thoughts on homeade breathable grow container...

Mr.Marijuana420

Mr.Marijuana420

Well-Known Member
Ive been looking making my own breathable pots as Im to cheap to buy em 25 for 5. most anything I found had fashioning them out of weed fabric. In a previous thread doublejj mentioned he has some plants he grows out in burlap, so this got me thinking, why not take some strips of chicken wire, make it into a circle whatever diameter u want, and line it with burlap, although nothing on the bottom so the roots can explore easy if they want, so it'd be a breathable raised bed kinda deal
 
crossfade69

crossfade69

Well-Known Member
not a bad idea i need to do some research on the burlap but i dont see how it could hurt anything sounds good to me.
 
NorthernMan

NorthernMan

Member
Nurseries have been using burlap for all plants and shrubs and trees forever, you just make slits in the rootball of trees and cut away excess and bury them burlap and all. Some nurseries void your warranty if you remove the burlap because doing so with big trees will rip the tiny roots on the outside of the rootball.

Burlap is a great idea, have no fear!
 
NorthernMan

NorthernMan

Member
On more thing about burlap, make sure that you don't move them around to much unless the burlap is done like a rootball on a tree, byu that I mean packed and very stable. The lateral roots will soon reach the outside edge and with burlap they will attach themselves to it just like a seed does when sprouted in a wet facecloth an is left in it to long. small fiberous mini roots will grab on the the cloth and will be easily ripped, torn away if you move it around.

Just something for you to consider...
 
Thomas2681

Thomas2681

Active Member
Yeah I plan on going with the tan weed control fabric an I got my high x width off of a 20 gallon bag I got from or local grow shop I'm going to pass up on the burlap
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
Mr.Marijuana420 said:
Ive been looking making my own breathable pots as Im to cheap to buy em 25 for 5. most anything I found had fashioning them out of weed fabric. In a previous thread doublejj mentioned he has some plants he grows out in burlap, so this got me thinking, why not take some strips of chicken wire, make it into a circle whatever diameter u want, and line it with burlap, although nothing on the bottom so the roots can explore easy if they want, so it'd be a breathable raised bed kinda deal
Click to expand...
smart pots are cheap, work really well, & last for years.
I'll bet you spend close to 25 to make 5 diy pots.
I think smart pots are a bargain, good luck
 
Mr.Marijuana420

Mr.Marijuana420

Well-Known Member
doublejj said:
smart pots are cheap, work really well, & last for years.
I'll bet you spend close to 25 to make 5 diy pots.
I think smart pots are a bargain, good luck
Click to expand...
I have a lot of scrap chicken wire so burlaps the only thing I need to get, Id need to spend 200 bucks alone on breathable pots(root pouches btw,never specified)for my plants and I just dnt have that kinda money right now for just containers. 500-600 is already gonna be spent on soil alone so Im trying to cut some costs if I can. Im still gonna get probably 10 of the root pouches just was figuring what Id do for the rest.
 
dopeydog

dopeydog

Active Member
small wire fencing or chicken wire with burlap makes good raised beds. it shouldn't be much different than using a fabric pot accept you would have better control over making the size you want.

I also do not think fabric pots are to costly they work well and you can get 2-3 seasons from one. either way should work great.
 
Alienwidow

Alienwidow

Well-Known Member
dopeydog said:
small wire fencing or chicken wire with burlap makes good raised beds. it shouldn't be much different than using a fabric pot accept you would have better control over making the size you want.

I also do not think fabric pots are to costly they work well and you can get 2-3 seasons from one. either way should work great.
Click to expand...
ya, its the two or three seasons which mine have already lasted longer than which makes them worth it. A chicken wire set up would probably find the trash bin after one.
 
NorthernMan

NorthernMan

Member
I've never tired the 10 gallon bag method before. I hate the learning curve when developing a new method, always makes me nervous I won't find the perfect method in time to prevent some unwanted consequence. For me, this year I'm going to try 10 gal. bags and I figure I'll keep one empty for a while so I can see how much water it will take to keep it moist, but not soaked. With an empty bag I can dig down to the middle and bottom to see how well the amount of water given reacts to the soil.

I welcome watering advice, How much water do you guys give the 10 gallon grow bags and how often?
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
The thing about breathable grow bags is that you need to use a larger bag than you would in a solid container, because of how a smart pot works. I use 100gl smart pots but I'm probably only really growing in the middle 50gls.
If you use 10gl grow bags it's the equal of a 5gl bucket. If you think you need 10gls to grow in, I'd get 20gl smart pots.
Also smart pots need more water. But your plants will be happier...
Good luck
 
Garden Boss

Garden Boss

Well-Known Member
If your in Cali you can find them on craigslist for cheap. I found thirty 200 gallon smart pots for $300, full blown retail would have been over $1500(new). I still haven't found a good spot for them, but a good deal is hard to pass up.
 
NorthernMan

NorthernMan

Member
doublejj said:
The thing about breathable grow bags is that you need to use a larger bag than you would in a solid container, because of how a smart pot works. I use 100gl smart pots but I'm probably only really growing in the middle 50gls.
If you use 10gl grow bags it's the equal of a 5gl bucket. If you think you need 10gls to grow in, I'd get 20gl smart pots.
Also smart pots need more water. But your plants will be happier...
Good luck
Click to expand...
I can't afford anything at this moment, I need to go cheap this year. Next year I'll apply all the Bells and Whistles when money is no longer the primary factor.

You said "If you use 10gl grow bags it's the equal of a 5gl bucket".

I'm no rocket scientist, could you explain why a 10 gallon grow bag only equals a 5 gallon bucket? Why wouldn't a 10 gallon grow bag equal 2- 5 gallon buckets? If a 10 gallon grow bag only equals a 5 gallon bucket the marketing dept. should relabel the bags to be 5 gallon bags if thats all they hold

Am I insain or does that make sense? Somebody is crazy, is it me or them? ...LOL
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
doublejj said:
The thing about breathable grow bags is that you need to use a larger bag than you would in a solid container, because of how a smart pot works. I use 100gl smart pots but I'm probably only really growing in the middle 50gls.
If you use 10gl grow bags it's the equal of a 5gl bucket. If you think you need 10gls to grow in, I'd get 20gl smart pots.
Also smart pots need more water. But your plants will be happier...
Good luck
Click to expand...
Smart pots use the outer surface to provide air to the roots & for cooling. If you pull a plant root from a smart pot, you won't find roots circling the pot like other containers.
Good luck
 
BustinScales510

BustinScales510

Well-Known Member
doublejj said:
The thing about breathable grow bags is that you need to use a larger bag than you would in a solid container, because of how a smart pot works. I use 100gl smart pots but I'm probably only really growing in the middle 50gls.
If you use 10gl grow bags it's the equal of a 5gl bucket. If you think you need 10gls to grow in, I'd get 20gl smart pots.
Also smart pots need more water. But your plants will be happier...
Good luck
Click to expand...
I always heard the opposite, that when youre growing in fabric it is actually equivalent to a larger plastic pot. Since roots dont circle they use the space more effectively and dont get root bound as easily as in hard pots. But fabric breathes more and can dry out pretty quick when it is hot, so in that sense yeah bigger is better.
 
doublejj

doublejj

Well-Known Member
BustinScales510 said:
I always heard the opposite, that when youre growing in fabric it is actually equivalent to a larger plastic pot. Since roots dont circle they use the space more effectively and dont get root bound as easily as in hard pots. But fabric breathes more and can dry out pretty quick when it is hot, so in that sense yeah bigger is better.
Click to expand...
My point is, to get full benefit of the smart pot, you need to use a bigger pot.
The biggest complaint you hear about smart pots is they need more water. If you put a plant into a 10gl smart pot & water like a 10gl container, the plant will wilt. Many people don't used big enough smart pots to get full benefit.
 
Smidge34

Smidge34

Well-Known Member
If you are looking for a cheap alternative, I remember reading a grow a fella did using the blue 5 gallon Walmart shopping bags. He was blown away with their toughness/breathability and their unique rectangular shape meant they fit better in his grow space. At 50 cents apiece, you can't make anything forthat cheap. All kinds of businesses sell them now, in all sizes. That doesn't help much for 100 gallon+ outdoor grows, but otherwise a great idea. Wonder if my old Navy seabag would work for an outdoor grow? Lol.
 
Smidge34

Smidge34

Well-Known Member
Had to bring this back to the top and show off my ghetto smart pots! What do you think of that, ha ha ha! Seems to be working out great so far. I figure they hold about 7.5 gallons of soil, which I would think would carry me indoors through another 2-3 weeks veg, then a 7-9 week flower. Pretty damn cool I think.
 

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Garden Boss

Garden Boss

Well-Known Member
Smidge34 said:
Had to bring this back to the top and show off my ghetto smart pots! What do you think of that, ha ha ha! Seems to be working out great so far. I figure they hold about 7.5 gallons of soil, which I would think would carry me indoors through another 2-3 weeks veg, then a 7-9 week flower. Pretty damn cool I think.
Click to expand...
awesome, never thought of using those.
 
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