AC Infinity Heavy Duty Fabric Pots, 7-Gallon

Your honest girlfriend-reviewer: saving you time, money, and buyer’s remorse.” These heavy-duty grow bags are a smart alternative to pots. Even filled with dirt, they’re easier to move around, and they won’t crack like pots do. The price is lower than that of traditional planters, and the handles are sewn on well. I compared fabric weights, and trust me—get the thicker fabric. It dries out slower and lasts longer. Mine are 2 years old and still going strong; I expect about 3–4 years total. Pro tips: Since grow bags dry out faster, wet the outside of the fabric early in the morning before the sun gets too high. These bags air-prune roots. Unlike pots (where roots circle around), plants in bags develop stronger, denser root systems. Perfect if you’re unsure where to place a plant or small tree—you can just move the bag. Great for overwintering—bring plants inside when it gets cold without digging them up. Cheaper, sturdier, and more versatile than pots. A gardener win.

The bags are definitely a great option to provide a planter without actually putting in a pot. We have a number of pots which are narrower at the top than the inside dimension. This works OK for maybe a year, but you have to mangle the plants or break the pots when it's time to replant. The bags work as pots without a regular pot, but we put them inside the existing pot and simply left the void between the bag and the inside of the pot. This should make it much easier to repot when the plants grow too much. Another thing we have read is that the roots don't do a lot of circling when they are in a fabric pot. Instead of hitting a solid surface and turning, they supposedly see the air as they do on the surface and develop more feeder roots inboard. I guess we will see about that in a couple of years, but these bags are made well enough to last. Good product!

I’ve never used potting bags before, but after reading about the benefits of air pruning roots I decided to give it a try. I’ve been very happy with other AC Infinity products, but was still impressed with both the quality, style, and most importantly the functionality of these bags. I’m still relatively new to gardening, and was expecting to lose some transplants due to my own mistakes as I learn, but these bags are incredibly forgiving and I have yet to lose a single plant I’ve put in any of them. These bags provide even draining (literally anywhere excess water can escape the fabric, it will), and it is fast- fast enough that if you are afraid of overwatering your plants, or if you need to flood out your soil because you mistakenly applied fertilizer to a pre-fertilized soil amendment, you can confidently do it without worrying about drowning the roots in stagnant water. All you have to do is place the bag on a surface where the water can run off and won’t pool around the bag itself. I don’t think I’ll go back to clay or hard pots again unless specifically called for- these fabric pots look great, hold their shape when filled with soil, the material is very strong and not prone to tears at all, are very lightweight, provide excellent drainage, and are extremely easy to handle. Oh, and on top of all of that, they come in packs of 5 that are affordable and easy to store when not in use. I couldn’t recommend these more highly. The only major issue with these would be with indoor use, because finer clay and dirt will make it through the fabric and leave muddy residues wherever the drainage flows, but putting them in a tray would solve that problem very easily. Another possible issue that I haven't run across yet but am somewhat concerned about in the future is the possibility that the dark fabric will retain too much heat in the soil if exposed directly to the sun, especially in hotter climates. Granted, if the soil remains moist enough, the evaporation could mitigate the heat retention effect of the dark fabric, but I would be interested in a lighter fabric version if this does turn out to be an issue. So far, though, using these has been a breeze, and I’m buying more. Edit: In Arizona, it’s been really hot outside for weeks, and these bags tend to dry out very, very quickly in the heat. Overwatering and waterlogged roots seem to be almost impossible with these things. If that’s what you want, these are definitely a good choice. Almost all of the plants I put in these (and even transplanted into larger ones) have survived, but there is a learning curve with these. They definitely use more water if you let them drain freely, and you do need to water them daily. Because they dry out so fast, having trays or strings attached to a water source is basically a requirement for most plants in full sun, but the passive watering these bags can do is really effective. I’ve left plants in the full Arizona summer sun for days to see how long it took to deplete their water source, and it took a few days before I needed to add more. There is also a risk your fertilizers will wash out too quickly if allowed to drain freely, but you can use this to your advantage too if you let them wash into a self-watering tray. Heat retention is also a bit of an issue for roots on sides constantly exposed to the sun, so rotating the pots will be necessary sometimes. Overall, I still really like these pots because they give you a lot of control over your growing conditions and are very easy to use. Being able to passively water and control water consumption is also a big plus.

Out of all the Smart pots I have used these by far are the most sturdy and well built. When watering, I did not get a lot of side runoff like with other pots. I am using the 5 gallon pots. Perfect for eggplants, tomatoes and peppers. What ever you want to grow. I only wish they had a couple more grommets. They are quality pot. They clean up easy too. Thick fabric. Does not have that feel like your pot is made of your youngest art project. I did not have a lot of roots growing into the fabric so that should make them last longer without that old rotting organic matter that could harbor diseases and fungus. I do recommend these to friends. I will buy again.

Decent size. I think I’ve purchase 3 sets of 5. I’ve used them for tomatoes and pumpkins mostly. They are fabric so I’m not really surprised, but I’d put in some support sticks before and other support cages and it will puncture through the outside. It’s something to keep in mind and be careful about. I really like the handles because I move them around during season changes.

Very sturdy with good handles if you need to move

Worth the extra money to get such a great bag. Much nicer than other bags I’ve used in the past.

These are great. I bought the 7 gallon and the 10 gallon. I did a little research and these were above and beyond all the others. I’m using them on my balcony and I need to be able to move them around. They are very heavy duty. The handles are securely attached and I doubt we’ll ever fail. They have more insulation than any other on the market. They are more expensive than the others, but if you want something to last go with these. If you’re going to be moving them around go with these.