grow bag question (mainly) and more

[OmahaJB]

Michael,

I ended up finding a place that sells grow bags that are white on the outside (to reflect sunlight back onto the plants according to the company), and black on the inside (to help keep heat from escaping during cooler parts of the year).

I purchased 20 7-gal and 20 10-gal bags. The cost ended up being $35 for the bags and $8 for s/h. not too bad, especially the shipping which I worried might be cost prohibitive. They should arrive next week so I'll see then if the quality looks to be ok.

Wormsway.com is where I found them.

Thanks again for the advice,

Jeff

[mdvpc]

Jeff-I have seen those at wormsway. Please let us know how they do for you.

[OmahaJB]

The bags came last week. My initial reaction was they don't look like 7-gal & 10-gal bags, but they must be. Even after opening them up completely the 7-gal look similar in size to my 3-gal buckets. I'm sure they must be the size indicated, but they just appear smaller than I had anticipated.

Not sure if they'll last more than 1 year because they are fairly thin. Will see....

Jeff

[mdvpc]

Jeff-wait till you start filling them-the grow bags always look small until the growing medium opens them up.

[akgardengirl]

Jeff,
I have been using the smallest of the black bags, qt. size, instead of 4" pots to put seedlings in. I roll the tops down and as the plant grows, I just unroll some of the top and add more grow mix. After I am done with them, they are rinsed out, dried, and put away to use the next spring. Saves space! This summer was the 1st time I used the bigger white 5 gallon grow bags. Easy to fill up and move around with the handles and are much sturdier than the black with having some kind of woven webbing in them. They are kind of like the bags you would get sand/gravel in. I don't know about the white color up here tho as we usually need all the heat we can get. I expect to get several year's use out of them. I bought them from Peaceful Valley when they were 1/2 price this spring. Some eagle eye at TV alerted us of the sale. Shipping was ridiculous to Alaska, almost as much as the 25 grow bags.
Sue

[OmahaJB]

Thanks Sue. I'll have to keep Peaceful Valley in mind in case the bags from Worms Way get torn up by the roots of the plants and by Mother Nature wearing them down. It'd be nice though if I could get a couple of years out of them.

Jeff