Fabric pots, how well do they work, smart pot alternatives?

[outsiders71]

The new buzz in container gardening appears to be these over-priced fabric pots, aka Smart Pots.

Does anyone have any experience in growing veggies in smart pots or any comparisons between smart pots and conventional plastic grow bags?

Lastly are there alternative brands out there that don't cost a fortune?

[outsiders71]

Just found an interesting thread on GW:
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/...156392385.html

Talks about DIY fabric pots.

I know we have a few engineering madmen on these boards...so I was wondering:

What if you built a frame out of wood and used a fine nylon mesh to wrap around it. I wonder how well this would work.

[amideutch]

I bought 2 10 gallon Smart Pots and got a free 1 Gal. I planted a dwarf nectarine tree in one and will plant a Ind. tomato in the other in the next two weeks and see how it works out compared to my other container grown tomatoes. I may go ahead and plant a like variety for a better comparison. Ami

[Nightshade]

There is an alternative that is used for tree culture. I posted a link to it on another Smart Pot thread here, I believe. But they did not seem to sell in small quantities or to the indivdual user.

jan

[Nightshade]

http://www.rootmaker.com/products_roottrapper2.php#jump

jan

[amideutch]

Nightshade, interesting site. To bad they don't sell in small quantities. Would be interesting to know the price as compared to Smart Pots. Ami

[Nightshade]

Yes, it would helpful if they would tell us how many ten gallon containers the $50.00 minimum order would buy!

jan

[stormymater]

Dunno how well they'll work yet but Carolyn seems to like them - I ordered these & would be glad to share for cost & postage to you... because it's lot.
http://store.oriontradinggroup.com/p...t/Detail?no=28
they are en route - hopefully here tomorrow or Monday

[outsiders71]

Thanks for the offer Stormymater, maybe someone here will take you up on it. If I'm going to go the route of plastic containers, I think I'm going to go with the Sunleaves grow bags, they don't have handles but are more economical for my poor college student budget.

[stormymater]

I'll be having them for a while LOL. May be growing dwarves next year for the retirees who only have lanais down here.

[dice]

I used dollar store laundry baskets lined with garbage bags
for a few plants last year (smaller than a normal laundry basket).

I poked holes around the bottom from the side for drainage
after filling them. Each one took about 1 cu ft of container
mix (I used HD composted steer manure with old dry dog food,
dolomite lime, and fertilizer mixed in; worked fine).

[Nightshade]

thank you, Stormymater. If you had gotten them before I put i in my sunleaves order I would have taken you up on the offer!

They don't quite compare with the fabric pots, but they work for my budget, too, Outsiders71.

jan

[outsiders71]

Found another product called Air Pots:

http://www.florikan.com/download_doc...02.07-2.08.pdf

Going to give the nursery a call tomorrow for pricing...

[amideutch]

Air-Pots pricing. Not cheap, Ami

http://aroidiaresearch.org/airpots/terms.htm

[outsiders71]

Originally Posted by amideutch

Air-Pots pricing. Not cheap, Ami

http://aroidiaresearch.org/airpots/terms.htm

Oh well. It's amazing how much money they're getting for these pots. Especially the air pots as they are made from recycled materials.