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Seedling bags
oooft
Posts: 191
Was looking on ebay and saw these wee bags, loads of them for much cheapness. Any good? Im looking for cheap pots to start off dahlias next year and thought maybe this type of 'plant the whole thing' pot might be useful. Anyone used them? Here is the ebay link so you can see what i'm on about. Obviously i need to source a bigger size
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I wouldn’t touch those bags from China. They stifle roots so you have to peel them off before you plant out.
why not just get a seed tray and some seed compost.
I meant i wanted to start off dahlia tubers, not seeds. Thats why i was looking for cheap pots and came across the bags.
Have you no old pots lying around, or ice cream cartons or other packaging you can recycle? Just put some holes in the bottom and you have a pot.
No good for dahlia tubers I’m afraid, it will not work, they are made of the same stuff as tea bags.
The largest size is only 6x8 inches. With the weight of the compost and the tuber, it will split. Dahlias need to go in flower pots.
how many dahlias have you got, for £2.86 you could buy a few pots or look on your local free serve or gumtree, I’ve got a pile outside my gate for the taking, you could look for any freebies like that.
Thanks for your replies. I'm afraid I don't have enough old pots lying around and my favourite brand of ice cream comes in a small paper carton. I've found these polythene pots which will probably do the job? I've not been able to source a cheap supplier of larger pots, they are expensive in the big garden centres and poundland only stocks small ones. I don't think anything comes into the house which could be recycled as a plant pot except for milk cartons but i don't have space to store a load of these. I might give these a go at 50 for £6.50.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hadopots-Polythene-Plant-Pots-Pack/dp/B00FSD565I/ref=lp_3896090031_1_5?srs=3896090031&ie=UTF8&qid=1511435779&sr=8-5
Try you Local freeserve or gumtree, as I said people are usually giving them away. I could give you loads if you’re in the Devon cornwall area.
It depends on how big your tubers are, measure them and see if they will comfortably fit in the plastic bags. Don’t forget that whatever size they are this year, they will be twice that size next.
you could just roll the tops of supermarket carrier bags down and use those. I do that with my daffs and tulips when they finish flowering.
take no notice of me, I don’t buy anything for the garden, only compost, then I buy good stuff, I look around for anything usable.
Definitle don’t buy that tea bag paper bags though, you will be dissapointed and waste your money.
Thanks for the advice Mike. I wanted to start them off early to get the flowers going but i'll maybe just wait until after the frosts as I've decided not to plant them in the ground anymore and you seem to suggest it's not necessary. My local B&Q had 40 litre trugs for a pound each today! Bought a load of them and intend to grow my dahlias in these.
Can i fit two in a 40 litre container? I was also thinking of plating something in there to cover the trug, like a cascade petunia. Should i just stick to one dahlia and some trailers?
You will need to make drainage holes in the trugs and then raise them off the ground so water can escape or your dahlias will rot. Hope you've got lots of spare bricks!
Dahlias are not a flower you can start off early, they start to grow later and flower later. If you start them off in a heated place you still can’t put them outside until late May/early June.
No point in putting anything else in there, by the time annual bedding is ready to go outside the dahlias will be up. Maybe put some trailing lobelia around the edge, personally I like dahlias as stand alone plants, choice is yours.
As Buttercup says, when you start them off next year in the trugs plenty of holes plenty of bricks. In the meantime, wrap in newspaper and keep in a frost free place. Shed, conservatory, wardrobe, bring them out next March and start them off indoors.
Thanks for the excellent tips. This is a great site for useful advice