Smart Pot® 10002 Small Soft-Sided Fabric Aeration Container, Black, 2-

The patented Smart Pot® is for the gardener who wants a container that will grow the best possible plant. It is a new and unique advancement in container technology that is better than any other method of container gardening. The patented Smart Pot® is a soft-sided, fabric container that has the rigidity to hold its shape and can even support large trees. In fact, the Smart Pot® was originally developed for and has been used by commercial tree growers for over twenty years.

The Smart Pot® is an aeration container. It has a unique ability to air-prune and enhance a plant's root structure. A highly branched, fibrous root structure is the key to growing a better plant - with more flowers and fruits, and more resistance to insects and diseases.

• Size: 2 Gallon
• Color: Black
• Soft sided fabric container
• Multi purpose
• Aeration container for growing great plants
• Provides air root pruning
• Excellent drainage and releases excess heat in hot weather for superb, fibrous root systems
• For growing vegetables, flowers, herbs and fruit
• Lasts for years
• Can be left outside all year long without worrying about winter damage.

Benefits of Smart Pots®

• Higher quality plants grow in less time
• Roots stay cooler during hot weather
• Inexpensive
• Light weight
• Attractive, simple design
• Plants need repotting less often
• Reusable
• More forgiving  a less expensive potting soil can be used
• Plants can be grown in the Smart Pot's® sides and bottom
• Non-breakable fabric lasts doesn't crack from frost or if dropped
• Grow all kinds of plants  annuals, vegetables, herbs, roses, house plants and more!

About Smart Pots®

• Nurserymen and Master Gardeners alike have known for over thirty years that Smart Pots® grow better plants because of the fabric used in their construction.
• The tough, long lasting Smart Pot® material has just the right amount of porosity to promote air root pruning, excellent drainage and allow excess heat to escape, producing superior plants. The patented soft-sided containers last for years, even in the harshest winters, and are excellent for growing the widest variety of container or potted plants.
• A healthy, well-established root system is key to overall growth, and Smart Pots® provide roots with an ideal environment, allowing them to thrive and develop to their full potential. Vegetables, flowers, herbs and fruits all do well in Smart Pots®. Smart Pots® are the horticulturist's first choice for container gardening!
• Smart Pots® are 100% made in the USA. All of raw materials and manufacturing processes are sourced in the USA. Fabric is totally inert and free of chemicals and BPA's.

Air Pruning in Smart Pot®

• As roots grow in containers they eventually reach the container walls. In hard-sided containers, these roots, upon reaching the walls, start circling and continue to circle, seeking a friendlier environment. Upon examination, these root systems exhibit a few strong roots growing in circles with very little branching, often are bound or girdled upon themselves and, depending on the type of plant, can produce a strong tap root growing through the containers bottom.
• These characteristics can hinder the plant's rate of growth and in some cases its chances of survival when transplanted. Roots grown in a Smart Pot® come in contact with the fuzzy, fabric inner wall of the bag and penetrate or grow into the fabric. The bag's tough fabric prevents the root's continued longitudinal growth, in effect pruning it, causing the root to develop masses of lateral fibrous roots. Upon comparison, root systems that developed in a Smart Pot® have a much greater mass or volume then those found in hard-sided containers.
• Plants grown in Smart Pots® have root balls that contain many more roots than found in a hard-sided container of similar size. The fibrous root systems produced in Smart Pots® are more efficient and enable plants to maximize water and nutrient uptake in the limited surrounding soil mass.

Controlling Plant Temperature Using Smart Pot® Containers

• The Smart Pot®'s black fabric quickly warms up early season soil, enabling plants to get off to a quicker start. Yet the same fabric, due to its porous nature, allows heat to escape from the container through evaporative cooling during the summer's hottest days.
• Even in northern climates, root systems of container-grown plants can be damaged from too much heat. University studies have also shown a direct relationship between soil temperature and slow-release fertilizer activity. Cooler containers do not allow for premature fertilizer release.

Indoor Gardening

• Gardening indoors can be as fun and rewarding as gardening outside. It can also be less of a headache! When you garden inside you bring everything to your plant: light, water, and food. Using a hydroponic system is one of the best methods to do this.
• When you garden using hydroponics you control everything. Your system delivers everything your plant needs so all your plants have to do is grow. When you're indoors you're in charge.
• The hydroponic industry for a long time has done a great job in providing the hydroponic hobbyist a nice selection of good quality lighting, nutrients, additives, pH testers and balancers. But it has had a limited selection of containers. This meant that the gardener was forced to place their plant in a system that provides the best light, the best food, and an environment for optimal performance. However the container they had available for use was limited.
• Not anymore. The Smart Pot® is the perfect complement to any hydroponic enthusiast's system. The Smart Pot® provides an environment for the root system to allow it to do what the lights and nutrients are asking it to do. Most other containers don't do this. The fact is the Smart Pot® is the best container for gardening in a hydroponic system. Here's why:
• The Smart Pot® is made of a porous fabric which allows water to flow freely while keeping medium inside – no more clogged hoses.
• The Smart Pot® air prunes the roots which creates more roots through branching; more roots means more root tips and more opportunity for the plant to feed.
• The Smart Pot® stimulates beneficial bacteria because of the aeration – beneficials need oxygen.
• The Smart Pot® allows the plant to use all the space inside the container for root growth, thereby letting the plant grow bigger than traditional hydroponic containers allow.
• The Smart Pot® doesn't allow roots to circle, making it the ideal container for a mother plant.
• The Smart Pot® releases heat, keeping the plant free from stress.
• Give your plants what they want: room to grow, air to breathe, and an environment to thrive. Give your plants the Smart Pot®!

FAQ's:

How do I clean my Smart Pot®?

• After use  dump out the soil and let the bag dry. After a few days of being dry, the dust and small roots will easily brush off. For most people, this is good enough. At this point the Smart Pot® folds easily for storage. However, a lot of people will wash the bags in OxyClean or peroxide to sterilize. They use a washing machine or dip the bag in a tub. Do not put the Bags in a dryer.

Who uses the Smart Pot®?

• The Smart Pot® is the best container on the market for helping your plant grow a better root structure. Container gardeners who know that better roots are the key to everything else that happens with a plant use the Smart Pot®.

Why is the Smart Pot® better than hard-sided containers?

• The Smart Pot® aerates and plastic does not. Aeration stops root circling and releases heat, helping your plant build a better root structure. Better roots will give you a better plant.

How often should a Smart Pot® be watered?

• Watering the Smart Pot® is not too different than watering hard-sided containers. For all containers watering frequency depends on a number of factors including the types of plant being grown, the potting mix and the weather conditions. Keep two things in mind – The Smart Pot® is an aeration container. The porous fabric allows water to evaporate so you may need to water a little more. But, the Smart Pot® releases heat. It does not get hot like a plastic container, so you may water a little less.

What potting mix is best?

• Gardeners are using virtually every potting mix in the Smart Pot®. Because the Smart Pot® aerates, heavier mixes can be used. Obviously, Smart Pots® filled with lighter mixes that are less water retentive may need to be watered more often.

Why is a root system grown in a Smart Pot® more desirable?

• Any plant is only as good as its root structure. A fibrous root system is a more efficient one and enables the plant to maximize water and nutrient uptake in the limited surrounding soil mass. Also, a fibrous, highly developed root system roots out quicker and establishes quicker when the plant is transplanted.

Is it true that plants grown in Smart Pots® don't have to be repotted as often as those grown in hard-sided pots?

• Yes, it is true. Remember, roots do not circle in the Smart Pot®. Because of the large volume of fibrous roots, plants growing in a Smart Pot® can stay longer, and be healthier, growing in a Smart Pot®.

Does this mean I can leave my plants a few years in the Smart Pots®?

• Yes! We urge you to try leaving some plants in the Smart Pots® for a long time. With healthy roots, you will be amazed at what your plants will do in their second or third year in the same Smart Pot®.

Why does the Smart Pot® have a fabric bottom?

• To help you grow a better plant. The Smart Pot® is made with a heavy porous fabric bottom that gives a plant intimate ground contact. This ground contact helps the plant maintain a ground temperature, as opposed to a plastic container temperature. Also, small roots may penetrate the bottom of the Smart Pot®. These roots will help intake moisture and nutrients.

My plants were growing well until I moved them. What happened?

• Water the plant! Because of the fabric bottom, if the plant is moved to a dry ground area, the dry ground can move water out of the Smart Pot® by capillarity. Water when you move plants.

What other advantages are there to growing in the Smart Pot® over traditional, plastic containers?

• The fabric will not crack or break from frost or when dropped. Heat release gives you better control of slow release fertilizer. A fibrous root structure has fewer problems in cold or warm weather.

How does the Smart Pot® work?

• Smart Pots® are manufactured out of a custom, non-woven, polypropylene material that research discovered has important and unique horticultural applications. As roots grow they soon reach the container walls. In hard sided, plastic containers, these roots immediately start circling and continue to circle. Examine a circling root structure and you find a few large roots growing in circles with very little side branching. These roots often bind or girdled upon themselves. Circling roots can never give optimum growth.
• Smart Pots® are manufactured out of a tough, porous fabric. When roots reach the side of the Smart Pot®, they Air Prune!

What is air pruning?

• Air pruning is a natural process occurring when a root comes in contact with the air on the side of the porous Smart Pot® wall. The root tip stops growing (pruned) and causes the remaining root to extensively branch. Now, instead of fewer circling roots, the plant develops new lateral roots. New, fibrous roots fill the Smart Pot® allowing the plant to maximize uptake of both moisture and nutrients. And when the roots grow well, the plant grows well. Upon comparison, root systems that developed in a Smart Pot® have a much greater mass or volume then those found in hard-sided plastic containers. Plants grown in Smart Pots® have greater root mass in less soil.

Can I place the Smart Pot® on my driveway or do I have to place it on the ground?

• Yes, you can place the Smart Pot® on your drive, or on any other surface. However, remember that the Smart Pot® is made of a porous fabric and, with proper use, will remain damp. If left on concrete for a long time it may discolor or stain the concrete. If placed on a wooden deck it will discolor and rot the wood. In these cases you may want to place a plastic dish or a plastic sheet under the Smart Pot®.

I'm an organic gardener, can I use the Smart Pot® and still be organic?

• The Smart Pot® is an inert fabric container that has no meaningful chemical exchange with the surrounding environment. On a microscopic, chemical level, the Smart Pot® fabric is an inert plastic. If the medium and fertilizers you use in the Smart Pot® are organic, you will be growing organically in the Smart Pot® container.

Is the Smart Pot® gopher proof?

• The Smart Pot® can stand up to gophers. There has been no cases of a gopher getting through the Smart Pot®.