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Grow bag advice

david.pendletondavid.pendleton Posts: 16
in Fruit & veg
Hello all, new member here, with my new greenhouse arriving mid march!

Looking at getting things in place for its arrival.

Looking at grow bags for my Tomatoes and the Levington Tomorite with Seaweed appears to be a good bet. However, it appears that the shortage has boosted the price to £15 a bag!

Would a John Innes Multi Purpose compost with additional feed do the job?

Or any recomendations? As i dont fancy spending £45 + delivery for 3 grow bags!

Thanks All
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Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited February 2021
    Yes, MPC in big pots will do the job. If you leave it a couple of months you might find that the shops start getting growbags in (and compost) at more sensible prices - places like Lidl, Aldi, Home Bargains, B&M often have them in the spring (maybe not the fancy brands though). Whatever you choose, toms will want feeding after the first 8 weeks or so.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • david.pendletondavid.pendleton Posts: 16
    Thanks for the reponse. I appreaciate that times are pretty strange with supplu, but £15 for a £3 bag seemed a little steep!
    Any partiucular feed you can recommend?
  • plantaddict09plantaddict09 Posts: 1
    hi all, i to am new to gardeners world.
    can anyonetell me can i grow raspberry's in grow bags?
    i live in alkaline soil, chalk and mostly dryish soil.
    i know raspberries will not grow in it, so i have to come up with a different why as i am get 6 canes, i not remember what name the raspberries are, but being disabled i want to try growing them, i grow other friut, in trays or pots.
    so can i grow them in a grow bag?
    thanks if you can help.

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I only ever use MPC for toms [in pots] with tomato food once the fruit trusses start to set.  :)

    Hardly worth growing your own at that price @david.pendleton! You could just employ a butler to bring them on a tray to you.... :D
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • clarke.bruntclarke.brunt Posts: 215
    edited February 2021
    That would be a bit ridiculous for grow bags! Yes - almost any of the standard bagged composts would be fine. Could be the same stuff you mention, but I used quite a lot of Westland "Multi purpose with added John Innes" last year (for other potted plants) - always think that's a bit of a strange name - with J.I. being a specific formula, once you add a bit of it so something else, then it isn't J.I.  I wouldn't use a 100% John Innes for tomatoes (i.e. like normal 'soil') - just from the weight point of view, and tomatoes are only going to be in it for the one growing season. The contents of Grow Bags tends to look like the product from a Green Waste composting plant (not saying anything wrong with that!).

    And don't worry much about which specific fertiliser - they're all essentially the same.

    So what would you put your Multi Purpose in - large pots?

    I usually grow my tomatoes outdoors in Grow Bags - all very 'techy' - they're in trays to hold water, with metal cane-support things. I always grow cordon (i.e. 'indeterminate', single stem, upright) tomatoes. Last year, with lockdown #1, I was wondering how to get Grow Bags. Fortunately, I was given 6 of those really thick Levington ones by someone. Left to my own devices, I'd always get the cheapest ones possible - though I add pots with the bottom cut out in each plant-position, which serves several purposes - more depth, can add more compost around the base of the plant, and you can direct the water/food into the pot. Beware: Grow Bags with 3 cordon tomatoes can get rather top-heavy and blow over! When storms were forecast last year, I added ropes tieing the tops of the canes to each other, and to various fixed objects.
  • david.pendletondavid.pendleton Posts: 16
    Fairygirl said:
    I only ever use MPC for toms [in pots] with tomato food once the fruit trusses start to set.  :)

    Hardly worth growing your own at that price @david.pendleton! You could just employ a butler to bring them on a tray to you.... :D
    I agree with tha:disappointed:

    Would take away the enjoyment knwoing each Tom had a cost of £2!
  • david.pendletondavid.pendleton Posts: 16
    clarke.brunt - Thansk for the information.

    I was thinking of some large pots, cutting off the bottoms, then putting them into the a 50L grow bag. I see that this is quite popular, then mulch the pot to reduce water loss.
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    edited February 2021
    David I have always thought the Growbags are a bit sparse and overpriced anyway so for my greenhouse toms I just cut a 60L bag of MPC in half and make sure there is some drainage.

    Had to do it on my own last year so found cutting a small line and removing some compost made it easier. Hoping I learned and it won't be so messy this year  :D 

    Edited to add:  Have fun with the greenhouse!  I guarantee it won't be big enough by the end of the season.
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I tried grow bags just the once and found them far too shallow and hard to keep properly watered so I took to growing tomatoes in deep pots using normal compost to which I added slow release fertiliser as well as using liquid tomato feeds.

    The upper tomato roots are the feeders and the lower ones seek water .

    In this new, to us, garden, I have space to grow them in the ground so when I pot up my seedlings I always bury them up to the first pair of leaves as this makes for extra rooting.  By the time they're in 6" pots they're ready to go out into my polytunnel, in the soil which has been improved with manure and a seep hose for watering with no leaf splash.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • CeresCeres Posts: 2,698
    If the compost situation is the same as last spring, then I will be turning to our local dairy for a delivery of the peat free compost they managed to source. It grew very nice tomato plants in large pots. Also okay for raspberries in big pots. It's worth seeing what local products are available as it works out a lot cheaper than paying through the nose for the established brands, and let's face it, some of those aren't very good.
    We also tried coir last year and will probably give it a go this year. It doesn't have the benefit of added plant food but that isn't a problem as you can add whichever product you feel happy using. And unlike bags of traditional compost, the stuff comes dry and in "bricks" which makes it easier to store until you need to use it. Just add water to make it spring back to life.
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