Smart pot Aeration containers test

HTG is a store front that also has products with their name on it. They also sell on Ebay.
These bags are made by Custom Automated Products(CAP) and are sold by HTG as well as other stores including the two hydro stores in my area.
The only difference I can see from the pics between the CAP product and the official smart pot product is the handles and the CAP product appears to be of a thicker grade material. That could explain the official smart pots draining quicker and the root protrusion. Are the official smart pots double stitched too? The CAP bag held up when I tried to tear it apart and I think it would last for a couple years. When I test a product I give it the business!:slide:
The bags I have had retail tags for 3.49 for the three gallon and 4.49 for the 5 gallon.:surf:
 
orangeblood said:
No black specs or anything. The close up I got above is exactly how they look live as far as color and they have a soft felt feel to them. :Rasta:
Click to expand...

Same for the smart pots I have. Except the bottom has specks, the sides don't.
CAP makes some nice stuff. The pots are very similar if not the same material, just a different stitching and design or taper. Just as long as they accomplish what's needed, then there good.
 
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This pic would'nt show yesterday in my gallery but today it works so I'm posting it to this thread now. It is a close up of water run off out of the bottom of the bag and thru the rack. You can see where multiple drip sites happen across the bottom surface of the bag.
 
To the best of my knowledge the CAP product as well as ALL of the other fabric pots are made by the Smart Pot people. they were granted a patent on this product which I have studied. there's no doubt that they are serious about protecting their product from copies. They also have an excellent OEM or private label program. I'm 99.9% certain cap is having them produced by Smart Pots. the bottoms of the pots are completely porous and drain very well. If you put them on dirt. the roots will grow right through it. the key to getting the bottoms to drain is to place the on something porous like a round patios paver.
 
I'm convinced they could patent the material use and design using that material but fabric pots have been used way before smart pots was a company esp. by christmas tree farmers selling live trees. nothing new to the patent... although I don't blame them if they got rights to using the fabric in that shape becuase its great fabric... typically the fabric pots with live christmas trees are not designed to last nearly as long - but only until you transplant them a week after christmas. we used to plant one every year, had a line of christmas trees getting progressively taller hahaha.
 
I agree. Go to any nursery that sells large trees and you will see the same fabric used to wrap large root balls. It's not sewn into any shape or anything, just a large square wrapped up and tied around the root ball.
Non plastic bags have definately been in use for decades. I remember as a youngin' climbing up into oak trees to hoist my Grandpa and Uncles' plants that were planted in gunny sacks or sometimes called potato sacks. The flexibilty made it so we could wedge the plants in the forks of the trees to grow and they would'nt fall out of the tree. That was 1979-86.
 
Yea, you would think. Look up their patent. It is pretty comprehensive. They invested alot of effort into getting it. Making a copy of it was my first thought when I saw them. A copy to sell, not just use. I looked into it and even had a nice discussion with Smart pot about their products.

Either way, I'm really digging on mine so far. I', 2 weeks into 12/12
 
Hey fellas! I've got some more gas to throw on this fire!
The plants in the CAP Gro Pots are doing very well. The bags work fine and I'm not seeing any root protrusion so far. The soil looks to be compacting at a faster rate than with hard side pots which is typical of grow bags. These bags are a viable option for containers so it's just really a matter of being willing to buy the bags vs other options and if you prefer bags over pots. I'm not and dont so I'll continue with plastic pots. The basic price comparison is 15 cents for a 5 gallon plastic gro bag, $2.10 for a brand new commercial grade ribbed 5 gallon black pot(these are also free for used ones at some hi quality nurseries) and $4.49 for the 5 gallon CAP bag.
Since I'm still in the market for an innovative container to use for vegging clones to about a foot tall I did some searching and found these.
The Superoots Air-Pot produces non-spiralling root systems
I bought a six pack of the 3 liter models for $28 shipping included on Ebay. Very expensive for containers. So far I'm only seeing them being sold in the 3 liter and 2 gallon size. These could be the best of both worlds. Solid structure of a plastic pot with the aeration of a fabric bag.
 
Found a site thru the superoot site that sells all sizes of these pots. They're charging $4.32 for just one of the pots in the size I got off Ebay so maybe the $28 for 6 was'nt too bad afterall:slide:
But they're charging over $17 for one, yes just one 5.2 gallon pot!:thedoubletake::loopy:
Yikes!
 
I used hydroton in the bottom of all of my Smart Pots.

I LOVE the handles on the Gro Pot. Here I am driving around town looking for containers, and perusing the internet, to put the Smart Pots inside in case they ever needed to be moved. I've found milk crates for the smaller sizes, but one for a mother pot is tough.

I'll try out the Gro Pot and the newest one listed as well.

GREAT STUFF!!

THANKS for the info
 
Great idea for the light block! I was thinking you would try to fit one of those aeroponic covers over the tray but the flexible plastic is better since it allows the plants to have a more custom seating arrangement.:bravo:
It's weird how in a hydro set up that roots live just fine outside of the pot as long as they get wet but in dirt if the roots pop out we're having major issues.
I know the roots have got to be at the edges of these CAP pots but they have'nt broke thru yet. I disect every plant's root system after I harvest to see what happened during it's life and if anything can be improved. I'm very anxious to see if they air prune or coil in these bags.
 
Just got an email from Fedex and the 3 liter Superoot pots will be here next Wednesday. I also found two used 5.2 gallon Superoot pots thru another regular vegetable garden site that lets it's members sell plants and supplies thru the site. Kind of like an Amazon for used gardening supplies, seeds, bulbs, etc. I paid $7.50 for each pot plus another $16 to have them sent UPS from Florida.
Since these new pots coming are pretty much a totally different animal I'll start a seperate thread for a review of them once I get them going.
 
I have a White Widow mother in a 15 gallon Smart Pot and wanted to put a White Rhino mother in a larger Air-Pot.

Why is the Air-Pot so much more expensive? And so hard to find in the US in the larger size?

Please update after you compare the yields with the Air-Pot vs the Smart Pot.

I do love the Smart Pot and the improved engineering with handles in the Gro Pot is awesome. Just wondering if the final product/yields justifies the cost of the Air-Pot.

I have been training four WWs in the 5 gallon Smart Pots, inside milk crates, and they are things of beauty. They are 33 days old from seed and day 13 into LSTing. Finally, they are starting to take off.
 

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