Made my own smart pots. One square, one circle

[Madman960]

Now that I have these built, I can measure how many gallons of soil they hold. These will be true gallon measurements. I know some of the plastic containers say 2 gallon container but only hold like 1.25 gallons of soil. I wanted to make my own smart pots so I can configure my grow space for my needs and wants. This will come in handy later on for future experiments. I need to buy a few more tents and lights first. One of my first experiments when I get another tent is to build a horseshoe grow rack. 4 ft long 3 ft wide 4 ft long. This will bring the horseshoe grow rack near the center. It's also going to be 3 ft tall or so. I want the Roots to be able to reach a depth of 2 feet plus have a water through underneath for bottom watering. It will actually be more of an H shape. 4 plants per side and 3 in the center. The idea comes from the square foot garden concept. They recommend 15-18 inches of depth for the root systems. Trying to see if there are any advantages or disadvantages to a 24+ inch Root depth. Bigger roots mean bigger plants. I have lots of ideas to try with gardening. This is more for tomatoes than anything else.

Now that I finished rambling, I just made the smart pots out of landscape fabric, AKA weed barrier. I originally got the idea this summer. I made a rectangle planter box out of 2x4s. I didn't have anything for a bottom, so I just stapled on some landscape fabric. Filled with potting mix, not soil. Added seeds, left outside. Well, one half was elevated so air could flower underneath and the other half was on the ground with no airflow. The plants that had airflow underneath grew faster and thicker than the other plants. 4 months later, I finally got around to building the fabric planters. Will post results of use. The round one is the same diameter as a 5 gallon bucket, just not as tall. The square one is based off the Tidy Cats 35 pound cat litter yellow container. About 3 inches shorter. I think it's actually less than 3 inches. Once I fill it with soil, I will be able to get a better measurement.

Happy growing.

Madman

 

[D.A.A.S.69]

You sound like you have a nice plan ,960, I hope everything works out just right, and you grow some fine bud in your new pots.

 

[Madman960]

Thanks For D.A.A.S.

The square one holds 5 gallons of soil and the round one holds 8. Probably should scale them down a bit. I will try 2 make a 3 gallon round and 2 gallon square pots this weekend.

Madman

 

[D.A.A.S.69]

You got any pictures of your pots 960? I use SmartPots and really love em, but I might try making my own pots.

 

[Madman960]

1st 2 pictures are the square one. I just used industrial glue to hold it together, no stitching. These are cheap and will likely only last 2 or 3 grows. I got a 3 ft long by 50 ft roll of landscape fabric for $6 at the discount store. The other 3 pictures are the round one. Sorry for the crappy pictures. This was going to be my version of a topsy turvy. I got a 12 inch macrame brass ring, a 12 inch plastic circle with holes, and the tube of ES 6000 industrial glue from Pat Catans. The glue was like $6 there but I recently seen it at Walmart for $3. I got 150 lb test mono fishing line from Walmart and some heavy duty curved needles. I set the plastic circle on top of the brass ring and ran a bead of glue all the way around. Waited 24 hours for it to dry/cure. also glued the seem to make a circle with the landscape fabric. Once everything was dry/cured, I placed the brass ring towards the bottom, and the plastic circle up inside the fabric. This is to keep the bottom off the floor. It's not much clearance, but better than none. I used the heavy duty curved needle and the thick 150 lb test mono fishing line to stitch the fabric to the brass ring. Forgot one thing, I rolled out 42 inches of the fabric, and then measured out the 36 inch side, and cut in half. Made both pots out of those dimensions.The last picture is me holding up the round pot by the bottom. You can see through the fabric.

I hope that helps.

Madman

 

[Madman960]

Also, I was able to pick up both of them by the fabric when they were full and no rips or tears. I can refill and take more pictures if anyone wants to see them with soil.

Madman

 

[Madman960]

If you wanted.to make something that lasts longer, you could try blackout curtains. A pair of 26 inch by 84 inch was only $12.50 at Family Dollar. You can get blackout curtains in different colors in case you want to be different from everyone else.