Smart Pots?

[Growmaster J]

Got my Smart Pots.I ordered 30 x 7 gal pots. They seemed smaller in person,lol. I sent back 15 for way bigger ones. Just about to fill em up...do they require hydrocorn or anything on the bottom or just fill em up with soil. I was told they even botton feed aswell. Figured Romeu would catch this... They auto prune and breath so thought maybe they dont require something to aid in drainage. Just wondering>>

[Romeu9]

I added a layer of hydroton balls at the bottom... But since the bottom have a ticker layer of fabric, probably you wont need it, but i advise you to use them aswell..

I dont bottom feed, so i have them on plates after watering them and let them drain a bit. Dont let them be directly on the ground or the roots will move down to the surrounding soil, very easy to happend wen they have well developed root sistems already..

You'll have big trees for sure

Take care

[Growmaster J]

Cool, thanks... guess i have to grab a few bags of hydroton.

Do you think the 7 gal are big enough and wont tip over with like 5 or 6 foot monsters? They seem sorta small. I was basing the size on what you said about them being equivilent to plastic pots double there size.

[Romeu9]

Yes, they are wide enough not to tip over, and the hydroton balls at the bottom realy helps on making it a tight root ball, I have two plants in a 15L Smartpot, even in strong wind they dont even ballance.

They will give you big plants, u just have to leave it longer in the pots, they will air pruned and continue on growing.

Of course the bigger the better in the end ...

How will you start the seedlings? Smaller smartpots or directly to the final pot size?

Take care

[Romeu9]

200Gallons, its a good size Smartpot to grow a real tree

[Romeu9]

Also,

every Smartpot works as a Compost Sak, if you have spares its a good way of using them

Why Compost?

Two Reasons:

Put Less in Your Trash Can & Greatly

Improve Your Garden & Yard!

Why should you compost? When you compost, you will do two things; Put less trash into your trash can, and greatly improve your garden & yard. Imagine, building a healthier, more vibrant yard and garden, and taking out the garbage less!

Examine the material that goes into the average trash can. A lot of it is actually very healthy for the environment. In the right form, that garbage would actually improve your garden. By adding to a compost pile or mix, banana peels, coffee grinds, rotten apples, left over celery and mashed potatoes, week old bread, even the half-dead houseplant you are throwing out, all of this material could improve your garden and yard. But you can not just take that rotten pineapple out of the refrigerator and throw it in the backyard.

Now look at the material most people take out of their yards. Dead leaves, grass clippings and twigs are actually quite healthy for the yard. This organic material has a great store of nutrients. But a lot of people do not want to leave a big pile of dead grass on the lawn.

When you compost, you are taking things that most often are placed in the trash, and turning them into a valuable asset. Instead of paying someone to hall off trash, you are turning that “trash” into an asset.

Now think about going to the Garden Center and buying expensive mixes and fertilizers. A lot of the nutrients you are buying for your yard and garden are the same nutrients, in a slightly different form, which you threw into the trash earlier that day!

Instead of buying expensive mixes and fertilizers at the garden center, place your kitchen scraps and yard trimmings into the Compost Sak™. After a few months (depending on the weather and the ingredients placed in the Sak), you will have fresh compost. Spread the compost around the garden! Your garden will soon have the healthiest, best soil in town. Or spread the compost around the yard. Spread it in depleted areas that do not have a good layer of topsoil. Soon you will build up these areas into healthy, great looking, natural yard.

The value of your house is greater when the yard and garden look great! And it all starts with taking out the trash less, and haling off less clippings and leaves. Let the Compost Sak™ help you build a better garden and yard!

Source: http://www.compostsak.com/why-compost#ixzz1RPTGtOd8

How To Best Use the Compost Sak

To get started, fill your Compost Sak™ bins with leaves and/or grass clippings from your garden. You will notice how fast composting works by how fast the leaves drop down and compress. Keep filling the compost bins, as decomposing happens. Put your kitchen scraps in, along with the leaves and grass clippings from your garden. Be sure to bury the kitchen scraps (food). Do not leave food scraps out in a way that might attract critters. We have found the best way to turn your garden composter is with a small pitchfork or any long handle, such as a broom handle. Insert the broom handle and push it up in a shovel motion. The stirring motion mixes up the garden composting leaves nicely without getting caught on anything. Do not strain too hard in mixing, as the mix is composting anyway.

Once you notice compost coming to the top of your bins, it is time to start a new Compost Sak. The ideal use of your garden composter is to have two going at the same time. When the first Compost Sak™ starts to look full, stop adding anything to it, and start filling the second garden compost bins. Everything in the first Sak will quickly be garden compost. It will be heavy so don’t try to move it. Shovel it into a wheel barrel or move what you need with a bucket. You may be able to roll the composter to your garden area. Keep in mind that a Compost Sak™ filled with compost will be very heavy.

To start your second Compost Sak™, you may want to peel off the top layer of garden fill from the first Compost Sak™. This will leave only compost, which you could use immediately in your garden.

After dumping the compost, you can re-use the Compost Sak™ bins. The product is guaranteed for one year, but you should get many years of use from the Compost Sak™.

Source: http://www.compostsak.com/how-to-use#ixzz1RPSGJQYf

What Goes Into Compost?

What can you add to your composter or composting bucket? Almost anything organic that will break down! A compost pile is a living ecosystem. For that ecosystem to thrive, it needs moisture, oxygen, and the right mix of ingredients, especially carbon and nitrogen. Carbon is the energy source for compost. Nitrogen provides the proteins that microbes need to grow in your compost.

The Brown-Green Mix:

In garden composting, you hear a lot about the Brown-Green mix. What is brown and green? Green materials provide the nitrogen in your compost bucket. They are usually green in color with a high water content. Vegetable peelings, coffee grounds and rotten pumpkins are examples of Green.

Examples of Green Mix

Leftover vegetables, fruit, and peels

Leftover bread and pasta

Coffee grounds

Leftover molasses & honey

Citrus wastes

Rotted squash & pumpkins

Unused herbs

Tea bags and grounds

Egg shells

Cow, chicken, rabbit manure*

Tobacco wastes

Leftover Cheese or Yogurt

Shrimp, Crab & Lobster shells

Spoiled canned goods

Brown materials provide the carbon. They are usually yellow, tan, or brown in color with low moisture. Dead leaves, dried grass, shredded paper, dryer lint, and straw are examples of brown compost.

Keep in mind that some items are both Brown & Green, and perfect for composting. Freshly cut grass, for example, has a high water content and is considered a “green” even though it will quickly dry and turn into a “brown”. Do not worry about the label, just add it to your compost bucket.

Examples of Brown Mix

Grass clippings, weeds, and leaves

Wood chips, tree bark, sawdust

Hay or straw

Pine needles

Napkins and Paper towels

Wool, old leather

Wood ashes

Shredded newspapers

Alfalfa, Nut shells

Houseplant trimmings or potted garden soil

Hair

Snow

We recommend two to three parts Brown for every one part Green. Don’t worry about the exact proportions. The material you have available to compost will always be changing. Your composter fill will always be an approximation.

As you work with composters, you will quickly learn how to keep the mix healthy. If the composters give off an ammonia odor or looks soggy, there is too much green – add more brown. If the compost pile is too dry and crunchy – add more green.

*Note for manure – we recommend composting the manure of plant-eating animals, such as birds or cattle. Do not compost the waste of meat-eating animals such as dogs.

Worms?

Yes! Composting and vermiculture work together. Many of our customers add worms to their Compost Sak™ bucket. Worms will help with the natural breakdown of compost. They will regenerate inside the Compost Sak™. You do not have to add worms for the Compost Sak™ to work, but it can add to the fun!

Source: http://www.compostsak.com/what-goes-into-composting#ixzz1RPStUP67

[Growmaster J]

I started all from clones. Put 1" rooted cubes into 6" plastic pots for a couple of weeks. Get them bigger and stronger and transplant into SmartPots. I'm actually using Diatomite Diatenious Earth High Silica Growing Medium instead of Hydroton cause the hydroton causes the pots to drain way to quick and they tend to dry out quick. The Diotomite actually holds waters and slows down the drainage plus Silica will definatly help too. I mean that's what I use for lining the bottom of the pots. I'm just using ProMix BX with worm castings and water crystals and GH's one part Grow right now. Have the whole Advanced line but havent poured any off for the outdoor yet. I guess I'll take some pics,lol....

[Piper Green]

Smart Pots.......I love um !! handle's available.