I've been using smart pots for container vegetables for three years, and I love them. I was using a mix of two parts soil-less medium and one part compost in whiskey barrels and 20-25 gallon smart pots, and found that drainage was much better in the smart pots. I had to water the smart pots much more often than half barrels of the same size. I didn't understand what was going on until I started reading Al's posts on container soils and water retention, but now it all makes sense. The smart pots are more like mini-raised beds when they are in direct contact with the ground, so you can use heavier soils in them. Now I plan to use the 511 mix in the whiskey barrels and a different soil, including sand and compost, in the smart pots. I'm still trying to figure out the right mix. The one thing you need to do with fabric containers is to be willing to water more often.

Hello Everyone...

Interesting thread...Enjoyed seeing these great "smart Pots"..

They look like they could really be helpful in many ways..especially with a good "mix" LOL..

The main reason that i wanted to post something here...is to Pepper Dog....because...i have a "pepperdog" here at home...he is a great little guy..(Mini Dashshund)...LOL..its probably a different reason why you are called that!! LOL...but it did catch my eye.. :)

I do like the "smart Pots" they look great with all of your new seedlings!!! Congrats!!!

Take care everyone...

Laura in VB

Oh wow! I just saw this thread. I'm going to print it out for future refence. So you got those stands at Family Dollar last year? I live in Kissimmee, and work in Orlando so I'm going to hit up all the Family Dollars and see if I can find any. That is a very cool set up!

I've been experimenting with making different types of fabric containers from odds & ends laying around my garage. They are in their 1st growing season, so I don't know how durable they will be. They drain well & soil temps are cooler.

Here is a link that might be useful: Homemade Fabric Aeration Containers

I went and looked. Cool! You'll keep us posted? I bet you'll be very happy with how they perform, as long as they hold up. {{gwi:6022}}

Al

Has anyone tried making aeration containers out of window screen?

Just found this thread looking for white aeration pots (harder to find than black). I feel silly for not thinking of landscape fabric, now I'm just waiting for my fabric to arrive to get sewing.

For anyone interested, their is a practical reason for the differences in color.

Black pots are great for heating up the soil and roots (like how you wrap landscape fabric around a watermelons base in cold climates). Tomatoes, watermelons, potatoes, etc all love the extra heat and air in the black pots.

White fabric pots keep the soil up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than regular soil. This is essential for cool weather crops like peas and strawberries.

I'm starting my own strawberry plants this year from seed, and will sew a strawberry tower. I got the idea of white fabric pots from the same place I bought the seeds:
http://www.thestrawberrystore.com/buyplants/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=12

they sell pre-made white pots if anyone's interested, as well as strawberry plants. I only got the seeds because of cheap shipping.

Well after reading through this thread I decided to take the plunge and I just ordered a 3,5, & 10 gal Smart Pot, AeroPot and Gro Pot (all with handles). I'm going to test them all and see how they workout this season. Should be fun.

Jerry

Here's my first smartpot...I'm trying this one out for the first time this summer. Since the smart pot only came in black, it gets very hot here in the summer and I thought the black would over heat and dry out too quickly...plus, it didn't have any handles...I sewed a heavy duty UV protected green shade cloth all the way around it and added handles...here's what the finished product looks like. I hope it works well...

After I got done sewing and customizing it
{{gwi:45794}}

Now that's a nice looking fabric pot!

That looks too nice to be used as a smartpot. I would toss a towel & some flipflops in it & head to the beach.

You go, Nance!! That's great!

{{gwi:4771}}{{gwi:3903}}

THANKS GUYS!

Al, I love all the cute things above that you posted, thanks!
Very cool!

Lol - it's more fun to be around smiling people, so .....

Thanks!

Al

Very nice pots guys. Puglvr, that looks a lot like the Fanntum Containers (fabric pots) I am testing. I also use Smart pots and white "plastic-bag" containers. Fanntum are very affordable, until you add shipping =( Smartpots are expensive, but the larger size you get the more of a bargain they become compared to any other container.

There are several reasons that folks use fabric pots: additional aeration, 'raised bed' similarities, cost, etc. But if you're looking for the benefit of "automatic air root pruning" you will almost certainly be disappointed, especially if making your own.

The design methods of getting roots to "self prune" aren't all that easy, as they will avoid the arid space.

A source I trust has used Rootmaker brand Air Root Pruning Containers (the plastic molded) for years and says they do actually root prune to grow a thicker root ball.

I'm also always on the look out at Dollar stores and such for the bargain price on those container stands! No such luck yet.

For those of you who use felt, go to Target or the Dollar Tree now. They have St. Patrick Day felt hats that could use used for a cheap smaller felt pot. I'm sure this would only last one season, but it's worth a try for $1

I just bought a "wonder pot" fabric container after reading all this. I will have a corner in my container garden that is not very visable and where I can't put anything permanant cause it is acess to an easement. So, I think I will put it there and put a squash in it. I got the 25 gal one. I do kind of feel like I bought an overpriced trash bag but we will see.

Ania

Ania,
Did you like your wonderpot? It is a bit cheaper so I was considering it but would like your opinion first also I can see why you would say it is similar to a trashbag.

:)

The wonderput is alright. Really thin walls but it does the job. It's more like a thin tarp type material and so does not hold it's shape that well. I like that is it lighter in color than some of the others since it gets hot here. Pretty ugly though.

I just bought some burlap coffee sacks and am going to see if I can rig something up with those since they are breathable and more interesting looking.

Ania

What do you get when you put gritty mix in a Smartpot?

A Nitty Gritty Dirt Bag.

That's good John!!!!!!!!

It's been fun reading thru this thread.
I import burlap for a living. You can use the burlap bags as pot bags - but burlap will deteriorate in 3-4 months when it's out in the weather. Might not make it thru your growing season before the bottom falls out.
I use burlap in my garden. it's dense enough to help keep weeds out - but by next season it's pretty much gone.
Burlap is one of the most eco-friendly fabrics. Is very durable & will last for years - as long as it's not out in the environment.

Kitas,

That is disapointing to hear but thanks for the info. The coffee bags seemed like a good idea. Darn it!

Big news..Try the Plant Warrior products. I've had great success! I believe they just released the Holey Cone. I ordered my sets, they arrive early summer (2011)! Has anyone tried them, let me know. ~Shonya

John

The other day I was driving my daughter and 2 friends to Disney. A song was on the radio(Raise your Glass by Pink) and in there "nitty gritty" is in the lyrics. I just burst out laughing because I thought of the nitty gritty dirt bag line. I asked my daughter if she knew of the Nitty Gritty Dirt band, and of course she didn't. So I told her she wouldn't get the joke!

I used reusable grocery bags for about half of last season until I got some large pots. I had expected that the bags would break down in the sun, but they were just as strong after ~4 months as they'd been at the start, so they might have made it through the whole season after all. At $1 each, the price was definitely right, and one could, I suppose, double-bag them so that the outside one protected the inner one from UV rays.

I just got 4 x 10 gallon Smart Pots. I'm going to try growing some bamboo in them, at least temporarily.

Does anyone know what is used to make fabric UV resistant?

Now that I've finally heard of fabric planters, I want to try it but there are so many choices that I'm overwhelmed!

I am thinking if I grow tomatoes in a bag, the cages will surround the bags and help provide structure and prevent flopping. I don't quite know how to rig it, though. I guess it's just hard to believe these soft containers aren't going to blow over in the wind, or sag when the plant gets tall.

I also don't quite understand how people are saying they make self-watering fabric bags. Do you double layer the bag and fill the in between space with water? Does that really work? I imagine it just seeping out all over everything except the plant. We don't have a hose here (we rent and there's no spigot), so not having to haul water in watering cans quite so often would be great. But I can't picture any way it'd work with fabric. Yet people say they did it. Can you explain how?

I'll be disappointed if the air pruning turns out not to be a benefit. I guess it wouldn't be worse than hard plastic, though. So not a dealbreaker.

starlady, are you still here?

I'm curious about, when you used reuseable grocery bags, did you mean the canvas ones? Or were they nylon? Or just regular plastic?

JerryVentura, how's the comparison experiment going?

Al and others have mentioned that the hydrodynamics of soils in SmartPots changes depending on whether placed on a solid surface or directly on the ground.

I want to find the best solution for my perennials in my sunny balcony space and thought I would place my fabric containers directly on the solid concrete surface, but I've been thinking about an alternative.

-- What do you all think of putting a 5:1:1-filled fabric container in a regular pot saucer with an inch layer of gravel? Perhaps with a drain? Would that be able to wick enough to make the SmartPot act like a raised bed?

-- OR is it easier to simply use the traditional gritty mix in the SmartPot directly on concrete without the saucer/gravel and get similar qualities/performance?

Thanks for any advice...

To jajm4- I have 4 different brands of fabric pots going and as far as growing goes I really see no difference yet. I do however like the thicker ones better, the Smart Pot's are to thin and a couple times I have picked up and moved the Smart Pot and it felt like the handles were going to rip. Maybe later I will see a difference but I also like the taller ones, short and squatty just doesn't look right, but maybe roots grow out more than they grow down.

Jerry

JerryVentura, which brands are thicker? I just ordered some smartpots in a variety of sizes to test, and some tomato grow bags from gardeners.com. Haven't invested in any others yet. It all adds up, dollar-wise! But in the long run, I'd like to get what works best and lasts the most seasons.

I agree about short pots; they worry me. Even if the roots don't mind, I don't want top-heavy plants. Maybe it's just an aesthetic thing, but it bothers my eyes.

I'm also thinking that the square ones might be better than round ones, because I really like my square(stackable!) tomato cages and they don't fit in round containers as well (unless the rounds are very, very, extra large-- larger than I'd otherwise want or need).

Aero Bags, Geo Pot's, Gro Pots, and someone just sent me two Dirt bags but I haven't planted in them yet, all of these are thicker than Smart Pots. I bet the Smart Pots will last fine, I like having handles and the handles on the Smart Pots are just cut into the pot, it seems very flimsy, plus the top edge of the pot curls down in the way when I'm watering. That said, all the plants in the different pots seem to be growing just the same, so I really think it's just going to come down to your own personal preference.

Jerry

I own both Geo Pots and Smart Pots.

Geo pots are definitely thicker than smart pots. I currently have 6 plants in smart pots and 6 plants in geo pots. Most of they are in 15 gallon bags but I do have 2 in 7 gallons. I must say I am happier with geo pots because they are thicker and come with handles. I recently learned about smart pots also make fabric pots with handles but it costs more than geo pots.

I have couple of blueberry plants in fabric pots and they are on my balcony. To address the drainage issue with fabric pots I put my pots on 2x4s. It actually works out pretty well!

Check out two of my geo pots in action ;)
{{gwi:45795}}

The 2 x 4s for drainage is a great idea!

I wrote about this in the tomato bag thread (it loads faster than this one, and I have dial up!), but I am trying to figure out how to keep my fabric planters from becoming contaminated by the lead in the soil in my yard (soil contamination from the 100 year old house). I was thinking of trying putting plastic underneath them (either hard plastic saucer-type drippers or just plan plastic sheeting, like a tarp), but I am worried the fabric will rot if it sits on a non-draining surface.

I really like the idea of putting 2x4s underneath them, instead.

I also like the idea of gravel trays, especially for when I bring some of these pots indoors.

I was looking around on line for the various brands of thicker pots mentioned above, and I discovered there are even more brands being made now, such as the "Oregon Breather" (on Amazon), plus "EZ Root" aeration frames, which look like they might be useful, too.

Thanks for all the help, everyone!

Tonton, your balcony looks great! I hadn't even considered I might be able to grow blueberries, but now I am determined to try. Exciting!!

I just received some various sized Dirt Bags in the mail - I was ordering some fertilizer online and the place I ordered from had Dirt Bags, Smart Pots, and Gro Pots, and the Dirt Bags were the cheapest. They look nice and sturdy. They are more wide than tall, but if they drain well then I don't think it should be an issue, plus that shape may help prevent it from tipping over. I would love to make my own fabric planters, but I don't have a sewing machine.

I like Tonton's 2x4 setup. The only place I have to garden is a wood deck in the back, and I've been trying to figure out a way to keep my containers off of the wood so the wood won't rot underneath them. What is the 2x4 sitting on top of - just more 2x4 sections? Those wire plant stands look pretty good too, if I can find them anywhere.

I'm also wondering about what kind of mix I should use in the bags - are most of you using the 5:1:1 mix? If so, how often do you have to water? I figure that since that mix is designed for normal pots, it would dry out more quickly in a fabric container. I'm in mid-90's Florida heat, and it seems like even my regular pots filled with normal water-retentive potting mix need to be watered at least once a day, so I'm concerned that if I try the 5:1:1 mix in the fabric containers, I'll have to be out there watering them constantly to prevent my plants from shriveling up.

Morning, It's no where near as hot where I live, what dries my plants out is wind. We get a daily breeze/wind from the ocean, and around November we get strong hot Santa Ana winds. So in my veggie fabric containers I did 5 parts bark, 2 parts turface and 1 part pumice, I only water once a week right now but like I said, we're not super hot here. I would just play with it, what the hell, what do you lose, one veggie season.

I didn't take that attitude with my container plants though, I did 1part bark, 1part turface, 1part pumice, nothing drying out so far.

Jerry

It's been raining a lot here, so my big problem is that I've never had enough drainage no matter what I did, so I can't help much either. I would think that if you wanted to, you could always add more absorbent material later (top off the container) if you think it's drying out too fast. Or set the containers in a tray of water?

My 2x4 are supported by bricks so water don't pooled between the 2x4s. I water my BB plants every 2-3 days pending on how hot it is. I water the pots until I see water run out from the bottom of the pots (even the fabric pots). I lost 2 blue berry plants due to poor drainage since they were sitting directly on concrete, and this prompted me to do the 2x4 thing.

The mix I use for the BB plants is made of 40% peat, 40% potting mix (from Kellogg), 5-8% perlite, and some cocoa shells. Nothing really special but it is working pretty well for me so far.

TT

Oh my stars . . . I just found this thread again . . . Would you believe I still have two of those fabric pots? Pepper dog - if you are out there . . . I now live near you.

I am planting my green beans, and several other plants in my new iterations of fabric pots.

How is everyone doing now with thier fabric pots? Has anyone seen the wooly pocket (pricey) but similar technology. Glad to be back in the SUNSHINE state!

You can create smart pots using landscape cloth, it seems very simple. Get the thick ones so they last longer.

I think these pots are a better option than garden pots or 5 gallon buckets.

Reusable grocery bags are similar to landscape fabric, as they also aerate the soil. Local stores sell them for 50c to 99c per bag. There is a guy on YouTube using Walmart grocery bags, at $0.50/each, self-watering using a rain gutter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CclTbusP7Ms and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRQzhFBCot4 ).

To self-water, the bags can have a net cup on bottom and sit inside something that is a few inches to hold water (found locally at hydroponic stores, on eBay, Amazon, etc. http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&field-keywords=3%20inch%20net%20cup )

Here is a link that might be useful: How to Make a Fabric Pot using Landscape Cloth and Sewing Machine (w/out glue)

After finding a video on YouTube about using reusable grocery bags as a grow bag, I decided to try it. (I was short on planters and had plenty of unused bags.) My roots are growing through the bottom of the bag! I think I planted too close to the bottom. (I planted potatoes, so I thought most of the growing would be up, and I would continue to add soil to the bag to "mound.") I also set the bags out on my patio. I know I need to elevate them now. Is there anything else I should do? I'm planning on putting them in a container with about a half inch of water to water from the bottom up. Good idea? Mistake? Any tips would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Gardening newbie,
Anna

Did anybody try wool felt? As a more organic material?

I hope this is still an active page. I have been reading in the garden catalogs about grow bags made from fabric burlap that has been coated to make water retention. Does anyone know who to do this DYI I have yardage of burlap and though to make some for herb growing and then maybe when confident to grow garden veggies? Also reading some others posting I read about felt containers. Is the felt sold in crafting stores in standard typing paper size the same felt as the ones listed on this page in bolt yardage?

Thanks for any feedback

Donna

Not sure about burlap, but the whole idea of these bags is root pruning. The roots hit the air holes in the fabric and stop growing at the end. They put out feeder roots in the middle of the pot and thus make good use of the dirt in there. Not sure how long untreated burlap would last, but it would work for a while.

Yeah, larry takes too much time to do his stuff. could do it in one third or half the time. but good info. He likes to hear himself talk ...

I'm pretty sure ideabooks are designed to be like that - you can share ideas with people. If you click on the actual photos on Bragu's page, on the right hand side it gives you (tapla) credit clearly.

This is probably considered a feature by Houzz, as a way to help "professionals" sell things, disguised as a way to let members share ideas, since that's what Houzz is all about (selling stuff).

Anyway, it seems likely no ill will or plagiarism was intended, and perhaps it should be looked at similar to having someone "like" your photos/ideas.

Daniel

Thanks, Dan. I deleted the question.

Al

Al

I read where you directed me. I think that was an already made black grow back where she sewed an outer covering. I am talking about taking burlap from the bolt and sewing it into a bag and making it able to retain water. Now I am wondering as I read on here should I make it water retentive and if doing so will it interfere with the air flow around the root system. Maybe it should be made partly water retentive. I am looking to make gardening easier from a wheelchair. I have one raised bed and want 3 more but the money involved in a deep enough (20" high) in soil alone is a bit rich for me. So always looking for good alternatives .

Donna