Pots Of Potential – With XXL

Pots are a horticultural lifeline for those with minimal outdoor space. A container-based approach is ideal for plant varieties that require close attention. They’re liberating for those looking for easy, low maintenance access to horticulture as a pastime, hobby, or income. But do pots really have the scope to equal in-earth cultivation and satisfy a grower’s most ambitious plans?

We say ‘yes’. More than that, we’ve set out to prove that pots really can produce first class crops of all varieties in absolutely any growing space. This includes pushing the limits of our pot-and-tray modules in terms of capacity. A case in point? The XXL, which seeks to provide indoor and outdoor growers with a container-based solution to realise even the biggest projects.

What is XXL?

Put simply, XXL is our largest module, offering responsive, power-free, zero-waste irrigation and feeding for 35L / 9 gal and 50L / 13 gal growers. 

The proof?

From plate-pounding potatoes to lofty lilies, dangerously dominant dahlias to paradisal papayas, elephantine alocasias to rampant rosemary, and from really, really long loofahs to outsized onions, XXL continues to take our test growing to the outer limits. 

How is all of this possible?

Glad you asked! The XXL module includes a number of growth-maximising, big-plant-sustaining features:

1) The Pots Themselves

One way of maximising the scope for plants in pots is to carefully consider the material from which the pots are made. For example, we’ve found that fabric pots can often deliver far more than equally-sized plastic versions.

In fabric pots air-pruning, facilitated by porous fabric pot sidewalls, helps eliminate root circling and creates a root structure which is vastly superior in feeding and supporting your plants. The pot porosity also increases oxygen exchange in the rhizosphere – supercharging growth. All these outcomes can help your plant attain and sustain a much greater size in a shorter time. Hence we opted for a fabric approach with XXL.

2) Module Capacity

Off-the-peg XXL modules come with 35L / 9 gal or 50L / 13 gal pots which allow plants to grow continuously and vigorously. We’ve also participated in test growing at Plantasia with commonly available 65L / 17 gal and 75L / 20 gal plastic pots placed in the XXL module tray.

With pots this size you can stop when you want to. You can train plants the way you want to. You’re not in a race against the capacity of your pot so you don’t need to nip development in the bud when things are going well.

3) Adjustability

An adaptive collar (available with XXL35 or as a separate) allows growers to switch between 35L and 50L pot sizes as required whilst still using the same tray. This is ideal for bringing plants along or simply taking a step up or down in accordance with your available space or the variety being grown. 

4) Responsive watering and feeding

Cultivating big plants, whether one or many, requires time and technique. XXL brings ultra-low maintenance, plant-controlled AQUAvalve5 irrigation into the realm of giant growing – giving you the opportunity and head space to hone your horticultural skills. 

As with all AutoPot Watering Systems, XXL operates power-free, without the need for running water, and without pumps or computers to maintain. Immense savings in time, money, and ecology are obvious merits. Such virtues are equalled only by the responsiveness with which plants are fed and watered. The AQUAvalve5 that regulates the XXL module responds exactly to each individual plant’s needs, supplying water and nutrient solution only as and when required, without recirculation or a drop of waste.

Check out a couple of our case studies:

In just four weeks the potatoes in our XXL modules sprang into life, showing plenty of healthy, green vegetation above the surface to a height of around two feet. Controlling that vegetation in pots was a simple matter of slotting in some conical plant supports. These allowed the plants to develop unhindered whilst keeping the growing space nice and tidy. Situated outdoors, the XXL modules had their overflow plugs removed, meaning that the plants never got overwatered, whatever the weather.

Towering at around 9ft tall, the papaya was an equally satisfying, albeit longer-term, project. In just over a year the tree grew from seed to bearing abundant fruit. The green, shapely leaves created an impressive but not overly expansive canopy on the fully grown plant. Below that neat, tidy canopy the papaya fruit appeared on a regular basis, providing a tasty ingredient for asian cuisine in its semi-ripe state, or as a mildly sweet, silky treat when grown to finish. Having a clear seven feet of height beneath the canopy was another huge bonus – who doesn’t enjoy a quickly grown tree providing exotic shade in or around the home?

In conclusion

Modesty be damned, XXL is proving quite a testament to what can be achieved with a pot-based watering system in relatively little space with relatively little input. So, what are the limits of pot based growing? If we ever find out we’ll let you know!