Is anyone else shocked at the cost of grow bags this year ? My local diy/garden superstore is charging £8 per bag. Hardly seems worth it for a few homegrown tomatoes. Are there any good, preferably organic, cheaper products available ?
Have a look at the sacks - often sold as Potato sacks and widely available. They will last for years and altho you will need to factor in the cost of filling them, they could prove more worthwhile in the long run
Strawberry growers use them on trestles and regularly change them for each season. They then offer the used ones free if you collect them but, I found they're great for growing onions (after splitting open and laying on the garden) which suggests strawberries don't use what onions require. Dug in after my onions, they improved the soil nicely.
Probably cheaper to just buy ordinary compost etc, and use pots. Cheap builders' buckets are good if it's just for utilitarian use. I've never really seen the point of growbags. Aren't they just compost - with additives [like compost] but with a few circles marked for putting pots into? They're also more useful if, like ordinary compost, they're split across the middle and used as two large containers, especially if you don't have large pots, or want to grow something like potatoes, so that you have enough room. Always should be shaken well before using too.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I’m not sure how much of a bargain they really are even with postage included. They don’t weigh much. I bought that compost with the big yellow flower on the bag, in Morrison last year, the offer was 3 bags for 15.00, this company want 7.99 each, OK postage is included so if you can’t get out then it would be a bargain to you. You’d get lots of pots filled with a 70lt bag. Grow bags, nowhere near that. They’re quite light. As Fairygirl says, best thing to do with those is cut them in half and up turn like a flower pot.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
I paid 7.99 for mine but they are extra large and have feed added. I think tomorite brand? I am quite sure that I could buy tomatoes much cheaper than growing them but I really love growing and eating my own.
@debs64. Did the large ones weigh as much as a bag of compost, 70lts? You can buy a bottle of tomato food from the pound shop, it’s just as good as a we’ll know brand, may use a bit more but for the price will last a season at least.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
I think it depends on the tom you're growing, and how you're growing it though @debs64. Growing in the ground -outside or in a gr'house, will be cheaper for example. I know you can't do that, but for many people it'll be quite economic.
Also, I suppose growing our own helps to get our heads in the 'growing seasonally' mindset.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Probably cheaper to just buy ordinary compost etc, and use pots. Cheap builders' buckets are good if it's just for utilitarian use. I've never really seen the point of growbags. Aren't they just compost - with additives [like compost] but with a few circles marked for putting pots into? They're also more useful if, like ordinary compost, they're split across the middle and used as two large containers, especially if you don't have large pots, or want to grow something like potatoes, so that you have enough room. Always should be shaken well before using too.
Thank you everyone for the ideas. In the past I’ve found growbags as an economical way of filling pots for the greenhouse. I’d typically get 3 pots per bag for toms., cucumber and peppers. I think I’ll do a comparison and probably go for a 70/75 L bag of multi purpose. I wasn’t impressed with the last bag from the big orange and white chain. Found it light and fibrous and just doesn’t hold moisture.
Posts
https://www.homefire.co.uk/grow-bag-3-plant.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9deiBhC1ARIsAHLjR2DkzhhX3FYz2TBwuWCdv4ftJN_z_XXuP4wJ8YSIu3-vZlbmbeKidiEaAkpgEALw_wcB
- brand is Goodwins.
Delivery is included in the price apparently. I just might order three from them.
Seems Homefire are diversifying into gardens.
Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border.
I've never really seen the point of growbags. Aren't they just compost - with additives [like compost] but with a few circles marked for putting pots into?
They're also more useful if, like ordinary compost, they're split across the middle and used as two large containers, especially if you don't have large pots, or want to grow something like potatoes, so that you have enough room.
Always should be shaken well before using too.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I bought that compost with the big yellow flower on the bag, in Morrison last year, the offer was 3 bags for 15.00, this company want 7.99 each, OK postage is included so if you can’t get out then it would be a bargain to you. You’d get lots of pots filled with a 70lt bag.
Grow bags, nowhere near that. They’re quite light. As Fairygirl says, best thing to do with those is cut them in half and up turn like a flower pot.
You can buy a bottle of tomato food from the pound shop, it’s just as good as a we’ll know brand, may use a bit more but for the price will last a season at least.
I know you can't do that, but for many people it'll be quite economic.
Also, I suppose growing our own helps to get our heads in the 'growing seasonally' mindset.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...