• Do you need help identifying a 🌶?
    Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
    Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.

Poly Grow Bags

patrick

patrick

Anybody ever use these? http://www.wormsway.com/detail.asp?sku=SBG322#

I was searching for a cheap solution for my lack of pots to plant my peppers in and came upon the poly grow bags. So I bought a few. At $.35 each it's hard to pass them up.

I potted up half a dozen peppers in them last night and I see no reason for them not to work. Anyway just looking for tips from anyone who has used them before. Thanks
 
I have em and it's my first time using them, but when trying to harden them when i would try to carry the pots i felt like i was squishing and compacting the soil. other than that, AWESOME.

sorry for the double post. i swear i didnt mean it :(
 
Well I decided to go with them and see how things turn out. I got about 20 plants out over the weekend. Some in some pots I already had and some in the little poly bags.

Here are a few pics of my weekend.

This is my potting mix. Peat, top soil, composted cow manure, worm castings and perlite. Feels pretty lightweight and it shouldn't clump up and turn hard.

IMG_5155rre.jpg


Some in pots.

IMG_5154cre.jpg


IMG_5153re.jpg
 
You folks that have jobs and a bunch of plants have my utmost respect. I've been at this since last Saturday and just mixed up my fourth "pool" load of potting mix. I think I'm around 40 peppers done and the stray tom, egg plant and watermelon or two. The most embarrassing thing about it is I'm retired and have all kinds of time. Yesterday was a wash though as the temps were in the low 90's and the sun was cooking fresh young pepper plants.

Things are going to be much different next year. Live and learn I guess.
 
Nice plants! Have you used that soil mixture before? I have almost the exact same mixture of soil (I fot the formula online) and it's suppose to be good for peppers because it's so light and fluffy, but whenever I water it I noticed it leaves a huge trench and I end up having to add more soil to fill in the hole or I end up scrapping some soil from the other side to fill in the hole. I read that the soil shouldn't be compacted so it can breath, but if you don't compact it you get holes. Any suggestions on how to avoid that problem?
 
Josh said:
Do you pre-wet your soil mix before putting it in the pot?
Click to expand...

No the info I read so the soil SHOULD NOT be wet before as it will smother the roots and not allow them to breath. It also said to only water to core by the stem of the plant the first time so that the roots are wet, but the rest of the soil is moist to dry and will allow the new roots to grow easier and faster. Since the transplant last week they have almost doubled in size and although only 3 weeks old some sprouts are 4-5" tall with 4-5 sets of leaves.
 
LGHT said:
No the info I read so the soil SHOULD NOT be wet before as it will smother the roots and not allow them to breath. It also said to only water to core by the stem of the plant the first time so that the roots are wet, but the rest of the soil is moist to dry and will allow the new roots to grow easier and faster. Since the transplant last week they have almost doubled in size and although only 3 weeks old some sprouts are 4-5" tall with 4-5 sets of leaves.
Click to expand...

Well, in terms of the soil compacting down, that is probably going to be the cause. You will notice peat is kind of annoying to wet down. But anyway, it sounds like your plants are happy so that is a good sign.
 
Yeah it seems as if they are growing good, but it's just a pain to have to constantly shift the soil around so there are huge gaps in the top. It may just be that way because they are still very young and only in 3" pots.
 
The metallic blue pots grow teenagers and I wouldn't recommend anyone doing it. They are the most frustrating, time eating, money grubbing, lazy, ahh shoot never mind.

LGHT it's funny you found this mix online as I just decided to wing it. I grew up in Iowa where everything is grown out of the dirt. That's what I used the last two years, with mixed success. Seeing what everyone uses around here I decided to try something new.

I'm modifying it as I go. You can tell the difference with each successive "pool" load. I'm adding more peat and perlite each time to fluff it up. I'll watch and see which one does the best for me and I'll stick with that next year. If I can keep up with the record keeping.
 
patrick said:
LGHT it's funny you found this mix online as I just decided to wing it. I grew up in Iowa where everything is grown out of the dirt. That's what I used the last two years, with mixed success. Seeing what everyone uses around here I decided to try something new.
Click to expand...

Well the mix I found online called for good soil and gave an example of miracle grow, but I ended up using top soil because I hate miracle grow. I actually thought I may have went a little heavy on the perlite so I ended up adding a bit more peat to help out a little. It was listed as a modified Strong-Lite brand germination mix.

Here is the original mix for Strong-Lite Germination.

Medium vermiculite, sphagnum peat moss, perlite, starter fertilizer, wetting agent.
 
Gday,
What do you think about making them ?? As that is the same plastic you can get on 100M rolls pretty cheap. Here its called either NFT film, greenhouse mat, or PANDA plastic.

I know alot of commercial growers use them, honestly thought they made them!?

Are they 1 piece or glued ?

Thanx
CM
 
Hey Chilliman,

The bags I'm using are one piece. They are pretty heave duty but I've found one thing I don't like about them already. You have to be careful when picking them up. If you just grab one side and go all the mix will slide over to the opposite side. That's a pain in the butt to correct. They'll work for me this season I guess.
 
Love the white bags - the ones I saw the other day were black. White will work much better for me in summer. I'm about to buy something in a 5 gal size when this rain lets up and I can transplant again.


LGHT said:
...it's suppose to be good for peppers because it's so light and fluffy, but whenever I water it I noticed it leaves a huge trench and I end up having to add more soil to fill in the hole or I end up scrapping some soil from the other side to fill in the hole.
Click to expand...

I like too add some sand to the mix. It doesn't impair the drainage and it holds the loose stuff together. Don't ask me how much - I mix up a wheelbarrow full of potting soil at a time and throw in whatever looks "about right" to me. Kind of like my cooking. :lol:

patrick said:
I've found one thing I don't like about them already. You have to be careful when picking them up. If you just grab one side and go all the mix will slide over to the opposite side.
Click to expand...

I have a similar problem with the somewhat flimsy used containers I have. Picking them up one-handed will distort the shape from round to oval and cause the soil to separate from the plastic near the edge. Then it takes some effort to stop the water running straight down the sides. Now I move them with two hands and try not to deform the pot.
 
caroltlw said:
I have a similar problem with the somewhat flimsy used containers I have. Picking them up one-handed will distort the shape from round to oval and cause the soil to separate from the plastic near the edge. Then it takes some effort to stop the water running straight down the sides. Now I move them with two hands and try not to deform the pot.
Click to expand...


When I was hardening same thing happened with the cheaper nusery pots and the grow bags, I found a little slap on each side like you're clapping on someones ears helps it even out again. I hope I'm not compacting it too much. I try to make sure it's not getting firm in there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top