Let's Bump this one down too.

Wow. Every time I come on this forum now, there is someone being a jerk. Didn't use to be like that. Has the site been overtaken by teenagers?

Hi Mark. Checked out your blog. Looks good. Since it doesn't seem you are trying to push a product, at least not overtly, it appears you really want legit input for the purpose of helping others (and yourself) learn. I can relate. Even if you were pushing product, I think asking for fair input is great.

I have used autopots. I find them to be very inferior for fruiting plants. My comparisons are with 2 systems. One is the water farm types that have the bubbler ring around the stem powered by an air pump and pulls from a DWC type reservoir the roots lay in. I use 5 gallon buckets. These work great for peppers. Large tomato plants, not so much. Or at least, it's not worth the level of daily maintenance required once the plants get big. The other system is ebb and flow. Again, great for peppers. I based my comparisons on bell (sweet) peppers. Ebb and flow wins hands down. In fact, I only use my autopots to grow flowers in. They are great for that. I can put my reservoir under something and the pots are no less attractive than a terracotta pot. You could even put them in a wooden faux pot, too. I also grow herbs in them.

My experiences showed me that the fruiting plants, once hitting fruiting stages, just need more water than the pots are allowing for. I also suspect the ebb and flow, due to the water level receding, pulls more air into the medium allowing for more oxygen to get to the roots. I noticed the autopots have a tendency to smell bad when I empty the pots at the end of the season. The ebb and flow produced no such foul smell.

The roots of larger plants have a tendency to get to the smart valve, too. The copper barrier of the autopot wears down too soon and the roots will grow around it. This can really screw things up in one of two ways (maybe more, but only two have happened to me). One, it stops the flow of water by tricking the valve into thinking the pan is full. Two, it keeps the valve stuck down and within a couple hours your reservoir is empty because it continuously feeds. This happened to me in an indoor cherry tomato setup. My irritation was much worse due to it being indoors.

Don't get me wrong. The autopot is a great concept and the smart valve is awesome. I think having the valve in a much wider pan further from roots would be a step in the right direction. I know I've read of many homemade setups that do just that.

I'm not sure I agree that home gardeners value convenience over yield. I think you will find a lot of home gardeners concerned more about individual plant yield because we have fewer plants. Plus, we tend to be quite proud of our plants, boring our friends and neighbors with the details. We spend lots of money on gardens and flower beds. Lots of free time. All spent on trying to attain as close to perfection as possible. However, convenience is definitely an important factor simply due to there only being 24 hrs in the day. It's also important to those that have physical limitations.

Hi Joe,
Haven't seen you about in awhile.
While I agree there is a lot more cat fighting in the forum than there used to be. I don't think Hardclay was trying to be a jerk. The original post had been sitting at the top of the page for two weeks before he posted. He was simply adding a reply to get this post off the top. the 'too' part was just in reference to the same thing being done to another thread a few days ago.
Oh! and thanks for your input on the autopots. I hadn't thought about the roots causing problems.
Grow seasons approaching. Will you be frequenting the forums more often now?

Good info to know Joe, thnks

If that is the case, grizzman, I must have misunderstood and took it for what it appears to a person just coming in. Normally people intentionally bump posts up if they approve of them or like them. People tend to intentionally bump them down when they don't. Getting posts moved is supposed to be up to a moderator, but I suppose that isn't something this forum has had in a long time.

I've not been absent due to the season. I don't visit much due to the fact that there is a lot of rudeness that abounds on this forum that I don't see nearly so much elsewhere. Or, at least, that was the case a few months back. We had that time in late summer last year with a couple guys that had to belittle every person that disagreed with them. I stopped reading the site and then come back to see a guy was attacked a couple months back for mentioning people could get more info from his website. The incredibly rude response from some people on this forum to that guy was the reason I gave up again. Then there was the time I came on and the first thread I see is one where someone kindly asks for advice on his indoor tent set-up and he got attacked for having the light inside the tent and even belittled. I guess I have a become so expectant of jerks in threads every time I visit the forum that I become one myself to steel myself against it. You might ask, "Then why even visit?" And the answer is that I recognize there are a lot of real gems of knowledge coming from the forum and some genuine questions that I can occasionally help answer.

Not sure why you would bump this one down. Sure it's been up for a couple weeks. Then again, I'm sure there are lots of people that haven't been on here in a couple weeks to be able to post a reply (besides me). The forum isn't exactly known for it's activity in the winter months. In fact, an approaching growing season is exactly why I would think a helpful review should stay up front.

I know where you're coming from. Most of those belittling people are still here. I generally don't argue with them anymore. They're trolls and fights are what they're looking for.

And I recall the tent episode too. I wonder if some of that comes from the lack of tact the younger folkz don't seem to have ever learned. I suppose such ponderings don't account for much, a donkey by any other named is still called jack.

I completely appreciate your aggrevation at seeing such belligerent comments every time you visit, but I sincerely believe hardclay was only trying to clear the top of the list.

And if you and I keep this thread hijacked long enough it'll stay at the top til summer :D