There are three things you need to get right if you want to make a success of container farming: what to plant, how to take care of your soil, and the types of containers you plan to use. Without a doubt, the best kind of containers for all plants, all farmers, and all kinds of growing conditions, are fabric pots, just like the range we offer at SpringPot. But, why?

Why should you grow your plants in fabric pots?

Fabric pots offer the best container environments because they are the kindest to your roots. One of the major issues with all other kinds of containers – plastic, ceramic, concrete, etc. – is that the roots end up winding round and round and round inside the pot, essentially strangling the plant and placing it under a great deal of unnecessary stress. Fabric pots, on the other hand, are made from breathable fabric, which allows air to penetrate the sides and the bottom of the container. As the air makes its way through the container fabric and into the soil, it comes into contact with the roots. And this is when the real magic happens…

Air is comprised of the exact components needed to naturally prune the roots of all plants. This natural, air-pruning process keeps roots short, avoids the winding-root problem that occurs in all other pots, and even encourages each pruned root to sprout into lots more smaller roots. The increase in root mass means that the plant is then able to access more soil area and to suck up even more nutrients that are available in the soil and the water. So, on top of keeping roots happy, fabric pots also help your plants to grow bigger, stronger, and faster, thanks to the increase in available nutrients.

What to plant?

The fabric pots we manufacture at SpringPot are particularly useful to all kinds of farmers, whatever the crop and whatever the growing facility. They’re great for indoor and outdoor grows, they come in a range of sizes from 1 to 400 gallons, and they come fully equipped with strong handles, which means you can move whatever you’re growing from A to B without too much difficulty and without placing the plants under any kind of stress. Fruits and vegetables, herbs and spices, flowers, bushes, small trees, and even a healthy batch of cannabis. The SpringPot fabric pot range can accommodate all your farming needs.

Mix the right kind of soil

One of the great advantages of container farming is that you have more control over the type and condition of the soil you use to grow your plants in. If your plants grow better in clay-heavy soils, or peat, or with an extra serving of sand, then that’s the kind of soil you can prepare to use in your containers. Similarly, if your plants respond positively to the addition of an organic biofertilizer, then container farming offers you the conditions necessary to accurately control how much biofertilizer you’ll be exposing your plants to. You won’t have to worry about unexpected rains, poor soil drainage, very hot summers, and super cold winters. You simply have to prepare the soil mix that best works for your plants and voila!

It’s all about the water

Overwatering is another common problem when trying to make a success of container farming, particularly when using plastic, ceramic, or concrete containers, because it’s more difficult for the excess water to drain away. But if you’re gardening with fabric pots, water will be able to find its way out through the sides and bottoms of the pots without any problems whatsoever. Watering your plants doesn’t have to be a daunting task 🙂

A final bonus: decoration ideas

Aside from being the best option for medium to large-scale farmers who need reliable solutions for keeping plants happy, fabric pots can make container farming for the hobby gardener a lot of fun too. There are so many ways for you to be creative with a fabric pot, because of their many shapes and sizes. Decoration ideas, to make what you’re growing look just as beautiful as it tastes or smells, abound. But to get you off to a winning start, here are a few basic thoughts…

Try lining them up in rows along the edge of the fence, dotting them about in different places on the patio, or placing them around the edge of a water feature as a way of adding color and texture to the area. And you can even try planting in blocks of the same color: tomatoes, red peppers, and red roses all together on the same side of the garden, for example. Whatever you do and whatever you choose to cultivate, just make sure you enjoy yourself. Gardening without a smile on your face isn’t worth the hassle.