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Grow Bags

jjs7741

jjs7741

I am expanding my pepper production from 20 plants to 50 plants (addiction anyone), and was thinking of trying out some grow bags to lessen the cost of buying new containers. The plants in containers outperformed the ones in ground due to my very poor soil, but can't afford to buy 40 new pots to go with the ten I already have. So, my question is for those who have tried them, hows did they hold up? My biggest concern is not water build up, or keeping them standing but from heat build up from the black plastic. It hovers in the high 90's for most of July and August and I don't want to cook the roots. Any comments on their pros and cons would be appreciated.

Thanks and happy growing!
jacob
 
jj, I agree with NH...

I get my heavy duty 5 gallon containers from my local nursery. They are used but heavy enough to last me many seasons...I have used them 3 so far...for me, the blow mold thin 5 gallon containers last one season because of my rough handling...

If you are a regular customer, some of the nurserys may just give you used containers...

I have no experience with the grow bags except the topsy turvy and they were a miserable failure for me....
 
Grow bags are great at sizes smaller than 3 gal, but when you get into 5 and seven gallon bags, they can be a pain. They have a tendency to fall over, and stretch if you try to move them. I didn't have any issues with heat and the black bags, and we had temps that were 100+ this summer for almost a month.
 
We have Family Dollar and Dollar General Stores here that sell pots for about $1.00 each plus they sell 2 packs of CFL'S for about $5.00.
 
I've started using the 5 gallon bags inside a 5 gallon bucket. You could keep your eyes open for free buckets, drill a bunch of holes in the bottom and then add a grow bag. The bags also work great by themselves. I'd say get the bags, and then slowly build up a collection of nicer 7+ gallon containers for the best plants. Another thing to think about; even if you save on the containers, a nice planting mix isn't cheap.
 
Thanks for the responses guys. They were very helpful. One of the reasons I was looking at grow bags was the cost of the potting mix to fill 50 5 gal buckets. It adds up quick, so anyway to cut the costs a bit helps. I will check around to try and find other cheap alternatives for some good long lasting containers, maybe even raised beds. In the meantime I will probably go with the cheap blow molded ones to hold me off until a more permanent solution is in place. Hopefully they can make it more than a year if necessary, but if not I only lose $1.10 each.

My biggest concern now is 50 may not be enough. I keep finding more and more interesting varieties and I just can't help myself. 3 more weeks till it's time to put them in the dirt!

Thanks again for the help and happy growing!
jacob
 
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