Hey everyone I’d love to hear your thoughts on the pros and cons of good old plastic pots and fabric bags.
So I’m used to the good old black plastic pots with a saucer
But a mate introduced me to the plastic air root pruning nipple pot thingys lol which are also great but I have noticed they dry out heaps quicker than a standard pot. And now I’ve got my hands on some quality 20 ltr fabric bag pots
I’ve never used them before so I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts on all the above and tricks and tips.
I should also note that the roots in the standard plastic pots are sensational, super white and lovely.
So I’m a tad nervous I’ll derail the train so to speak.
All pots/bags have a quality mix of coco/perlite.
And fed liquid nutrients.
Thanks guys!
I use the fabric from gardzenonline.com, roots need to breath and fabric is more forgiving on overwatering, then u have price point, fabric is much cheaper than plastic pots 
I’ve stocked up on every size up to 30 gallon and running strong still 2 years later since we legalized
I use alot of those pots aswell.
As to the OP:
I’ve become a fan of fabric pots for the same reasons @AzSeaindooin420 has stated. They allow extra oxygen and root pruning capabilities. I also enjoy the convenient handles a lot. The downsides would be that they can sometimes be difficult to find reasonably priced saucers for and if you water to quickly on a dry medium the water will find it’s way to the sides and begin leeching out.
I enjoy being able to poke holes wherever I want when needed for tie wire to train, just like plastic, but a strong plant will do a lot more tugging of fabric and need to be adjusted accordingly.
Another plus side to fabric pots is that they require a hell of a lot less space to store them. 
Grassroots & other companies make plastic lined fabric pots. A hybrid between the 2 choices 
FYI, the bottom is not lined with plastic, just the sides.
Yup, forgot about those.
But what exactly is the advantage there?
The liner slows down the evaporation on the sides. I get better root development with them.
It’s an improvement…
Cheers
G
I think both have their place and used correctly can improve a growers output just by using the correct pot at the correct time.
Plastic: I use these for Veg only usually and only up until the plant shows sex, for Autos this is 3wks average, for photo periods about the same as I flip them around then…
I recommend plastic to start to allow the larger roots to form giving the plant a foothold in the medium and the strength needed to support big big buds.
Felt Pots: Upon up potting, I usually go from 1gal to 3gal. Felt pots will now take the same roots and as they reach the pots edge will air trim them creating the root to explode with feeder roots. And at this point in the game what you want for taking up nutrients better. helps prevent root lock out…
I swear by this
Beauty thanks heaps guys, some helpful info here, I’d be curious to give the plastic lined fabric pots a go too, hopefully I can catch on quickly with the routine once I find that sweet spot using fab pots.
With tying to the pots I think that’s the benefit of both plastic standards and those nipple air pruning pots. It’s very easy to tie stuff down, I would have thought poking holes in the fabric and tying down creating tension would rip the bags?
It will be interesting getting used to using them, and I agree carty both styles are useful when used correctly.
Hopefully I don’t have any major hiccups lol
I also thought they might rip. But I had to see for myself. Though I poke holes about a half an inch to an inch below top of the fabric pot. I just make a small piercing with my Friskars Micro-tip trimmers. If there’s metal wire exposed on ur ties and its ridged enough, u can sometimes poke that through without previously poking a hole, but its it’s rare. I haven’t had one strong branch rip the top of my bags yet.
Knock on wood! Lol
I use garden velcro to train my plants in fabric pots. The velcro sticks to the fabric pot and is easy to adjust when needed.
I use plastic solos and yogurt containers for early veg, then into 1G and 2G airpots for the rest. Coco/perlite here, too. Drain to waste in saucers.
I used fabric pots for a while, but they were too fussy for me They have to elevated to drain, and never sat flat… the way I did it.
I rotate plants daily, my plants are always floppers, and fabric and stakes were never quite sturdy enough. The pimples on the airpots really help with a single plant trussing.
Upcanning from fabric can cause a bit of stress. The fabric pots are harder for me to clean, too.
There’s different grades of fabric, also, some last, some don’t.
I have a pile of 1 and 2 gallon fabric pots… maybe I should put them in the airpots, lol!
I ditched fabric immediately after trying. I found them floppy, unsightly even. I’ve seen nice setups too, but I couldn’t stand the aesthetics. I do however enjoy the idea of air pruning, ESPECIALLY ON THE BOTTOM of the pot where roots spiral and suffocate.
Which lead me to Air-Pots / Superoots. The design just looks sexy to me… all those nips 
.
I tried 7 gallon and 5 gallon types. I use a 50% peat 50% verm mix, and a 5 gallon will generally need watering every other day. I mean it depends on light temp and all that, but I’ve not yet had to water on consecutive days. The 7 gallon was unnecessarily large for me (flip to flower 30 days from seed wetting). 5 is so standard but for a reason… I prefer the number 7 but what can ya do.
The original super pots have thicker walls, a much better bottom plate, and are cut at and angle which helps to hold the circular shape better. The knockoffs have a really stupid bottom plate design.
Reusable, sexy, looks pristine all the time, air pruning on all surfaces with no spiraling. Slightly more expensive. Good trade offs.
I use the same on air pots… wrap the top waistline with a band of Velcro, and attach to that. The nips hold the “belt” like it was made to be.
I have 20+ year old plastic pots that’d beg to differ that fabric are cheaper. It depends if you’re looking at up front costs or costs over the lifetime.
Personally I always use plastic pots when starting seed or transplanting a rooted clone into its first home, 1 gallon size usually in the way I grow.
Then, when they later get nearly root bound, or when seedlings are sexed in those, I’ll transplant to my final pots which may range from 5 gallon at a minimum, if I have little space and just want to test out that particular cut or seedling, up to maybe 15 gallon if I only have a couple plants in there. These larger final pots that are for flower I have in fabric or nursery pot versions, depending on size… my 5 gallons are fabric, and my 7s are nursery pots, I’ll have some 15s in fabric soon too.
I also have debated putting up one of those grassroots pvc supported living soil fabric beds, in either 3x3 or 4x4 size and throwing 1-4 plants in it once sexed or rooted clones.
And finally I have been having major joint and back issues after watering on my hands and knees some days now, so I have been seriously considering building a few SIPs to try out, maybe anywhere from 7.5 gallon to even a huge 27 gallon tote each, as they won’t be moved once in place, they will hold a lot more soil than my nursery pots, and will only need topping off with water as wicking will water the soil from the bottom if they are built properly like I’ve seen @Maddawg do, and @CrunchBerries does awesome with SIPs I have to mention as well!
I’m basing that off of purchase price, most my fabric grow bags have ran me between $1-2 each depending on size, any plastics I’ve looked into are a minimum of 3-5 each. So ya I’m still standing by my comment that I think they are cheaper. Plastic weakens and degrades with the elements too over the years, not just the fabric, but going onto my 3rd year with the grow bags and they are still as tough and material in tact just as much as the day I got em, maybe I won’t see 20 years with em but I don’t see an issue getting 10 out of em. I’m sure the plastic ones can be sourced for cheaper too if u got some nursery hook ups but plants also seem to love the roots being able to breathe with the fabric
Plastic- Pro
Fabric- Con
That is all.
I once buried a tomato cage with inwardly bent, clipped legs in a 5 gallon fabric pot when I first tried fabric. I didn’t want to rip the bags hooking wires etc and stakes don’t hold through a dry back.
After reading and spelling the word fabric so much I think it needs a k or something. it just doesn’t look right. Lol
Around here fabric pots are more expensive then plastic in grow shops, usually about twice the cost of plastic; so you don’t need to shop around unless you’re buying online as I imagine some sellers would have higher delivery fees on rigid pots as their bulkier.
Plastic definitely weakens over time and I imagine the fabric pots will break down quicker then solid plastic ones (which can also be easily repaired with tape). Even if they last half as long, since their twice the cost around here that’s a significant difference in long term costs.
Any advantage I’ve found in better root growth is mitigated by the increased root damage during transplanting, so it’s always been a wash for me (unless you’re using them as the final pot to flower in), which is why I went back to plastic after playing with them. I can see how they’d be a lot easier for beginners to learn on since it’d be much harder to overwater plants in them though. Having learned to grow in plastic pots though I didn’t see much difference other then being more of a hassle to use.
I’ve tried them all from the fabric pots to the aero pots and I ended up back in regular plastic pots or my new favorite big plastic totes with a couple holes drilled in the bottom for drainageThey hold my water better.Constant having to keep up with the watering created dirt gnat issues and in an aero pot it turns into a No tell Motel for the little bastards with all the holes on the sides till you BTI thier faces off
