Reddit reviews Smart Pots 5-Gallon Smart Pot Soft-Sided Container, Black

Pot/Planter

Soil / Perlite mix (70/30)

Nutrients

pH test kit

Lights

Should be around ~$100 and good for 1 medium plant or 2 small plants.

I spent like 30 minutes on that list for y'all newbs. When you could have just gone through the sidebar and/or used the search function. Somebody better upvote me.

Start small. It'll save you money, let you get your feet wet, and help you learn how to grow better, and then you can buy bigger.

My "starter package" is:

• A 2' x 2' x 3' grow tent - $55.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SWGYYWO
  
  
• A grow light ($90). I prefer COB's as they're easier to fix than blurples.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I4NY8KW
  
  
• A power strip zip-tied to a pole in the tent. Makes wiring prettier and easier. ($24) I chose a nice metal one, but you can use a cheaper one.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F8ZQYHA
  
  
• Hangers to hold the light ($8)
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0098R0600
  
  
• A fan and filter ($70), and variac ($90) to filter smell and move air to keep things cool. This combo is overkill for this tent, but I ended up using it on later tents so it's a good long-term investment. You can cobble something cheaper together with some work, but this "just works" out of the box.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Q2ER5C/
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006NGI8VS
  
  
• 5 gallon Smart Pot ($7) for growing, FoxFarm Ocean Forest Soil ($16.50), Plant saucer ($7) for growing. You can save some money here by shopping around. In particular, Amazon's price for FFOF is about double what I pay at the (very expensive) local "indoor gardening" center.
  https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Pots-5-Gallon-Soft-Sided-Container/dp/B002JUOWB2
  https://www.amazon.com/FoxFarm-FX14053-12-Quart-Organic-Potting/dp/B001I49Q98
  https://www.lowes.com/pd/Garden-Treasures-15-31-in-Rust-Plastic-Plant-Saucer/50445000
  
  
• Go Box Plant Nutrients. This should last you several grows.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004PS4B08
  
  
• Seed of your choice (let's say $10).
  
  So for about $420 (heh), you can get your foot in the door and start growing. This is a nice setup too, you can probably save $100 by shopping around, buying used, or doing-it-yourself. I've left off a few odds and ends like dryer duct, Fiskers for trimming, weed fabric pins for low-stress training, pitcher for watering, Mason jars for storage, but you can likely find those or suitable replacements around the house without spending money.
  
  I also have a Raspberry Pi 3 ($43) with Sense Hat ($37) and metal case ($15) in each of my grow tents to log temperature/humidity and other things. I'm interested in eventually using the GPIO functionality to water my plants too. Not critical, but definitely a nice thing to have, especially if you're the hacker type. If you go this route, you might look at raspiviv.com too.
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C6FFNY4
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014HDG74S
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0722L338Q
  
  I'm glad I bought a good intro setup because I still use it now that I've upgraded. I now have a 3' x 3' GG Shorty tent with HLG 300 LED for flower, a 2' x 2.5' GG Shorty tent with two 400W Roleadro COB's for veg, and my "intro package" is now my germination/cloning tent (and drying tent too since several people suggested that too). Being able to have three tents (germination -> veg -> flower) working simultaneously is increasing my output quite sharply. I'm doing this to help a relative with cancer, so you may not need to go quite as crazy as I did.
  
  You mentioned using 35+ gs (~1.25 oz) a month. You probably aren't going to be able to grow that much given the constraints of tent size and light wattage (plus being a first-time grower! You'll learn a lot!). So once you get used to it, you'll probably want to buy more stuff. Marijuana isn't addictive, but growing marijuana absolutely is.
  
  Once you've got your hardware, the variable cost is seed (~$10), soil (~$5), nutrients (~$20), and electricity (~$30). From that, I'm going to estimate you can grow ~1.5 ozs (you can do more as you learn more though). So you're looking at ~$40/oz after you've made the initial hardware investment.
  
  Hope this helps. Depression, cancer, and everything else can just go suck it.

They do! I don't have much to say about them right now since I bought them a week ago based on other recommendations. So far, so good though! They're much sturdier than I had anticipated.

They are called SmartGrow pots. Everyone on Amazon swears by them. They have a great range of sizes, I just wanted something large enough to give the sprouts a chance to become true trees.

That's roughly 1.93 gal volume for your pot. I would consider something like http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002JUOWB2/ref=s9_simh_gw_p86_d0_i1?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=1JE5RBZ72WT91ZGBRMGB&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=439659db-41fa-4a3b-8e0f-31b9d08e4568&pf_rd_i=desktop.

Here's a shopping list for my current set-up. It's an extra small closet grow, but that's what i have to work with. You don't have to get exactly everything on this list, but you can use this for reference for your own grow!
Ill be running 1 plant at a time for now, with this set up.

Clip On Circulation Fan 6" - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000U9V47E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_0mcDzb5826MEE

Ventech 440 CFM Exhaust Fan + Carbon Filter

5 Gallon Fabric Pot - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002JUOWB2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_heETkTRSPOD2a

Programmable Digital Timer Switch - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P7RUGVO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_TTN7XnzIpVnyA

pH Calibration Solution - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P1MQWK4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_ahEtLDQTKcR5g

Digital PH Meter - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M8JU4TY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_NarNtEHiZIMNP

130w Cheap-o LED (TEMPORARY) -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MPY7YC2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_bffmoa2zDlCSm

2x2x4 Grow Tent - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GCHXUVU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_qa9gCG2RwnFzZ

Seaweed Extract 11% - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NCWOEU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_dIcDzb4SDP9RY

Thermometer/Humidity Meter - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XTPTG1J/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_dtVvdguE18m3E

Welcome to world of gardening peppers, albeit as a hobby. So lets start off with the basics. You should check out the growing megathread sticky post and/or the wiki, since both sources might already answer questions you might have.

For seeds I like to use pepperlover.com or pepperjoe.com(new management), since it has yielded high germination rates, around 90% and pretty quickly too. Its advised to not buy seeds from eBay or Amazon since a lot of them are not true to species or might be very old. With the vendors mentioned above, you can easily e-mail them if you run into any seed issues, such as poor germination rate, not true to species (mistakes labeling do happen), diseased seeds, etc. They are quick to respond and are very nice. They also normally send out random "free packets of seeds" along with your order, so you get to try different varieties.

Since you're seeds are still on the way, per your post. I would start with a fabric pot/grow bag. I would order a Smart Pot or Root Pouch. If you're going for something with handles you might want to go with the Root Pouch option, my Smart Pots ripped, you're not supposed to use the handles when the pot is full, which defeats its purpose. Since they're more forgiving than hard pots. With hard pots you run the risk of getting root bound, which can plug your drainage holes and in turn that would cause root rot since the water doesn't have a path drainage after the roots block up the drainage holes. With fabric bags the whole pot is built for drainage.

Then you decide on what type of soil/potting mix you want to use. Each of them have their positives and negatives. A lot of people start off with a base potting mix as a base, then blend in other ingredients to get the desired soil.

I use:

• Potting mix, look for seed starters or something without fertilizers added
  
• Egg shells, for calcium since most starters/potting mix lack calcium
  
• Used coffee grounds, slow release nitrogen source, plus its free if you go to starbucks and ask them to save the grounds for you. Its the N of NPK
  
• Epsom salt, the PK of NPK
  
• Perlite, lightens up the soil helps retain water and helps with drainage
  
• Sand, I put a layer of this on top of my soil to deter pests like the fungus gnat, especially if the plants are going to be kept indoors. If you don't use sand they will eventually find a way into your house via fruits and veg you buy
  
  Other than that, germinate your seeds via the instructions included with the seeds and then transfer them to your pot. Just practice a lot of discipline in watering. The main issue with new growers is either over watering or root bound. Both are addressed when using fabric pot/grow bags.
  
  Just keep in mind all potting mixes/soils will eventually become nutrient depleted and would need supplementation. A lot of people here use tomato feed or the Fox Farm trio.
  
  If there's anything else just post it to the subreddit or do some research online.

> When ordering your pots, purchase the fabric Smart Pots.

Yes thanks! I am definitely going to be going with the fabric smart pots :) They seem too good to be true! These are the ones I have in mind

I was planning on using simply tap water. I hadn't considered the chlorine in the water, my water is notoriously high in chlorine. I might have to re-consider what type of water I use, or perhaps look into your solution.

Thanks for the tips!

Try Smart Pots! They work great, you can put them anywhere, they don't damage anything, and they're easy to fold up and store during winter and when you move!

As a renter, these are the best!

Awesome! while looking around for the best pre-mixed coco blend I found someone talking about these coco specific nutes which I think I had seen on growweedeasy somewhere, so these will probably be the best nutes to get.

The only other nute I would need with this would be calmag?

Since I just need a 5gal bucket, I guess I just need one brick of coco.

I've read about smart pots a few times now so I guess I will get that one. Think I can just transplant the little sprout I got into coco with no issues? I assume if no/minimals roots are coming out of the aerogarden grow medium core thing, then it should be completely safe to just put that into some coco?

edit - those nutes are on this guide. This guide is huge. I'm probably missing this on here somewhere as well - how is runoff handled? It must just leak out of the smart pot, so I'll need to have some sort of tray under the smart pot to collect it, and then just dump any runoff down the drain?

Burlap would probably work, but I'm not using it. Those are tan, 20-gallon smart pots.
They're not tremendously cheap, but I find they do work rather well compared to every other container I've used and this will be my second year growing potatoes in them.