I got some first-hand evidence of how the Smart Pots seem to work. I had transplanted a Quercus michauxii seedling around April 1 into a Smart Pot. It was bitten off by a critter this weekend, so I decided (since I have more michauxii seedlings than I need anyway) to just sacrifice it, and dump and check out the root system. There was one long, slightly "thick" root going down at an angle off the air-pruned tip of the taproot that had reached the bottom and worked its way into the fibers. The root had not emerged from the outside of the pot, but instead seems to have gotten "stuck" there. No side roots had branched off of this particular root yet, but I imagine that the Smart Pot works both by airpruning AND 'trapping' of the root tip.

I've grown squash in 5" net pots inside a 6" pvc pipe and tomatoes, peppers and eggplant in the 10" net pots inside 3 gallon buckets. Both ran drip for a few minutes each hour, not constant like nft so I needed more medium. The net pots had grodan and clay pellets. For things in nft or water culture I would use much smaller since the roots grow out the net pot more. For drip and ebb and flow a little bigger is better to hold the moisture. The medium you use makes a big difference too, rock wool holds way more moisture than perlite or clay. There is no set guidelines I've seen but the plant will let you know if it needs a bigger pot.

A little more information would be useful, is the system inside or outside, how many plants do you have in the tote, how deep is the tote. As the roots are only 2" below the netpots for now, the plants will be relying heavily on the water stored in the hydroton, as the hanging roots get longer they will need more frequent flooding (maybe every 30 minutes) to prevent them drying out between floods. The tap roots will eventually reach the water but the roots in mid air will only have the water coating them and excess water from the hydroton running down them after each flood cycle. This post was edited by hex2006 on Mon, May 26, 14 at 20:43

Hey, Cj, thanks for the clarification! I was sure the whole process was a lot more complicated than my stab at explanation, but I didn't expect it to be this wonderful! Of course, even my simpleminded description draws blank stares from anyone I show the flower to (after they stop laughing). Good to know the "real deal." Thanks again! Sharon