Does anybody have any experience with these? I've done as much research as I can and talked to a few different retailers. Trying to decide if it is worth the extra $60 bucks for 10 air pots or to just get the CAP GroPots for $35. If anybody has experience with superoots air pots and wants to leave some feedback I'd be thankful. Peace Sawks!
Its not, I have done side by side comparisons and there is not enough difference to justify their use. Plus they are messy as hell, some dirt comes out of the holes and the bottom every time you water, so you have to keep putting that dirt back once it fills up your drain pan. I have had one plant get so big that when I picked up the air pot to see if it needed water, the whole bottom fell out which sucked trying to get the root ball back in the pot exactly the way it was.
Well, with all due respect to the previous poster, Superoots air pots are NOT difficult or all that messy to work with. By the way, if you google you'll find people using them and overall they recieve excellent reviews. Here's my experience: they do produce Much more vigorous growth (both in the root zone and, consequently, in the biomass) than conventional pots and outperform "smart pot" type fabric pots. The air flow to the root area is, I believe, superior to smart pots. I've never seen as healthy roots--which I see when the air pots are unwraped during transplanting--as I've seen with air pots. The roots are snow white with fuzz all over the place! They are also MUCH easier to transplant from than smart pots. If you've ever tried to remove a plant from a smart pot to transplant it you will know what I mean--the roots grow into the fabric and you end up tearing the shit out of your root system trying to get it out. To transplant from one air pot to another you merely unscrew the plastic pin which holds the pot together and unwrap it. I'm not saying smart pots are bad--they're just not a good as Superoots air pots. Here's how I use them (I grow at present from feminized seed): 1) seeds are germinated and once seeds break the surface of the Rapid Rooters they are placed in an aeroponic cloner for 1 week 2) At the 1 week point they are transplanted to 1 litre air pots 3) At the 3 week point I transplant to 3 litre air pots 4) At 6 weeks I transplant seedlings to their final 9 litre (2.4 gallon) air pots and generally at this point induce flowering. As far as filling the air pots: I put the initial 1 litre air pots in a 10 X 20" propagation tray--it will easily hold 8 1 litre pots--and fill them in that. Yes, initially some dirt/coco will fall through the mesh bottom--so what?! If you water the medium and lightly compact it the medium will "cross-bridge" and form a layer across the mesh bottom and no more will fall through. Between using an aeroponic cloner to start my seedlings with as strong of a root system as possible, using Eklonia kelp, Roots Excelurator once they are transplanted to air pots, Botanicare Readygro areation (a soilless coco mix) for maximum root zone air levels, and the Superoots air pots I've NEVER seen this healthy of growth! P.S. if the bottom is falling out of an air pot as the above poster claimed, you didn't put it together correctly. Hope that helps, Crowbar
Thank you CB. It does. As I said I've done a lot of research. I understand the technology behind the comparable products, just having trouble making a decision. Having trouble justifying over $100 on pots actually but they look so badass.. Currently I go from an aeroponic cloner to 1 and 3 gallon ribbed nursery pots. Since the plants spend so little time in the 1 gallon container I had planned on leaving that as is. I would simply be transplanting from 1 gallon commercial nursery pots to either a 2.5 (9liter) or 3.4 (12.5liter) air pot for adjustment/flowering. Also, if I am not transplanting OUT of the fabric pots then I do not need to worry about the roots tearing.That being said transplanting is not a huge concern and I wouldn't foresee having much difficulty regardless. I have found 3gallon earth juice aerobags (11.4liters) for under 3 bucks a piece. Similar to smart pots but thicker and have handles. In the door for $40. Or 10 Air Pots in the door for approx $105? Hhhmmmm...what to do? Also, CB, you find that the 9liter air pot is sufficient for 6 week veg and flower? I would not need the 3.4gallon 12.5liters? I only veg about 4 weeks. Thanks Sawks!
Well, you didn't say if you grow from seed or clone, but with only a 4 week Veg I don't see you needing more than the 9 litre (2.4 gallon) air pot. These things are so good at air pruning the roots and causing root side branching within the interior area of the pot, that it takes a lot smaller pot to support a give size plant than conventional solid sided pots. Crowbar
Thx for the insight cb. Ordered 10 3.4 Gallons this morning. Should be here Saturday-Monday. Excited to see these bad boys in person. On a side note my advanced nutrient ph perfect formulas arrived from BC today. Big things a happenin.