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Fabric Pots/Grow Bags
- Thread starter CDNmatt
- Start date
I wouldn't go smaller then 5gal for full bush.
CaneDog
Extreme Member
I think 3g is too small unless you're intentionally constraining plant size.
Have you checked Amazon? I bought 20 small boxer browns last night for $20 total, shipped. That's far better than I could find anywhere else. The Amazon prices seem to vary significantly among the sellers, but there are some some great deals. The best I found for the smaller size (1g's I'll use indoors only) was with Grow Bag Garden Systems LLC, whoever they are. Of course, you still have to fill them with soil so unfortunately there's more cost involved with a larger size than just the container.
My outside bags are mostly 7g - 15g with a few 5g's. I don't find I have to stake any more with fabric than plastic unless I were to goof up by getting my soil mix too loose or handling the container carelessly before the roots have filled out laterally. Once the roots have established into a properly sized (not too big) pot they seem to anchor in really well. And if you put them directly on dirt they'll root through into the ground under the bag for extra stability.
Have you checked Amazon? I bought 20 small boxer browns last night for $20 total, shipped. That's far better than I could find anywhere else. The Amazon prices seem to vary significantly among the sellers, but there are some some great deals. The best I found for the smaller size (1g's I'll use indoors only) was with Grow Bag Garden Systems LLC, whoever they are. Of course, you still have to fill them with soil so unfortunately there's more cost involved with a larger size than just the container.
My outside bags are mostly 7g - 15g with a few 5g's. I don't find I have to stake any more with fabric than plastic unless I were to goof up by getting my soil mix too loose or handling the container carelessly before the roots have filled out laterally. Once the roots have established into a properly sized (not too big) pot they seem to anchor in really well. And if you put them directly on dirt they'll root through into the ground under the bag for extra stability.
CaneDog
Extreme Member
Perhaps take a look at pictures in YAMracer754's "work in progress GLOG" (link to recent pics below). He's has a great grow and did a lot with fabric. You can see mature plants in various fabric sizes and that might provide further insight.
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/67822-yamracer754-work-in-progress-glog/?p=1577116
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/67822-yamracer754-work-in-progress-glog/?p=1577116
CaneDog said:
Yeah unfortunatly alot of the stuff found on Amazon.com is not available to Canada on Amazon.ca...some things you can buy and just pay the duty but alot of the better deals found wont ship at all up here sadly.
I was looking at a few 5 packs on amazon and was a 5 x 30gal pack for $30 CDN....which kinda leads me to another size related question..Say I went ahead with buying these would I be able to fit 2 possibly 3 plants in?Or would it become to crowded?
I have already bought 10xs 7Gals...10xs 5 gals and one 5xs 3 gal but I have all sorts of other vegis and smaller tomato's I could even use those for if they are not suitable for the big bush type chillis. These of course are teh cheaper Chinese ones available on Ebay and Ali express.
30gal, well if you dont intend to move it lol I would put three in their, depending on the type of pepper and the bush it produces.
So what would the optimum soil ratio be?
CaneDog
Extreme Member
SpeakPolish said:
Shoot, depends a lot on climate I suppose and you have some crazy stuff going on down there in Texas. In plastic I'd guess (I don't mix to ratio, more to a consistency and the compost seems to vary) I run about 60/25/15 in plastic and maybe 60/15/25 in fabric. But really, that's just a guess. Peat/perlite/compost.
SpeakPolish said:
I think I am gonna try a few different mixes as for myself.....Maybe go abit heavier on the compost side of it since it sounds like drainage might not as big of an issue as it would with a non fabric type pot. I will play around more with the plants that I have more seeds of and go with the tried and true methods for my limited stuff.
dragonsfire said:
Ok great thanks dragon...I do have some older ply wood I could probably run the hose on it to make it slick and just slide it across from sheet to sheet if I did have to move it. Wet and dirty ply wood is great for moving stuff around iin my experience.
I think I will also whip up some frames a couple 18''x18'' and a few 24''x24'' as well and use the weed fabric and see how they do. I will prollly have to add a solid bottom like some thin chip board or ply wood and drill holes for drainaage as I dont think the fabric would hold the wait of the soil if it had to be moved at all which really isn't a problem.
Has anyone ever tried to use Burlap bags as grow bags at all?? When I was googling around I came across a couple sites where people had used them...I can't imagine they would last incredibly long so they would have to be obtained cheap enough to make it worth while I would think eh?
I posted a while ago sewing a Burlap bag, my Lemon tree is in it, the bag is full of 17x12 soil, folded over the upper 10 inches to cover the top, all well so far.
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I had tremendous growth out of my grow bags but dealt with the same issues you were having with excessive maintenance and less than perfect water conditions without once-twice daily watering until I got saucers 
lifesaver, plus you could fill them up and they would provide water all day and night and the 17" ones I used on the 7 gal bags held good volume and worked all season long til the brain dead dickhead the landlord got to weedwack chopped nearly all of my trays (25+ @ $2-3 a piece).
The problems with plants becoming massive and wanting to topple still exist.. Especially at end of season and certain ones get a lean going on with minimal water in the media.. Staking is essential, all of mine are staked(within the bag, not through the bag and ground-although this would be better! If I could handle destroying my bags)
Still would not go any other way, regarding container growing that is, especially with coco coir based homemade media, and experimenting with different ratios of different materials, castings, chips, etc. I really wish more mfgrs made the tan bags, as those performed much better in regard to water consumption and performance! They also cost more :-/
lifesaver, plus you could fill them up and they would provide water all day and night and the 17" ones I used on the 7 gal bags held good volume and worked all season long til the brain dead dickhead the landlord got to weedwack chopped nearly all of my trays (25+ @ $2-3 a piece).The problems with plants becoming massive and wanting to topple still exist.. Especially at end of season and certain ones get a lean going on with minimal water in the media.. Staking is essential, all of mine are staked(within the bag, not through the bag and ground-although this would be better! If I could handle destroying my bags)
Still would not go any other way, regarding container growing that is, especially with coco coir based homemade media, and experimenting with different ratios of different materials, castings, chips, etc. I really wish more mfgrs made the tan bags, as those performed much better in regard to water consumption and performance! They also cost more :-/
Sent from my XT1565 using TapatalkDontPanic said:
Thanks for the information! I hadn't even given saucers a second thought! So you didn't have an issue with "soggy feet?"YAMracer754 said:I had tremendous growth out of my grow bags but dealt with the same issues you were having with excessive maintenance and less than perfect water conditions without once-twice daily watering until I got saucers
The problems with plants becoming massive and wanting to topple still exist.. Especially at end of season and certain ones get a lean going on with minimal water in the media.. Staking is essential, all of mine are staked(within the bag, not through the bag and ground-although this would be better! If I could handle destroying my bags)
Still would not go any other way, regarding container growing that is, especially with coco coir based homemade media, and experimenting with different ratios of different materials, castings, chips, etc. I really wish more mfgrs made the tan bags, as those performed much better in regard to water consumption and performance! They also cost more :-/ Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk
Oh cool...How long has that plant been in there Dragon? After looking around can pick up bags at a pretty low cost probably something else I will try next summer as well. I am really going to try a bunch of different stuff..not just with chillis but with alot of other vegis ( a ton of tomatos) I grow.
I saw some people taking old milk crates and useing that as a frame for burlap bags...even using the ground fabric would be a good option on those as well.
I saw some people taking old milk crates and useing that as a frame for burlap bags...even using the ground fabric would be a good option on those as well.
dragonsfire said:I posted a while ago sewing a Burlap bag, my Lemon tree is in it, the bag is full of 17x12 soil, folded over the upper 10 inches to cover the top, all well so far.
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Since I did that thread on sewing a bag lol