When it comes to root health, pots with gas permeable walls carry the day. Terra cotta clay pots are better than plastic or vitrified clay pots and fabric pots are better than terra cotta clay. The reason is greater gas exchange through container walls and the fact that an increase in gas exchange comes with an increase in evaporative water loss, which can be a lifesaver when using water retentive media. There will still be a PWT in these pots, and for any given medium it will the same ht in a pot with rigid sides as in the fabric or air pots at container capacity. Container capacity is a measure of how much water the grow medium in a pot or container holds at the moment it has stopped draining after having been watered to the point of complete saturation. The ht of the PWT and how long it affects root function is usually key/critical in determining what opportunity a plant will have to realize as much of its genetic potential as possible (within the limiting effects of other cultural influences). The factor that most affects the ht of a PWT is the size of the particles from which the medium is made. So, reducing the duration of PWTs limitations increases the opportunity for plants to realize a greater measure of their genetic potential. But wait! There's a more important consideration. If you place your fabric containers directly on the ground/soil, from the perspective of hydrology it changes the fabric container to a raised bed; this, because water is free to move through the fabric between the grow medium and the earth, with the earth acting as a giant wick. This means, because of the increase in the force of adhesion in the mineral soil beneath the pot (due to a mineral soils much larger o/a surface area on a per volume basis), water in the soil will be pulled downward with enough source to overcome the capillarity holding it perched in the container. As long as you don't place the fabric container on coarse sand, peastone, or other large particles, the earth will likely pull all perched water from most media one is likely to use in a container. I've mentioned this and the fact that healing in your pots situating them directly on top of soil turns them into raised beds. the only caveat being it's essential that there is a 'soil bridge' so there is continuity of the soil column between the soil (earth) and the grow medium in the container, through the drain hole(s), so water doesn't have to jump an air gap to exit the container. This applies more to pots with rigid walls and is not a factor when discussing fabric containers. Al

I did not read all comments in detail as by the time I saw this (Sept 2015), some of dates went back to '09. I make flowers also...I have settled on E6000, I have tried GE , Goop, etc....and I always return to E600. I sell at many various events, have now for 2 years. This is my "routine", clean and wash the dishes, then clean with acetone, I use a dremel tool to roughen up the edges of contact. Some things can be glued all at once depending on how they nestle into each other and will lay for curing, or I do "sections" of each project and then put the sections together. I also pay attention to how the glue will settle and sag into gravity. (sounds scientific huh?? LOL) A lot of things get cured upside down....I let things cure for a good 2 weeks if not more before selling and anything that hangs, gets hung in my garage for a few weeks too, to be sure they don't fall apart. I use uniform salt shakers for all my projects, restaurant grade, these are the only things I purchase new. I found thrift shop ones did not hold up and we liked the uniformity of using the same shakers which led us to uniform size of conduit etc...kind of like a factory line. Please visit me at: https://www.facebook.com/dishitupwhimsyz Happy Flower Making!! PS. tried many times to download a pix and could not...

I don't know what the day and night time temps are in your area (zone 8) it stretched all up the west cost when I looked it up, and I don't know what size plants you can accommodate, type of system etc.. But I grew Broccoli last winter myself in west AZ. It was a learning experience. Learning how harvest it best was the the main thing I learned. Also day neutral strawberry's might do well. Personalty I believe you can grow anything hydroponically in any area if you know the needs of the plant and build accordingly. It just depends on your resources (money, materials, time, space etc.). To me it depends on your goals, do you think you will reap enough reword for your time and money, or is learning the goal? That's how I always look at it when thinking about building a setup. Also can it be used for other plants I may want to grow later (so it's not money wasted). I have been in many arguments with my mom (last year) about the funds needed to do the job right, even though I gave her a written estimate with an allotment for small unexpected parts (that she conveniently forgot about). Bottom line if building setups with others in mind, be prepared for everything from it cost more than you said, to I could have bought more at the store with that money. If it cost $20 to build a system that would produce 2 to 4 heads of lettuces a week, just be prepared for the argument that they could by a lot of lettuces for $20, so why bother. Today ya, but will it last 6 months, a year two years? She is only used to growing in dirt. She still does not understand that you can use the system more than once. Nor dos she understand that you can grow all year long if you give the plants the right conditions. All she is used to is planting a plant in the ground and thinking that plant will grow and only cost a few dollars. That's funny because she is still working on a raised flowerbed to grow burssel sprouts (yuck). Between the bricks, stakes, adhesive, potting soil, she has spent about $150, and she still needs about $20 more of soil to fill it (It wont get filled), and she does not even have the plants yet. But she has been doing things her way for 70 years, she's not about to change now. P.S. I would have not used a raised flowerbed for brussel sprouts in the first place (they need years to mature), I would have used a unused space on the hill in the backyard instead (plenty, plenty, plenty of it). It would have cost less than 25% of that and not tied up valuable prime space in the hart of the backyard (but I'm just stupid that way).

First I want to make a correction of a mistake I did not notice when I posted that statement. I mentioned in the P.S. part that it takes years for brussel sprouts to mature. Although one of the plants she is planing to grow is brussel sprouts (seeds already sprouted). But I was thinking of asparagus when I said it takes years to mature. She wants to grow asparagus also, I like asparagus. But anyway that was me getting two different plants mixed up. I do agree that there's something to be said for the effects of light depredation. Like the long winters with little sunlight up in Alaska (other places also), even in Antarctica. I do know that depression under such conditions is much higher. I myself have wanted to move to Alaska for decades, and know that the long extended (low light) winters can take there tole. P.S. I'm not familiar with the winters in Cincinnati, other than it's normally cold, windy and snow all winter. But I'm truly glad to hear wordwiz that you are not dreading this winter, but even looking forward to your crops. I know you will, but I would suggest to share what your doing with everyone you can (especially neighbors, friends, co-workers etc.). That keeps you excited, gets other people interested, and gives you new ideas along the way.