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Discuss water requirements, "soil" (growing media) and suitable planting containers

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By bluestatic
Posts:  40
Joined:  Tue Jun 27, 2017 7:32 pm
#298538
For a while now I have been growing VFTs in 20oz. styrofoam cups. It works well but the sun does break them down over time. Something also bugs me about the wasted space of them being round and my trays being square.

I have searched for a better solution. Most square pots are dark colored/black. That won't work in the summer heat and sun. A few weeks ago I found these on the internet.
5x5 white pot
5x5 white pot
IMG_3320.JPG (13.13 KiB) Viewed 4177 times
The holes in the side bothered me. They were also pricey on ebay/online because I had to buy them in bulk. I just wanted to test one first. I called around and found a local authorized hydrofarm dealer. They also sold the pots cheaper then ebay! I was very pleased with the thickness of the pots as well. And they are white and square!!

There are holes all over, however. It is a hydroponic pot...
Holes!!
Holes!!
IMG_3321.JPG (39.51 KiB) Viewed 4177 times
So after some brain storming I decided to line the inside holes with something that wouldn't allow my mix of 50/50 silica sand & peat moss out but would still allow to drain. (Those of you who grow with LFSPM this would not be an issue).

I went to lowes and found a weed barrier made from recycled bottles. So the weed barrier should be plastic and hopefully not leach any thing in the soil/water. I spray glued peices to the inside of the pot to cover the side and bottom holes. I put soil in the pot and sat it in a tray of water outside and took notes of the TDS readings over a period of many days.

Nothing changed with the TDS readings even after a few rains and top waterings, I feel the glue after it cured is waterproof and should cause no harm to the plants. The dirt also stayed in the pot!

I bought many more pots and glued the plastic fabric over all of the holes in all of the pots.

I am very pleased with the results. I also have an inexpensive "brothers" label maker that I used to make the labels for the pots. Hint - these labels probably will last forever. I stuck these kind of labels on a plant tag years ago and the print, everything is like the day I printed it and I grow everything in full on all day sun. Hint #2 instead of paying the $18 or so for the label "tape" i bought an off brand from ebay for $5 and I cannot tell the difference! The cheaper labels have only been on the pots for a few weeks now so we will see how well it lasts in the weather and sun compared to the name brand stuff.
pots and labels
pots and labels
pots.JPG (76.42 KiB) Viewed 4166 times
I like the square pots. They fit very nicely in the 10x20 trays. By no means am I going to be converting all of my plants to these pots. I am only putting the "Mother" plant from each cultivar I have in these pots.

What do you think? Do you think the holes in the side may cause problems down the road? What is your favorite growing pot/container?
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By nimbulan
Location: 
Posts:  2395
Joined:  Fri Feb 28, 2014 9:03 pm
#298543
I've been looking at these pots mostly intending to use them for tuberous Drosera, but I think they'll do well for a lot of CPs. It's very difficult to find good containers that are taller than they are wide and these certainly fit the bill.

Since they are intended for hydroponic use, it's hard to say how UV-stable they are but we shall find out.
By riveraXVX
Posts:  1099
Joined:  Sat Apr 29, 2017 5:29 am
#298544
I picked up identical pots to those (well...same ones but I can't remember if I got the 5x5's or if they were 6x6 6x6x8 if I remember right (I'll have to check at another point and time!) after drooling over the photos/collection of another user here (LEO756) who used those same white pots, If I recall correctly he used a simple white duct tape on the outside around the holes

I plan on moving ours from styrofoam to those next season -- we only have a small number of plants currently though (2 cultivars+typicals...9 total plants) nowhere near the setup you have going there!! (saw photos in another thread! phew!)

they were about $1 - $1.50/ea at a local hydroponics shop here had a few different sizes

I really like the look of those with the labels on them
By riveraXVX
Posts:  1099
Joined:  Sat Apr 29, 2017 5:29 am
#298567
I doublechecked also they are the same as yours but 6x6x8 wish our local shop here would have had the 5x5s! they had 6x 7x and 9x

they do seem fairly sturdy/well made
By kvp
Posts:  2
Joined:  Sun Oct 06, 2019 2:23 am
#344718
Hi bluestatic,
How did these hold up to the sun. I'm looking for pots and these may fit the bill.
Thanks, Kevin
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