Fabric Pots & Grow Bags: My Thoughts

Being pretty durable, cheap, biodegradable, lighter, easier to move & they do indeed alleviate a lot of the need to root prune. That all makes these pots really nice to have. But... there's one catch.

Where I'm Located: Zone 7A - Greater Philadelphia

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[stevekent]

The main two benefits of using fabric grow bags are air pruning the roots and wicking water.

As you don’t have a wicking system setup, you aren’t benefitting from the constant moisture content.

Ideally you need to buy loads of shallow trays and sit the bags in those trays and keep watering the trays. As you have a drip irrigation system going, you can amend your drip irrigation to maintain a minimum water level in the trays.

Trays is just one method for fabric grow bag water wicking. As you have a drip irrigation from the top, you are top watering so the roots will stay near the top searching for water. If you use wicking from the bottom, you will have a mass of roots from the bottom up and all around the edges as the fabric will be moist and the bottom half of the soil mix will be moist.

I sit my fabric bags in trays which I manually water or allow rain to replenish the water. Whenever I’ve transplanted from a fabric grow bag I’ve never seen a plant WITHOUT an impressive root mass.

Get water wicking going from the bottom up and you’ll see a massive difference.

[Kate_O]

Try putting the grow bags into a shallow tray or a kiddie pool filled with 3" of water. If the bottom of the bag is sitting in 2"- 3" of water (at all times) then it will allow the plant a constant water supply and the plant will take water when it needs it. That will in turn encourage deeper root system and air prune correctly. Grow bags are wonderful if you use them correctly. You have a great drip system set up for plastic/cement/clay/resin pots, but it's the worst set up for grow bags.

[heatherj]

I plant my tomatoes and peas in 20 or 25 gallon grow bags. I put the pots inside cement mixing tubs that I got from home depot for $6 or $7. Then I can keep a couple inches of water in the tub so the plants don't dry out in the summer. This has worked great. I've also used a kiddie pool, but I like the cement mixing tubs better because I can keep them in a nice row on the side of my house. They fit perfectly in that flower bed and last much longer than a kiddie pool. I did add vermiculite to the pots to help retain moisture too.
Lovely trees! I've been wondering if I could grow trees in the grow bags. Thanks for answering that question.

[roncatlin]

i use grow bags too and i learned a lot the 1st year. i learned to put something in the bottom to keep the water & nutrients from running out when watering or during storms. my family consumes a lot of cultured milk products, yogurt, cottage cheese, dips, etc, so i usually have plenty of various size containers to put in the bottom of my grow bags. i also use coco coir in my soil for my grow bags for wicking & retention. the containers at the bottom of my bags retain the water & nutrients to make available for the plants later. i have even entertained the notion of using disposable pizza pans, disposable dutch oven liners, round cake pans, etc. i have even thought about taking my idea and experimenting with a self-wicking setup. standing water hasn't become a problem for me as of yet and i'm about 5 yrs in and with storms that could easily be called gully washers. my hoa won't let me use any kind of tub utility to set the bags in on the ground because of mosquitos - west nile is very prevalent here - but i could build raised beds as long as they aren't visible from the street and put liners in it for a tub utility as long as it isn't on the ground. my bags are working well so i'm going to leave that project for a future planting season.

[jeas]

Thanks for addressing the grow bags in a video! I live in a zone 7b with very high humidity. So while someone from California may have drying issues...for me here in Southern Virginia in swampy regions, it seems it may be helpful for me to switch. Bottom rot, powdery mildow, wet roots and other fungus growth take out my crops consistently. This might not be the answer for my fruit trees..but its bound to improve my odds on squash, tomatoes and raspberries. Thanks again for the video!

[koaasst]

i sew up bags out of landscape fabric that fit in 5 gallon buckets with plenty of room on the sides for the bags to breathe (air prune style). in the bottom of the bucket is a 3 inch netcup filled with spaghnum moss that sits on a gutter setup with a float valve. if you are bad at remembering to water, this setup is carefree and grows beautiful tomatoes!

[ezyroller]

Apparently lining the bottom of large fabric pots with 2 or 3 cm of coco coir helps with the drying-out issues. High coco coir content in the soil may also help.

[brudo]

There is always the possibility to put an extra (kitchen) foil or big plastic bag inside this plant bag and make some draining holes. For big high (square) plant bags I also start with cardboard inside, folded against the sides to give some more support and structure so you could also wrap some non-toxic (food quality) foil around cardboard to give support and reduction of evaporation. It is also not necessary to cover the whole inside surface but for instance only half to 2/3. The bottom should be left free to ensure a minimum of drainage.
OK, all the best.

[kicknadeadcat]

I’m going to try the Lou Monti method. 5 gal fabric pots put them in the ground and in winter cut the roots around the bag and place them in my shed. To keep them moist I plan on putting a plastic bag around them. I also plan to put the plastic bag on during growing season. It worked on my tomatoes to keep them moist. It will also keep to much water from rain to get in.

[nyplantings]

I love grow bags! The quality of the clump birch 'dura heat' we have been getting have been very good. We are a rooftop and terrace specialist as well as traditional landscapes.
When carrying up stairs etc. these are great. You are right about the handles. I'm so lazy if I could just lift a big 20 or 30 gallon into the planter which is 30" high and drop it in. I didnt know I could leave the bag in? It seemed like these we get are made of something like landscape fabric. Good vid. Tough work, nursery.

[WatchwomanOnTheWall-zkpo]

I grow my fig trees in dollar store laundry baskets lined with weed barrier cloth. They need to be watered every day.

[shadowdancer]

Thus far I LOVE them. I am very thankful for your video. I DO put my grow bags in a container of sorts, watering them from the bottom. Note, I do not raise trees...but to see that you are raising trees out of them is very encouraging!

[mamtajaya]

Amen brother. Thanks for this video because I have added lots more grow bags in my garden and it does wonders for me as well

[dwood]

Just purchased 5 10 gal bag (blk) thank you for this video. First time grower

[winddrinkerarabians]

I have seen the grow bags set in kiddie pools or something that would allow for the extra watering.

[shadymaint]

Fabric pots are amazing for root growth. All you have to do is compare a root ball from a fabric pot to a normal pot. I have 3, 5 and 7 gallon fabric pots that I use.

[imlew]

So true with grow bag drying fast. Got to keep an eye on water critical veg such as tomato and cucumber. Planter saucer helps a lot.

[shanghaimuts]

my blueberries dried out in our grow bags. thank you for raising that. everything else has been fine in them but my blueberries did not like it one bit. loved the video.

[ranaebutler]

I’ve made my own grow bags in gallon size and they work wonderful as well.

[Patman]

I suggest using blumat soakers. Fabric pots work so good. Use blumats period and don't worry about it. Especially with the larger pots. You can actually water the outside seperate from the middle. Its pretty cool.