On 31 Dec, 14:36, lloyd wrote:
On Thu, 31 Dec 2009 13:43:47 -0000, "David WE Roberts"





wrote:

"lloyd" wrote in message
.. .
Great success last year, well they grew for me so that is a rarity in
itself. Couple questions. I think three plants in a bag is too much,
perhaps two would be better? Could I dig a hole big enough for the bag
contents and then grow from there, or does the bag itself have some
protective role too?

What do you think?

It is worthwhile each year to check the price of Grobags against the price
of other compost.
Thye contents are usually comparable - designed to grow flowers and
vegetables - and for some reason the sheds often use a "stack 'em high sell
'em cheap" policy for Grobags but not for compost.
Therefore it is always worthwhile to check prices whenever you need a
general purpose compost.
A couple of years ago HomeBase did a really good deal on peat free Grobags
which performed very well for me; however they didn't seem to do it this
year.

Grobags are (I think) intended for seasonal crops where you don't have a
vegetable patch.
You can put them on any hard standing and grow stuff in them and you don't
have any problems with disease carried over from one year to the next, as
you may have with a vegetable plot.

I find that my haphazard watering does not suit Grobags - once they dry out
they are very hard to re-wet.
I grow tomatoes in pots, usually.

I found my grow bags did very well, but the one pot snuffed it very
quickly! Strange.





I find that a single Grobag will fill at least two pots and that pots are
easier to manage, including easire to fit canes to support tall plants.

My 'magic mixture' (when I have the time/energy) is to get Grobags, top soil
(normally cheaper than JI No. 3) and manure. All can be bought in bulk at
HomeBase or similar sheds.
I then mix them together at about 1/2 bag manure, a Grobag, and 1/2 a bag of
topsoil.
This results in a mixture which is light (due to the Grobag), rich in
organics (due to the manure) and easy to re-wet (due to the top soil).
Tomatoes seem to do well in this mixture, in pots, as do courgettes and
cucumbers.

This year I didn't have time for anything fancy so I just cleared a small
patch of flower bed, dug in some chicken sh*t, Gromore, and a bag of
HomeBase manure and slammed in a couple of store bought cherry tomato
plants.
I then left for a month for an extended holiday on a narrow boat.
The tomatoes flourished and have needed very little feeding or watering even
though it has been a dry year at times.

Summary:
Buy Grobags and transfer contents to pots to grow tomatoes on hard standing.
Look at your flower beds and slot a tomato plant or two into gaps (having
first manured and fed the area) for a more relaxed approach.

Thank God for the summary I was getting lost

I think this year I will plant a couple of growbag contents and see
how I get on. Thank you for the detailed help.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I an supprised no one has said to punch holes in the bottom of the
grow bags and then place then on the soil.
The roots will find their way into the soil and will improve the crop,
but at the end of the season you can move the growbag more easily and
use the spent compost where you wish.
David Hill