By Jackie Sledge
Big Country Master Gardener Association
I started experimenting recently with different ways to grow plants, and I thought I would share some of my experiences with you. My soil is clay, and it is difficult to dig holes to put any size plant in the ground. I can usually dig a few inches, fill the hole with water, dig a few more inches, fill the hole with water, and keep repeating until I have a hole deep and wide enough for my new plant. To make gardening easier, I have added raised beds, pots, planters, and grow bags in the beds, and I like the variety of shapes, sizes, and colors that they add to the landscape.
The first experiment I’ll tell you about is gardening in grow bags.
What is a grow bag?
A grow bag is similar to a container, but it is made from durable fabric that is breathable, allowing for better air circulation and better movement of water and nutrients through the soil.
What are the benefits of gardening in grow bags?
1 – Grow bags are versatile. Grow bags come in many sizes, shapes, and colors to fit in any landscape. They can be shallow and wide, tall and narrow, multi-pocket, or pop-up raised beds. Most grow bags have handles that make them easier to carry to allow you to move plants from sun to shade or shade to sun as needed to help them grow better. You can purchase different heights of grow bags so you can arrange them with taller bags in the back of a garden against a wall or fence and shorter ones in front, and all plants will be able to get consistent sunlight. Another bonus for using grow bags is that they take up less space when you cluster them close together in the landscape or when you move them indoors to overwinter the plants.
2 – Using grow bags prevents root circling, and plants grown in containers are prone to root circling. When the root system reaches the edge of a regular pot, it continues to grow but starts to circle around the pot because there is no other place for it to go. If the plant is in a grow bag, the root system hits the fabric area that is air-rich and low in water and nutrients. The environment causes the tips of the roots to die and forces the plant to produce new roots in other areas of the root system. This “air pruning” results in a much healthier root system.
3 – Using a light-colored grow bag causes “light pruning.” The root ends will die because the fabric will not block out light as effectively as darker fabric does. Exposure to light in addition to “air pruning” will result in a stronger, more balanced root system.
4 – Grow bags are porous and require more watering than an average container. Since most plants die because of overwatering, this is less likely to happen in a grow bag.
5 – Hot summer temperatures heat up the soil in plastic pots to a level that can kill the plants. Grow bags are breathable, and that helps regulate the soil temperature. You can select a grow bag in a lighter-colored fabric for more protection if the plant is sensitive to heat.
6 – Grow bags are easy to store when not being used. Regular pots must be cleaned, stacked, and stored, and that can take up a lot of room. Grow bags are made from fabric so they can be washed in a washing machine and then either folded or rolled up for storage.
7 – You can use fabric and make your grow bags. You can also use burlap sacks, potting mix or soil bags, and reusable shopping bags instead of buying grow bags.
What are the issues or problems of gardening in grow bags?
1 – Grow bags won’t last as long as plastic, concrete, or terra cotta pots. A grow bag is expected to last several growing seasons. How long a grow bag will last depends on the quality of the bag, the environmental conditions in which it was used, and how it was stored.
2 – Some gardeners think grow bags aren’t as aesthetically pleasing as decorative pots or containers. You can purchase grow bags in a variety of colors, sizes, and shapes, but regular containers come in more sizes, colors, shapes, and designs. This is a personal preference.
3 – Grow bags require more water because they are made with fabric and lose water through all sides and the bottom.
4 – Grow bags placed directly on surfaces can cause water damage or staining because the bags have porous fabric bottoms. You can easily use other watering or elevation options to prevent damage. This is not a problem if the grow bags are placed on the ground.
5 – Small grow bags are easily moved, but larger ones are either difficult or impossible to move after they are filled with soil, planted into, and watered. Large grow bags can be put on wheeled plant dollies before adding soil and plants so they can be moved after planting or after the growing season.
Additional tips for successful grow bag gardening:
1 – You need to check the soil in the grow bag every morning to determine if water is needed. If it is, water the center of each grow bag with a small amount of water to prevent excessive loss. Do this with all grow bags in the landscape. Then go back to the first bag and add more water. Since the soil has been rehydrated, it will accept and use the additional water. Do this second watering in all grow bags.
2 – Add mulch to grow bags to preserve moisture in the soil and to regulate the soil temperature. You can use straw, wood chips, bark, crushed leaves, or grass clippings.
3 – You can add a self-watering system to grow bags. Plastic or terra cotta drainage trays that have sides high enough to hold 2 inches of water can be put under grow bags to help with watering.
4 – Drip irrigation can be used by adding emitters, drippers on stakes, or soaker hoses in grow bags. You can add an automated timer to the drip system for consistent and controlled watering.
5 – When the temperature is high, adjust your watering schedule or system to water more, group grow bags close together to reduce the surface area for evaporation, move bags to a partly shaded area, and add more mulch.
6 – Fertilize plants as needed.
7 – Use the same techniques to protect plants in grow bags as you would plants in regular pots or in the ground. For example, you can use cloches, plastic milk jugs or bottles, tomato cages, laundry baskets, hoop houses, trellises, netting, or cold frames.
I know that’s a lot of information, but I don’t want you to make some of the same mistakes I made because I thought I could just unfold the grow bag, add soil, and put in plants. I have made adjustments and now I am very pleased with growing plants in grow bags.
The Big Country Master Gardener Association presents free education programs every month. There is a program at 6:00 p.m. on the 1st Tuesday of the month at the Abilene Public Library South Branch in the Mall of Abilene, and the same program is presented again at 10:00 a.m. on the 2nd Friday of the month at the Abilene Public Library main branch in downtown Abilene. We also have a Master Gardener Saturday Seminar from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on the last Saturday of the month from February through August in the Taylor County Extension Office Conference Room. The theme for the monthly BCMGA Library and Saturday Seminar presentations in 2025 is “The Year of the Garden.”
We are here to help you. If you have any questions, call the Taylor County Extension Office at 325-672-6048 or email us at bcmgardeners@yahoo.com. We hope you will also visit our Facebook page, our website at bcmgtx.org, and the BCMGA YouTube channel for all Big Country Master Gardener information, events, and training.
Until next week, happy gardening!
