DIY Smart Pot Hempy Hybrid

[Silent Bob]

I've been experimenting with pot designs, and I think I've come up something easy to make, which is also producing good results so far.

Materials:

5 gallon bucket
12 gage solid core wire or other suitable for twist tying
4'x4' landscape fabric or nylon screen
Duct tape

Tools:
Utility Knife
Drill
Pliers

First, drill a hole in the bucket about 2 or 3 inches up

Next, take a big piece of landscape fabric or screen

and put it in the bucket, trying to keep it evenly folded, stop when you can just touch the bucket bottom by stretching the material:

Twist the wire tight around the top:

Cut away the excess:

Then tape down the edges for a clean look:

This step helps hold the landscape fabric too, which is more slippery than nylon screen. I haven't decided which material is best yet, as both seem to work fine. The landscape fabric does make for cleaner run-off.

I've used both perlite mixes and pure coco coir as media, and I'm liking the coco for it's wicking ability and water holding.

The idea of this pot is to have the bottom of the "bag" just touch the water at the bottom of the bucket to wick moisture up, while keeping large airspaces around the lower half of the bag to stop the roots from circling or rotting. the landscape fabric acts as more of a "root trap", and the screen is more of a "air prune" as the tips grow through and die, forcing the root to bulge and send out branches.

Hope this helps some one like me with more time than money!

 

[Growing247]

I made 1 of these myself with the only difference being I used a Roots Pot (like the Smart Pot exactly), 3 gallon bucket an airline tube and a small bubble wand to keep submerged in the nutrient solution at the bottom. I drilled a hole in the bucket but not the bag. So far so good, got a clone growing in it and everything is everything. First time growing hempy style.

 

[Silent Bob]

There are definitely a lot of variations possible along this theme -

After trying this out, I googled "airpot" and found one thread on another site where a guy had drilled a five gallon bucket with something like a hundred holes, then lined it with landscape fabric, then put it in another bucket. He had some pretty amazing results. I figure this is similar, but a lot easier to build, and really cheap.

You can see another variation in the background of the pictures - I took a wire basket, lined it with screen, and planted lettuce in plain peat. The roots grew to the bottom in no time, and everywhere the poke through the screen they get air pruned just like with an air pot.

Thanks for sharing Growing247!

 

[Silent Bob]

Update on the buckets - the ones lined with landscape fabric are performing roughly the same as the regular hempy perlite buckets, while the ones with fiberglass screen and coco are growing faster... perfectly green and shooting out huge fan leaves... reminds me of DWC growth rates... hard to tell so early, but the screen might be the way to go over the landscape fabric. I'll try to put up some pics soon...

 

[Silent Bob]

Here's a pic with both my hempy / screen pot on the left, and regular hempy on the right.

Not too much difference, but the left ones do seem to be shooting up a bit faster.

 

[Light-1-up]

I have heard good things about air pots and now I can make my own. I have a bunch of those 35 pound kitty litter buckets, I think they are between 4 and 5 gallon buckets. I'm glad I came across this journal, it has given me many ideas.

Thank You Silent Bob!!

 

[Silent Bob]

I have heard good things about air pots and now I can make my own. I have a bunch of those 35 pound kitty litter buckets, I think they are between 4 and 5 gallon buckets. I'm glad I came across this journal, it has given me many ideas.

Thank You Silent Bob!!

It works well with anything over 3 gallons I think - and the screen definitely air prunes the roots... I think I'll use screen instead of landscape cloth from now on.

I might have to drill an "observation hole" in the next one - I haven't decided if it needs more air flow or not around the root bag.

Glad I could help!

 

[Light-1-up]

It works well with anything over 3 gallons I think - and the screen definitely air prunes the roots... I think I'll use screen instead of landscape cloth from now on.

I might have to drill an "observation hole" in the next one - I haven't decided if it needs more air flow or not around the root bag.

Glad I could help!

Well I was gonna drill a bunch of 1/8" or 1/4" holes in the bucket then use a screen just like you metioned and wrap it around just how you did. But I'd do one thing different, I would make sure it fit tight snug inside of the bucket. That way the roots could grow and self-prune themselves. Now I'm thinking.

Thak You for your help my friend.