tips that are growing produce a hormone (auxin) prevent other roots from forming; apical dominance. As an aside; when transplanting now, I nip the tips of any roots I see.
Back to smart pots.
Let's imagine your plant is in soil, it's roots spreading out and one root tip finds a stone. It changes direction to grow around it and then continues to fan out from the main stem.
In a conventional plastic pot, the root reaches the plastic wall, and tries to grow "around it." In the process it can grow in a circle, the beginning of a hangman's noose. As it wraps around the pot, few other roots grow, because those root tips are producing auxins preventing other roots from forming.
A smart pot, be it fabric or plastic does something different; it allows the perimeter/outer layer of soil in the pot to dry out more quickly than the core. When a root reaches the pot wall, the root tip 'dies' because of lack of water and exposure to air. The production of that hormone/auxin is stopped and new roots form, much like nipping out a bud above ground, to encourage bushy growth. A hairy healthy root ball is formed, rather than a strangulated snake-like root ball. It also prevents the pots from becoming root bound. See photos of fir trees below.
The four big air pots I've used, do what it says on the tin, lovely roots, good crops but the pots are pricey. I bought them as an experiment. The tree below with the dimpled look, is exactly what my roots look like when knocked out of an Air pot.
I'm now sewing pots using spun woven weed suppressant as pictured below (not the nylon woven material) It's cheap and easy to use a standard sewing machine to make a range of sized pots. I've a whack of pint sized (500ml ish) and 3 litre/US quart pots. I add a turn up on the top of the fabric to make it a little stronger. Youtube is filled with simple designs; all you need to remember is that PI x diameter is the length of the circumference, volume is PI x radius squared, x height of the pot and you're off. Most modern thread is nylon so is probably going to outlast the fabric. I did it watching TV during the adverts, it's pretty mindless after a while.
If you want a detailed example of how smart pots work watch
- a little dry but makes it's very clear why pot choice can be important. Searching the internet, for examples it appears these are used smart pots are used extensively by growers on the dark side.
