What Is Air Pruning? Can It Really Improve My Container Gardening? You May Be Surprised! 

Clicked on this without paying attention. Got me nostalgic. RIP Larry. You've given the gardening world a lot.

Buddy you hit the nail on the head, my grandfather grew everything in burlap sacks. He explained this to me 20 years ago. He also said Ruts lol he would tell ya, he farmed all his life and when he couldn't run the equipment to plow and disk his garden he went to burlap sacks. Had he known how good it worked and how much less maintenance he needed when he got "dialed in" he would have done it that way from the start. Miss that guy he taught me so many great things lol Thanks for sparking those memories.

Started gardening last year and have learned much since I started. One thing I have learned is the non woven grow bags definitely work better than solid pots or buckets. My potatoes, beans, and peas have done much better. I now am planting everything I can in grow bags.

Explaining the basics like you did well in this video allows your viewers to then run with those ideas and possibly improve on what you've already done. I enjoy your videos the most when you go over the "whys" of what you do, not just the "hows". Thanks a million, fellow Minnesotan.

Now I finally understand the point of these heavy fabric "grow bags". I looked at them when I first saw them and thought: Now that's just stupid, why would anyone use these, growing stuff in them will never work because it isn't watertight. Thank you, Mr. Larry Hall, for sharing this video and your information and experience, and greetings from all the way over in south-eastern Austria, Europe.

Hi,i just watched your video & i use milk crates & vegetable crates that my local small food stores throw out after they stock there produce. i clean them with a light bleach. water mixture because no telling what could be on them anyways i line my crates with weed berrier & plant my plants in them they absolutely love it,i just tried it on potatoes & they are growing fast & well also this is the longest my potato plant's have lived lol so im very excited. I'm in zone 9a. your plants look awesome!!

I was skeptical of this at first but after I saw my plants improving I was just so thankful to you for posting it.

That's a phenomenal difference! Thank you for sharing! I'm a beginner gardener and always looking for ways to do things better and more efficiently. I'm so grateful for knowledgeable people like yourself who are willing to share your wisdom.

My grandma uses coconut husk for air pruning. It works great and plants are happy.

These buckets are not only effective, but they look cool too! I am doing this for sure. Great job Larry!

I've been using air pruning containers (both bought and homemade) for 13 years. I won't use regular containers anymore. Air pruning makes my plants very happy, which makes me very happy!

Yes, there is always rooms 4 improvement. Air pruning is the most up to date science in gardening. Thanks 4 sharing

Have you tried using milk crates ? They already have the holes in them.

Wow, Larry there is more to you than meets the eye.The air pruning pots are great! I do that with all my pots.

Great information Larry! If you are going to container garden I am sold on air pruning !

did this with rectangular laundry basket, then used old long skir that I sewn then place it atound my house so beautiful unlimited flowering plants...

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RUTS look at these RUTS!

excellent video. it is very concise and informative. it does not distract with back ground music like some videos and it does not talk about personal things like cat doing something in the background. It has different images that matches to the words at the right point and time. great video.

Fantastic video, lots of great tips. Question: After making holes in the bucket, what kind of material do you use to contain the soil? How do you make it or is it readily available. Thanks!

YOU read my mind sir, down to the kiddy pool ! Brilliant minds think Organically!

Im so glad i came across this video. Im trying grow bags for the first time. Im gardening for the first time because of grow bags. I didnt want to dig up the dirt around my home to plant.

A clear and fascinating video on the topic, I’m absolutely sold on the idea now. Great stuff sir 👍

I tried a few of your methods including walmart bags, walmart bags stuck in a 5 gallon lowes bucket with giant holes drilled in it, and lowes buckets with holes in it. So far the walmart bags by themselves are better. The bags in the lowes container are growing okay but the stems are thinner and they seem to dry out even faster i.e. the plants are wilted more. The lowes buckets by themselves did not work well at all. A couple months ago I put a sweet 100 tomato plant in a walmart bag and put that bag in a smaller half barrel like container(was $6 at lowes) to help keep it sturdier. The barrel only covers the bottom half of the bag so the bag gets more air circulation and the plant is growing great. Finally, I ordered those smart pots and plant a better bush in a 15 gallon smart pot and another better bush in a 15 gallon wide plastic container with holes. The smart pot tomato plant is now 3 times the size of the other. Thanks for your videos as the air pruning you taught has been incredible. My plants are growing to the top of 10 foot poles where I have to pinch them off so who knows how high they could really get.

Hello, Larry. I'm a novice gardener and I just want to let you know how excited I am to have found your videos. I just joined your Facebook Rain Gutter Grow System Group Page a few minutes ago. I can't wait to learn things from you. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and ideas! (Ann N.)

Great video. Good info. You say 'root' funny :D

I continue to be delighted at your expanded exploration of growing things efficiently and in high density.

....Whoa!...and I've been trying to figure out what to do with my old shopping bags! I knew about "pot bound" but now I understand the "why" and "how" concerning it. Cool!

If that's the case all you need is the small latticed baskets and cloth lining

I see you have your pots sitting on a self watering system and that's why your inviting people to the Facebook page so they can see how it works......well done...... And love those ruts, big fibrous ones.

Larry - - Wow! Fantastic video on a Fantastic way of growing! This seems like a real wondrous way of growing our vegetables! I will be sharing this and your FB group as it is time for all of us - -not just long term gardeners - - to take back our food supply and learn to grown our own veggies and berries/Fruits - -- Thank you!!!

I made 4 of those. They were not as spectacular as one would think. Switching to a commercial Air Pruning Pot and Happy Frog and toss in water crystals. See if that works better.

Yup. I live in So. Cali. a mile high and I've tried everything.... OG5280 ... pure air and pure water here. I these Bags work great!

Ill try this with canabis yeahh !

Wow This is honestly one of the best video's on the subject I have seen. I have found myself caught on the self watering 5 gallon pots because of time constraints, But maybe? Watering could give way to air pruning if it would improve my results. Strangely I wonder why my ground growing which doesn't have the air pruning ability grows so well?

I am going to give it a try also this season. I have a small yard and have had poor results growing anything. You make it look easy Larry :)

Great idea I'm going to try this with milk creates

i use my old plastic containers and cut holes in them. i use a razor knife and make 1/2 in cuts best resultts, make 2 cuts 1/16in apart it acts like a larger hole, but keeps the soil in. i make about 20 double-cuts (40 in all) in each 3 gal container.

Subscribed so I could view Larry’s other content. One commenter stated Larry passed. RIP & condolences to family. Using laundry baskets while I figure out how to make holes in existing pots with my drill attachment. Need something firm inside the plastic container otherwise the plastic will crack. Maybe I’ll do a FB search on how to make side holes in plastic containers.

Larry, you sure are one great gardener.

I have been really looking into this with potato towers... i researched harvest vids... those that had wooden 4 foot tall potato towers with no holes all had very very very poor harvests... found a lady on youtube growing them in tall plastic trash bins with lots of holes in them... she had amazing harvests. She filled 1.5 X 5 gallon buckets with potatoes per garbage can. Harvest time speaks volumes.

Drill 3mm holes all around your plastic pots 8-10mm spacing they don't bend then when you move them , works just as well if not better and they last forever.

Wow ,I'm definitely going to give it a try ,thanks

I tried this exact system. My plants are dwarfed and not producing well. I live in Montana were it's very arrid. I wondering if I'm losing too much moisture. The only plant proliferating is my lavender plant which is not in one of the buckets. This may work in some cases but certainly not all.

Excellent presentation, thank you !

great gardening tips and presentation! thanks Larry =] let the air do the pruning and keep the root system tidy =]

it would have been nice if you showed us the technique how you pour your soil into these things without everything spilling out!

I grow in fabric it works great sprinkle some mycorrhiza on the roots and you’ll have the best roots.

I learned new concept today Air Pruning. Thanks a lot.

Galvanized steel mesh or expanded metal or chainlink fence mesh basket, and then line with polypropylene filter geotextile.

I’m also in Minnesota. I enjoy your videos so much. Thanks for making them!!!!

Great stuff no doubt... I even have raised beds for my gardening and I've been watching video after video about this that and the other thing but it just hit me what ever happened to grow in a garden into the ground I get it it's easier Les weed story about practically no weeds but still... When I was young I love to get my tiller and dig up the ground with it smell the Earth God's beautiful Earth

LARRY THANKS I LEARNED ABOUT THE WALMART BAG THING SO CHEAP SO PRACTICAL!!

I transplanted my tomatoes today into grocery bags with good quality potting soil, place them in a child's play pool. I planted 1/2 a banana, a tablespoon of sulfur and ground egg shell in the bottom of each, and a few worms added to each bag. All that said Now what do I do? How much water? What do I feed? I've grown tomatoes many years and only had one good crop all the rest were just so so. All help is appreciated, Thanks D

All you really need is about 3 or 4 inches of lava rock at the bottom of your containers. And holes near the top of the rocks. Aeration for the roots ,acidification and loaded with minerals.

Thank you for the great information. Rest in peace

Awesome. Thanks for sharing.

Just wanted say thanks for the ideas, especially using the reusable shopping bags as air pruning containers. I will totally try that!

I had seen the holes befor this video, and wondered what the purpose was. Now I know :) Thanks

Very nice video. Thank you for sharing very good information on air pruning.

Awesome ideas. So glad I came accross your page!

Terrific study, well presented and properly researched. Thank you

I stumbled on this same air-pruning principle by accident. Wanting a long and narrow grow bed about 8-inch deep that I could raise above "rabbit level", I decided to try a piece of scrap welded-wire fence material, folded into the desired shape (about 6 foot long and a foot wide) and lined with landscape fabric. The only problem was maintaining the shape near the top. It would bulge out from the weight of the wet growing medium towards the center. I ran some cross-brace wire a few inches below the top every foot to resolve that issue and clipped a marker at top so I can avoid distrurbing the bracing with deep cultivation. It worked great! Super drainage, the air pruning in effect and at waist height... so easy to weed and work in soil amendments. In my case, I had scrap fencing and fabric but still the cheapest way to build an expansive raised container even with new materials. It's been over 10 years now and the fencing still seems as stable as new. I've grown both vegetables and flower transplant candidates with great success all these years in that same frame. The grow bed frame is just set up on 2 pre-leveled concrete block "pillars" , stacked 3-high (about 2 ft plus the bed height) but could easily be set onto a wooden frame using rot-resistant wood (either redwood or pressure-treated) and even a canopy for hot weather shade. I've been tempted to fold up a few more of these to use specifically for tomato plants. (In standard 5-gal plastic containers, tomatoes always become root bound near the end of the season and production suffers prematurely IMO. ) Bottom line: Air pruning works!

Larry, I'm not having much success with self wicking bucket gardening. Are you still as enthusiastic about the bucket self-watering concept or have you returned to more conventional raised gardening? Sincerely, Doris

Thank you for the info, I started using collapsible fabric storage containers to see how my plants do, but I’ll try this method as well and run with it. Dollar tree also have storage containers with holes too, not sure about the durability, but doesn’t hurt to try those, especially for small plants.

Amazing info about air pruning for more roots to take in nutrients may be the cause for them to not make as much grounding roots.

Great video, AMAZING BIT OF INFORMATION

Thanks, again, so much, for sharing such valuable information. I just can't get enough of your very helpful, easy to do videos that add so much to our quality of life. God Bless . . .

It's all about the RUTS baby

Thanks for the video. Lary I gotta tell ya I'm gonna give it a try here on the east coast of the uk it's gotta worth a go hasn't it. Loving your corn results. Take care buddy keep the vids coming I love to watch your vids very helpfull and full of great ideas and tips,Cheers,Chris

Thanks I absolutely love it. The bag idea is perfect for starting my tomato plants. Aspirin water solution will work wonders I'm sure.

Thank you for sharing . I will try this…

Awesome!!! I'm going to try this for lettuces and herbs. What great information. Thank you so much for sharing. Subscribed.

omg I'm starting my air pruning system today wish me luck..cuz NC dirt is clay hope this work

Fantastic information. I am learning from you, Larry !! Thanks for sharing.

Awesome video brilliant solution thanks!

👍👍Hey Ruts -Roots he is still a Genius. ... At least he does not babble, and get off the subject like other's. ... Very good system you there Buddy. ... I'm gonna try it. ... 👍👍🌱🌿🌴🌾🌳👍👍

Oh thanks thanks!! that you for sharing this...i will share this with my fans and views in a video soon....I am going to try this with my new lettuce in containers

You’re a genius awesome 👏 thanks for sharing and caring 🌹❤️👏

Larry the best Come in science. Video I ever see people think they know what they talking about but they don’t know crap 💩 love ❤️ this video thanks for sharing Larry good day 👏👏👏👏

I'm going to try this but also plant tomatoes on the bottom of the bucket. Drill holes in buckets. and one on bottom for the tomato plant. line with Landscape fabric. and hang buckets. put a drip system to drip in buckets from the top. also plant marigolds on the open top of buckets to deter bugs. a threesome win.

Hi Larry. OK, I couldn't wait until lunch time like I said I would on the FB Permies group page. I like your way too a lot. I haven't as yet checked out the rain gutter grow system. I was thinking of how best to utilise the rain from the gutters from a shed, that we share with our local councils, then have to buy it back??? Why not use it first hey...? So I will check out your suggestion sir and thank you for sharing your ideas with us all... :) Be Well... Cheers David

Hi Larry from Britain, I'm going to build a rain gutter system in my green house this year for my tomatoes. I'm going to feed it off a header tank with a half strength tomatoe feed mixed in. Would this type of pruning work with the humidity caused by the rain gutter system keeping the humidity levels up by the water evaporating? Thanks for the informative video. Regards, Bill.

This makes sense why hydroponics give me better results. It is because i use an air pump. same concept with the holes. I need to try this with my containers

wow very nice idea man,thanks a lot,i m going do that

Great work Mr. Hall, thanks for the video.

Thank You very much for this video..

When you started the seeds in the net cups, did you have to line those with landscape fabric? It seems like the soil might run out of the pot without a liner or the roots might try to grow out of the pot? Also, is the blue dye in the Wal-Mart bags actually safe to plant edibles in? I know they are made to hold groceries, but what about consistently being wet and possibly running into the soil?

This is nuts!

Thanks so much for sharing your secrets. Now I will become "SUPER GREEN THUMB"

makes sense to me. awesome

I love learning new tips! Thank you for sharing, I will definetly try it!

Great stuff Larry! Too bad I found you after planting season. I will be preparing for next year though. Thank you!

Awsome thanks for sharing!! Gréât idea, i will definitely try this out on my herbs.

Root bound seedlings are the bane of my existence.

this is great, I wonder how we can do this without the plastic

Thank You! Greetings from Germany!

Thanks Larry, a very inspiring and informative video.

Great video on air pruning pots.