Grow Bags

See the grow bag display next to the straw bale garden and many other displays at the Teaching and Display Garden.  

Several years ago there was a Meet Me In the Garden program at the Spooner Agriculture Research Station Teaching and Display Garden featuring growing in containers with invites to compete/show a container from home. I happened to win a door prize of some grow bags with the picture of the plant on the front.

I found that using potting soil mixed with compost proved to be too heavy for those bags. The rain and weight prompted the bottoms to fall apart.  I’ve used several different types of bags since then and have been able to reuse them for almost 5 years now. I have them on my decks facing south and east.

The display grow bags are from Gardener’s Supply Company, which provides many different sizes. Since our garden site is very sunny and often quite windy I chose to use potting MIX with moisture control in all the bags. I also used an organic Tomato fertilizer as well a soluble fertilizer for the other plants.

There is a purple potato bag planted with purple fingerling potatoes, a dwarf tomato plant called Arctic Rose as well as other vegetables.  There are two large black bags one of which contains Kale, eggplant and Spooky Squash which I received from Seed Savers. If the lone squash left survives the critters, it will provide enough for a pie. The other grow bag I used as the “right plant in the right place” of succulents needing less water and lovers of sun.

Like any container you need to water them often, which in our garden setting has been quite the challenge this year. At home, since they are lighter and have handles, I’ve been able to move them out of harm’s way during strong hail and thunderstorms.

I hope that you enjoy this display and consider trying them, a kitchen garden on a patio would be a good place for a large black bag.

Carol Taylor, UW-Extension Master Gardener Volunteer