Smart pot users

Just got my Smartpots in today, 5 #5's. I usually soak and germ my seeds in a paper towel and then throw them dirctly into some FFOF.
This time Im gonna go all out and germ in a tray with a dome and possibly a heat mat.
Do you all think I should germ them in peat pallets and then put them in party cups for a week before transplanting into the smart pots? Or just germ in pellets under the dome till I see roots and then into the smartpots?
And what do you guys use for trays under the smart pots?

I have a couple of domes and I use them for clones but I just use Rapid Rooters and a seed heat mat for germing. I've used the paper towel method dozens of times too and it works great but I find that I get better results by just putting them directly into the Rapid Rooters and using the heat mat.

dont see whats so smart about em

good luck with those 5 gallon pots! they have a 12" footprint so i'd go to home depot and get some 14" saucers (if they have them that big). i have a couple of the 5 gallon but haven't tried them yet. i repotted 18 plants into 2 gallon smart pots yesterday. the 2 gallon grow bags are quite a bit larger than the 2 gallon smart pots which is annoying. if the smart pots work out well, i'll get 3 gallon pots and go from there.

if you're only planning on keeping them in party cups for a week, forget it and just go into the 5 gallon pots! since the smart pots are supposed to help with root mass, planting directly into one should be good.

I use 5 gallon Smart Pots, and I wouldn't put a seedling in one. It's just too much volume of soil to maintain without roots in it. Start off with a party cup, and leave it in there for at least 2 weeks. When you can see roots starting to poke out of the bottom of the cup, you can get away with going to the 5 gallon.

check out airpots bruthas

Stoobie said:

I use 5 gallon Smart Pots, and I wouldn't put a seedling in one. It's just too much volume of soil to maintain without roots in it. Start off with a party cup, and leave it in there for at least 2 weeks. When you can see roots starting to poke out of the bottom of the cup, you can get away with going to the 5 gallon.

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Im trying to do a 3 week veg, I guess I can go a bit longer but, If I have the seedlings in party cups for 2 weeks before going into the smart pots, will they veg much in the cups or just stay small, will that count as any veg time? Sorry dumb question, I have just never started seeds off where they need to be transplanted, I have always just put the germed seed right into the pot Im gonna use, but not so great results last grow so I wanna try this method.
Also Im using FFOF for the pots, should I get some light warrior or seed starter for the party cups?

I bought all the 5 gal Smart Pots my store had and now I've decided to go back to hydro. But since I bought Pro Mix BX, perlite, Alaskan Fish Emulsion, blood meal, bone meal, bat poop, seaweed stuff, mycohorazae, etc. I guess I'll start off in soil for the moms. I think it would be better that the moms grew slower anyway. Hmmmmm... that sparks a question.

Jug Stomper said:

Im trying to do a 3 week veg, I guess I can go a bit longer but, If I have the seedlings in party cups for 2 weeks before going into the smart pots, will they veg much in the cups or just stay small, will that count as any veg time? Sorry dumb question, I have just never started seeds off where they need to be transplanted, I have always just put the germed seed right into the pot Im gonna use, but not so great results last grow so I wanna try this method.
Also Im using FFOF for the pots, should I get some light warrior or seed starter for the party cups?

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Sup Jug Stomper i am also a smart pot user(3 Gallons) and love them, air pots are great 2 but hey both help out the roots of ur plants. Now u said u want to germ seeds in a party cup and transplant them. well be very carefull i did this for my first grow but they didnt handle the transplant well and the plants had sum major issues the whole grow(had to flower em early and start fresh). What i dont like about starting ur seeds in like 16 oz cups is that if left for long they can get rootbound. so be carefull with that. Now honestly i would start your germinated seedling(germ water ever way u choose as long as u can see the tap root) in ur smart pot, just dont over water them when they are young and make sure the soil is nice and moist when u first plant ur seed. wait till it sprouts and soil is dry and water again. also if u want u can get sum clear bottle and place them over ur seedling and let the humidity get nice and high(seedlings like it) but make sure to remove atleast 2 or 3 times a day and let them get sum fresh air then do it over again. Hope this helps

for me, the less stress on the roots, the better. using rapid rooters is easy and an effective way to germinate. the rapid rooter + heating mat gives you a great start and then transition to your smart pot... if they can prevent getting rootbound or spun up they will branch nicely and ultimately help achieve a superior plant and yield. i love smartpots and the root branching they encourage, and a fairly mild soil mixture with coco that can be directly planted in to. dont forget to add your EWC and/or compost tea... mmmm i can almost smell the juicy buds already

on a side note, does anyone know of a rough sizing chart for smart pots? id like to experiment with an indoor top/LST in a big smart pot. if i want to do an extended veg and grow some big roots, how big should i go with them? what is manageable? just curious if any of you all have an idea, thanks.

cheers
mr.bond

I put my seeds in a cup of water untill they sink, then they go in a party cup. Sprouts out in a week or two. Cheap and easy.

I don't have problems with them becoming rootbound in party cups. I found that they need water everyday before they become rootbound

So, I got my seeds in the mail last monday and soaked them overnight, had taps the next day! put em in grow plugs and they all popped out by thursday morning. Friday they all had their roots coming out of the bottom of the plugs, so that night I put em in their smart pots with Roots Organic soil. They are doin fine now, got em in the tent with the 400w mh, but they have gone so fast,(second set of leaves, 3 bladed ones) that the tops have gotten heavier than the stems want to hold, their not fallen or any thing, just tipping a little bit. Im trying to figure out If I should start some liquid karma to get the stems and roots going stronger, but I started a thread about it and cant get any answers.

sounds like its doing just fine... give it a little more time to establish roots in the soil and it will explode... the stem will begin to harden up and you'll be good... then add some karma good luck!

cheers
mr.bond

Thx Bond! I feel better.

Carl Sagan?

yesum said:

Carl Sagan?

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What about Carl?

Was making a joke. Sagan was a genius who smoked pot.

yesum said:

Was making a joke. Sagan was a genius who smoked pot.

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No big deal; I'm a genius and I smoke pot. Billions and billions of years ago...

yesum said:

Was making a joke. Sagan was a genius who smoked pot.

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He was that!

Stoobie said:

I use 5 gallon Smart Pots, and I wouldn't put a seedling in one. It's just too much volume of soil to maintain without roots in it. Start off with a party cup, and leave it in there for at least 2 weeks. When you can see roots starting to poke out of the bottom of the cup, you can get away with going to the 5 gallon.

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Exactly. You will just be wasting water putting them into the 3 or even 5 gallon pots. Id use the peet pellets into the party cups, then transfer to a 5 gallon. Id even put one more transfer in between. Party cups to 1 gallon, then 5 gallon. Because even party cups to 5 gallon is a big jump. But i find repotting to be pretty easy