1) Adverts imply that fabric pots help keep warm in during the cold months. How could this be? Unless it's on or in the ground. 2) The size of your pot will limit your plant size, but the plants will not become root bound due to air pruning? I'm switching for summer grows (back patio, hot weather) because plastic pots seem to cook my roots. But I was gonna stick with plastic buckets for winter, unless someone can confirm that fabric pots do indeed keep roots warmer during cold weather. Lemme hear ya if you have any opinion either way.
I worked on a tree farm several years ago. The owner insisted anything we potted that was going into winter to use plastic pots. He said the plastic would heat up from the sun and help keep the trees alive. We also wrapped them in burlap the day before it was going to get really cold. This tree farm did everything above ground. In the spring we planted everything in fabric pots. Not sure if there was any real science behind it, but this dude was in the business almost 40 years.
See, now that makes sense to me. Nice to have my thoughts confirmed. Appreciate the quick come back. Take care.
Ok they aren't not going to warm. I live in the Cali desert and what we do is dig holes for Fab pots to keep roots cool. Or put them in large plastic not black containers to keep roots cool. They are great twice the feedings twice the bud Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
To solve over heating and cooling issues increase the size of your pot by a third to act as insulation but yeah I tried cloth pots and went back to hard plastic good luck
Just keep em wet, they dry out really quickly in the summer heat! You won’t bound, but you can burn![IMG]
Hi Vostok. You're all over these boards, and I find your input fascinating. Thanks for sharing. Why did you go away from your cloth pot experiment? The only downside I see is daily watering would be mandatory. Curious to hear your thoughts. Peace and prosperity (however you define it).
DrDrizzle, copy that. Watering daily I'm prepared to do. Twice or 3 times daily would be excessive. But it could be done with a patio (easy access) grow. I've done hempy pots with 50/50 coco perlite. Roots get pot bound quickly and too hot in SoCal summer. I'm thinking pure coco would be sufficient with fabric pots, and help retain moisture. I value others input as much as experimentation. So thanks.
The handles kept breaking and pots dried out to quick I find 15 liter/ 3usg ideal for my plants for a 3 month grow cheers/
Right on brother, know this I am in Silicon Valley, all my crops are Cali grown and always have been for close to 20 years. It is IMPOSSIBLE to overwater a cloth pot balls deep in a Cali summer, if you go in with that mindset, you are gonna have a great season, I didn’t and water was expensive, my research leans toward slimmer and deeper closed systems! Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
Decided to give an update now that I have some experience. I had to switch to fabric pots, my roots were cooking. BUT, I am watering 4 times a day. And am working on an automated watering system with a recycle timer, because they suck up the water like nobodies business (I am outdoors). I have one plant in a 3 gallon cloth pot that is about 4 feet tall. Easily the tallest plant I've ever grown when comparing a ratio of pot height to plant height. It's clear to me now, if I water them sufficiently (mild nut solution in every watering), they have everything they need to do well. Harvest should be abundant, but it has been a commitment. And I've concluded outdoors with cloth pots, 100% coco is the way to go. No perlite necessary.
I'll set my hard plastic pots in a cloth pot to get them instant shade. They sit in a larger plastic tub with about a half gallon of water. The water wicks up the fabric pots and cools the plant. It really helps cut back on watering and root ball heat. I can't set anything on or in bare ground for gophers and termites. I've had them eat right through the fabric pots and kill the plants.
My fabric pots sit on top of a sub irrigated planter. They water themselves. All I have to do is keep water in the SIP