Fabric vs Plastic in Autopots.

[JohnEmad]

I think Smart Pots is a brand of fabric pots.
I am still testing them out but they appear to be alright. Think its all what you are used to using.

[JohnEmad]

Day 34 and the stretch is on. Well it is now clear that the Berry Bomb in the 5 gallon fabric pot is the easy leader. Both BB's were topped on day 23 and they are looking great. I have to note that the one in the plastic pot is only a 4 gallon but still the difference is large. Trying for 18 to 20 colas each.
The poor little Trans Siberian auto is much slower and smaller. I think it is just a lesser plant due to random chance. Have another seed so will try it in the future and see if we get a faster, larger plant then.
Otherwise temps have been on the higher around 30C and ph steady at 5.7/5.8. RH between 25 and 60% depending if it's day or night and if we had rain or sun.
I am real happy with the topping and training results so far.

[Doubledealing72]

Looking great John! Keep up the good work, and remember...Gentle! 🤣

[JohnEmad]

Day 41 for the Berry Bomb girls. This auto grow is going much better then my last one.
The one in the fabric pot is huge and crowding the others out. Topped June 3rd. Left 3,4,5th node branches which I tied down and out. Then I clipped out nearly 30 tops to leave only the most promising bud sites. Still will have 25 or so tops. She has stretched 9 inches in 6 days to 20" tall.had to add xtra N & cal/mag to keep the green going due to the heavy feeding and growth.

Did the same training for the BB in the plastic autopot but this one has stayed smaller with far less bud sites. still very happy with the plant.

The Trans Siberian is small and will not produce much although she looks good and the smoke is supposed to be a strong relaxing indica so perfect for the late evening.

Temps have been 19 to 30C, RH - 38-58%. res steady at 5.7 ph. Full strength Mantis nutes. 850 ppm.

[Doubledealing72]

Your plants are looking great man!

I didnt mind the fabric pots when I used them, but before I started quadlining I got plastic pots and drilled holes at the top to secure the branches. Now that i use electrical wire to stake them down, maybe I should go back to fabric. Could be a good experiment for my next grow!

[Canuck147]

Looking real good - great color

[JohnEmad]

Thanks gents, This so far has been one of my simple and easy grows.

[SoOrbudgal]

You sure got the green thumb JohnEmad I'm not sure for myself which i like better from my grows.

[JohnEmad]

Stretch is almost over and the difference between the 2 is that the one in the fabric pot is far bushier and has more tops even though I trained them the same. still the difference at first glance at this stage doesn't seem huge.
Both at 26" tall and filling their part of the tent. gave them their 3 week trimming to make ready for the flowering run. I hope they flower as nicely as they have vegged. Could be some big colas.
The Trans Siberian has made it to 16" and is looking healthy.
Nutes at full strength. temps steady and RH between 35 and 65% .
Showing pics before and after the trim.

[golfnrl]

Lotsa flowers in there. Good lookin!

[JohnEmad]

Hope there are not too many tops. Snipped off over 50 lower or secondary flower sites on the two berry Bombs and still they are full of tops. Maybe 50 tops left. Damn things were out of control. Luckily I have 350 W of light for them.

[golfnrl]

I chopped a lot (at least to me) of underdeveloped bud from my plants when I harvested. Defoliation and LST have been difficult for me to grasp. But seeing how the flowers on the lower part of the plant were really starved for light makes it easier to understand. Those buds went in the trim pile and will soon be salve or something else. Out of control cannabis flowers...sounds like a good plot for a movie.

[JohnEmad]

Day 55 and The battle continues. Both Berry Bombs are 27 inches tall and full of flowers. Only the finish will tell the tale now as I cannot see a clear leader to be honest.
Think they may go over 70 days at this point which is fine by me. Good things sometimes take time. The Trans Siberian at the far right is looking to produce some nice frosty buds as well.

[JohnEmad]

Day 62 and both plants are big. More tops on the fabric pot and now looking like bigger buds for the plastic pot. they are going to be big producers and are getting some nice frost on now.
PH swing problems are over and all seems well.
Going to be a close call on which does better.
TS is also getting some nice flowers going but is eating fan leaves faster. 2-3 weeks and things should be nearing their conclusions.

[JohnEmad]

That's what I like about this forum. So many helpful people.

[bboyfromwayback]

Bunch of pot heads though 😂🤣😂

[Doubledealing72]

Yeah, we kind of all just wanna smoke your weed man. 🤣

[JohnEmad]

day 69 and I keep having issues with ph rising fast in the res. from 5.7 to 6.7 in 3 days. friggin shit! I have been kinda busy and not checking regularly. Good thing is the grow is getting close to harvest. The fabric pot plant is showing the most stress from the swing. Still it has lots of decent sized buds and it is starting to get close to harvest. The oth\er Berry Bomb in the plastic autopot is looking great. big buds and frosty. maybe an extra week or more for this one to mature compare to her sister.
Last is the Trans Siberian which is looking stable and filling in nicely.
Aside from my bitchin this is going to be a big grow for autos and i am looking forward to testing these.

If we all lived close then ya pot party.

[SoOrbudgal]

Hey i'll bring the pies not a cow pie either those look great what fun.

[golfnrl]

That would be fun. Those are good looking plants. I hope my next grow turns out like that.

[Doubledealing72]

Looking great John! Can't wait to see harvest pics!

[Jordann]

Looking good man awesome read. I always prefer fabric pots but might give the plastic a try one day. Good auto haul there forsure ☺️

[JohnEmad]

Day 76 and the fabric pot was ready for harvest with close to 10% amber and mainly cloudy trichs. Could have gone a bit longer but I kindof like the smoke that starts more active and then gently settles into a relaxing state for those times i am not ready to sleep yet.
This grow has been relatively free from major trouble and the plants responded by getting large, heavy and sticky.
I will wait for both plants to be dried and in jars before I post the final numbers but I have to say the one grown in fabric got big fast and may be one of the best yielding autos I have grown yet.
The good thing is the Berry Bomb in the plastic pot is basically the same size as the one in the fabric with fewer yet larger tops. Almost no brown pistils on her yet so she could get much heavier and thicker in the next 2-3 weeks.
The little Trans Siberian auto has continued to pack on weight and should be done in the next 2 weeks. Going to let that one mature more for the sleep aid properties.

[Doubledealing72]

Great Job John! You are killing it man!

If the pic that has them hanging are both plants that you took down, I'm guessing around 6oz total. Of course, its difficult to tell through pics.

Again, great job man! That looks like some killer smoke!

[JohnEmad]

lol, just the fabric pot hanging so far Doubledealing72. yup hoping for around 6 oz.
The plastic pot won't be ready for about 2 weeks.

[golfnrl]

Very nice!

[JohnEmad]

The not so scientific test between fabric and plastic has reached it's conclusion. Today is Day 83 and harvest day for the Berry Bomb grown in the 15 litre/3.5 imperial gallon plastic Autopot.
This plant was grown with 6 main branches and had perhaps 30% less tops then the one grown in the fabric pot. They were somewhat different in how they grew and certainly not clones of each other.
However the growing medium, nutrients, lights etc were all the same.
The big surprise is the plastic outgrew the fabric pot by a slim margin of 20 grams. Much to my surprise considering the one in the fabric pot was at one point a much larger plant but time is an equalizer it seems.
Total wet weight 832 grams.
The tops were large, heavy and sticky with a strong smell. The branches were all tied together to help support the weight. Like it when that happens.
So no real clear winner except me having all this great bud...lol.
I can say I am very impressed with the breeding Bomb Seeds has done. Both plants were easy to grow and they delivered exceptional yields with high quality smoke.
But, enough babble from the grower. Here are some pics. Enjoy.

[JohnEmad]

Thanks NC. It sure is well worth the effort. I have so damn much I doubt I will ever run out or need retail or black market ever again.

[golfnrl]

Very nice!!

[Doubledealing72]

Awesome grow John! Thats a very interesting ending to the not so scientific experiment!

And the real winner is you of course. You got all that bud, and thats the goal for me with growing: never needing to go buy the shit again. So far, I'm 3 years successful in it, although i did come close recently.

Congrats again man, they look fantastic! Looking forward to the final numbers!

[PLreef]

Great job, start to finish. Im currently using fabric pots for both inside and outside grow.

[JohnEmad]

Thanks Jasreef. can't go wrong with fabricpots.

[JohnEmad]

dried bud shots.

[OlderNOTwiser]

Sweet Grow! Never heard of this system 'til this thread (which I missed until this morning). I bookmarked some articles and videos to watch shortly. Have you considered...or would you consider...throwing together a small tutorial on the system? I know it may be a bit of work but seems like you may have a grow coming up and maybe incorporate into a grow guide? Those bookmarks may get the info I'm lacking. Such as:

1) How do you keep that bucket of nutes from spoiling? How to regulate the temp inside of it?
2) How does the drainage or excess get dealt with?
3) We've been told to NOT leave our plants sitting in runoff due to mold, rot, etc...so how does this get around that if it isn't quite soil/coco or hydro or both or either?
4) If you have a 4 bucket system can you use only one or two?

Hopefully those videos will help. With Covid in the area I'm fine with the old hands on approach for now but someday I'll be able to get out for more than a day or so and this looks like it would be good to start with when you know or are hopeful of a vacation or two down the road.I'm probably not the only one intrigued by this.