you tell us
Aurelia Muckinhaupt (sales), Dennis Hunter (owner) and Khanhvi Hunter (owner)
Ever wonder how fabric pots are constructed, and how they affect plant growth and
crop yields? Here, Khanvi Hunter of GeoPots answers these questions and more.
Maximum Yield(MY): How are GeoPots made?
MY: What are the advantages of
fabric containers for food crops?
Khanvi Hunter: GeoPots are made of
a high-quality polypropylene geotextile
fabric. The fabric is cut to the specific
size of each container, and sewn using a
bonded polyester marine-grade thread. If
you have seen a GeoPot, there is no missing our quality stitching on the top rim
and signature quad-stitch down the side.
Khanvi: More roots, more fruits. The
biggest advantage of fabric containers
for food crops is the air root pruning
process, which creates thousand of fine
fibrous feeder roots throughout the root
zone. These feeder roots are more efficient in taking up water and nutrients,
helping sustain robust plants and larger
yields. Also, fabric containers allow air to
enter the root zone from all surfaces of
the container, thus promoting a healthy
environment for the roots.
Another common problem with traditional plastic containers is poor drainage,
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Maximum Yield USA | September 2012
which leads to anaerobic conditions that
result in soil-borne diseases like phytophthora and pythium (which are responsible for devastating root rot). Thanks to
GeoPot’s unique porous fabric, excess
water can easily drain from the container,
keeping moisture at an ideal level for
healthy plant growth.
MY: What is air root pruning?
What are the benefits to roots that
are air pruned?
Khanvi: With traditional plastic pots, the
plant’s roots reach the inside edge of the
container and are then forced to circle the
container in search of a friendlier environment. As these roots circle, minimal
lateral branching occurs, which results in
poor nutrient uptake and causes the roots
to quickly become root bound. What
makes the GeoPot so unique is that when
plant roots reach the container’s edge, its
root tips are trapped by the porous fabric.
When these root tips meet the air on
the outside of the pot, they are naturally
pruned. This pruning process forces lateral