You?ve got some fairly high goals of growing your own cannabis. Now, it?s a matter of choosing your seeds and materials to get started. One of the decisions you?ll need to make is whether to use a fabric pot (sometimes called smart pots) or a plastic pot (also called air pots). Make no mistake: the two aren?t the same and could have a lot to do with how well your plants thrive.
If you want to be smart about your pot (pun intended), exploring your options is the best way to grow. Here?s a quick comparison guide on the types of pots for growing cannabis.
How Pot Choice Can Grow Cannabis Faster
Fabric pots, or smart pots, are made entirely of a stiff fabric and are usually wide and short. The woven material allows for good oxygen flow, but you?ll also need a saucer underneath to catch the water that seeps through.
Air pots are made of plastic and have holes all along the sides and bottom. True to their name, they allow for good oxygen flow. And like their fabric counterparts, you?ll want to include a saucer underneath to catch water.
Both fabric pots and air pots offer benefits similar to hydro growing, compared to regular planters. This is because the roots have more access to fresh oxygen. The roots also don?t have the opportunity to integrate with the container (called root binding), which often results in choking the plant. When this happens, there isn?t much you can do to save the plant.
There?s no risk of overwatering the plant, and the airy sides of the pots help your plants avoid root rot. Of course, this also means that plants need to be watered more often since the roots are continually exposed to oxygen.
Fabric Pot vs Plastic Pot: Benefits and Drawbacks
When growing your own cannabis, fabric pots and plastic pots (and even regular planters) each have unique benefits in certain setups. While one isn?t necessarily inherently better than the other, you?ll want to consider your space requirements when selecting your ?pot? pots:
Benefits of Fabric Pots
? Cannabis grows faster
? No risk of overwatering
? Large, sturdy size that?s not prone to tipping
? Suitable for growing large plants outdoors
? Plants do no become root bound
Downsides of Fabric Pots
? Requires frequent watering
? Can?t fit as many plants in a space because of large size
Benefits of Plastic Pots
? Taller and thinner so you can fit more plants into your space
? No risk of overwatering
? Cannabis grows faster
? Plants do not become root bound
Downsides of Plastic Pots
? Tall size doesn?t fit well in short spaces
? Needs watering more often
Bottom Line: The Best Pot for Growing Pot
The above comparison between fabric pots vs plastic pots is a good starting point in choosing how to grow your cannabis. These aren?t the only options, of course (e.g. regular planters, hydroponics, etc.), but they do make excellent choices for beginners and small batch farming.
The next step: learning what to grow. Head to our blog for some herbal inspiration.