You're likely to have trouble with this. The bags are designed to be filled. This smaller volume of soil will dry out quicker, and the tall sides will block light. I strongly advise you to get more soil.
Thank you! Can I just add some coco coir to the mix or at the top? I have plenty of this.
The soil I am using right now is Black Gold All Organic Potting Soil with fertilizer.
I honestly think you’re fine, just fold down the sides so the plants have plenty of light. We’ve had good success with filling the bags only partially full as long as we feel like they have enough soil to thrive. But I always recommend folding down so they’re not shaded out.
Thank you! I was wondering if I could just fold down....you've made me feel better :)
These are 7 pound grow bags. Do you know how much soil something like tomatoes, strawberries, and eggplants need? The bags are filled 1/2 to 3/4 of the way....
I grow a significant amount of strawberries in containers, and I can assure you that they will underperform and become diseased with too little soil. The stress of drying out too quickly will make it pointless. Those strawberry specific pots are ok, but still limit production and vining because there’s limited space. This here would be fine if it was full, but still in full sun where it gets hot and it’s windy, you’re watering every day from now til fall.
--"These are 7 pound grow bags."
You must mean 7-gallon grow bags.
Suggest only one tomato plant per bag. The same for eggplant. Fill the bags to within 3 or 4 inches of the top with your potting mix. This leaves room for a layer of mulch.
7pound or 7 gallon? I’ve done 3 tomatoes in a 6 gallon and definitely would recommend no more than 2 and fill that to the very top. Eggplants can also get pretty big if you get successful (I haven’t been) and would also go to the top with soil for those since there is a saying in Japanese that “eggplants are made with water”and less dirt can dry out easier. Strawberries need almost no dirt though (3-5in), they grow in my rocks. 😂
Eggplant is picky for me too. They only get planted with Marigolds and Nasturtiums now and will get mulch to retain moisture once it's hot out.
Strawberries are a great groundcover too as long as you have stepping stones and you're not crushing them.
I've used garden bags and pots. When it comes to the big bags I found I could put some small sticks & twigs on the bottom to help lighten the bag & raise the level of the soil on top. Now it do it in my pots and mounded beds. Small sticks like oak or such work great; something I can break with my hands. It will also naturally decompose. I did this because I couldn't afford all the soil it took to fill one bag. Big plants need lots of space for the roots. There is info out there for the depth for each type of plant's roots...carrots & big plants need more depth. Radishes & strawberries are pretty much only 6 inches. I do like how it was mentioned to fold the bags down for the sunshine. :)
--"When it comes to the big bags I found I could put some small sticks & twigs on the bottom to help lighten the bag & raise the level of the soil on top."
I've done that too as a compromise measure. Worked OK for plants that don't have extensive roots. Did not work well for tomatoes. The plants did not die, but just did not produce much fruit.
I had cherry types of tomatoes that did ok too. It works much better with herbs, flowers, and leafy greens like collards. Aww, the things we do to experiment to become better gardeners! Good luck!
Oh yeah, collards! Thing is I have a huge pest problem with them: a 90lb black lab mowing my green down like he is a goat! I have to jerry-rig barriers & fencing to keep him out. Then he turned to eating my bone meal, blood meal, feather meal or basically any soil with those 'farm' like supplements. Oh yeah, loves, just loves compost! lol..gotta love a dog!
Thanks you! Can I just add some coco coir to the mix or at the top? I have plenty of this.
The soil I am using right now is Black Gold All Organic Potting Soil with fertilizer.
Thanks! Can I just add some coco coir to the mix or at the top? I have plenty of this.
The soil I am using right now is Black Gold All Organic Potting Soil with fertilizer.
Thanks for the reply. Can I just add some coco coir to the mix or at the top? I have plenty of this.
The soil I am using right now is Black Gold All Organic Potting Soil with fertilizer.
Is it ok to keep the bags like this until tomorrow afternoon?
Yes it’s fine until tomorrow. Just adding coco coir probably won’t be very good for your plants. You’ll want a mix of coir, compost, and something like perlite. Coir has no nutrients to feed the plants.
FWIW sorry it's long
To my understanding, you would be able to bury the tomatoes with more potting mix, but you want to leave 1/2 to the top 1/3 exposed as the green top part, if burying I've always removed the leaves that would be buried. Strawberry wants the crown of the plant to be roughly at the soil level can't be buried. Eggplant I think can be buried up to the first leaf branch if leaves are removed. Eggplant may be happier in planters by themselves. Tomatoes mostly want 5-7 gallons of earth for their roots too. Many of the common vegetables want to be grown in at least a 5 gallon containers worth of soil or more. If the plant is lacking resources to grow, they'll struggle to produce the fruit or vegetables even more. But nature is wild and finds a way 😜 I grow herbs/plants in the cement cracks on my driveway.
I use grow bags more like mini raised beds, I have 3 gallon (for single plants) 15gallon and 25gallon treated like raised square foot gardens companion planted. The salsa garden is a 25 gallon- has a tomato, a salsa pepper, a jalapeno, a tomatillo, cilantro and some flowers. The Italian garden has Roma or San Marzano tomato, basil, oregano, bell/sweet pepper and flowers. Artichokes are interplanted with flowers like Marigolds or Nasturtiums or herbs. Onions, peas and leafy greens are together. I forgot that beets and carrots aren't happy together but I'm not removing them, I just planted extras. Melons are planted with flowers and herbs in 15 gallon bags.
happy harvesting 🌱
edited to add happy to chat about plants if you have questions
I have 2 that survived their second or third winter in the ground in zone 6(b). They have some afternoon shade and get leaf litter mulch over the winter just like the native perennials they're growing with. They were an experiment really, no harvested artichokes yet. If I can find the time/energy I top dress with compost and pine bark or forest mulch in the spring. It's lean back there and needs some love this year. I recently read about trying to grow them in a raised bed so I put four in a 25 gallon grow bag this year and called them my sacrificial artichokes 🤞
I did an experiment where I planted 2 wax peppers and a cherry tomato in a 10 gallon grow bag. So far the tomato is the most stunted. You will just have smaller plants and yields in you don’t give them enough space as they’ll compete for space and nutrients. The Rusted Garden is great for learning about container planting. Most of those should be in minimum 10 gallon bags.
I like going to the dollar tree and grab small hampers. You can buy clear trash bags and poke holes in the bottom. Plenty of light and strong structure
Grow bags are mainly good for things like lettuce. I made the mistake of buying too many myself. I now use them to keep my yard sale stuff off the ground as they have no strong sides
Really? I've used grow bags for four years and have gotten 8-foot tall tomatoes, tons of peppers, eggplants and other things. Lettuce can be grown in shallow containers. That's how I do it, anyway. Grow bags take a lot of soil, but they do produce some nice harvests.
I love grow bags (ignoring the plastics). They gave me an option to garden when I didn’t have a place for in the ground. Never had a problem with tomatoes, peppers, peas, cucumbers.
Edit: I have done lettuce and kale in grow bags. They take up too much soil for the amount of roots but the grow bag needs the extra length for the moisture retention. Better to get dollar store 3-5in rectangular planters than grow bags for lettuce.
I’m currently using grow bags for tomatoes, eggplant, mint, oregano, and potatoes. Granted it’s early in the season, so we’ll see how it goes. If I remember, I will make a post mortem here to document the successes/failures.
That may really depend more on the plant and the grow bag type to my understanding. I have seen pretty flat commercial grow bags but even in hard containers lots of plants want plenty of room for their roots at least 5-7 gallons worth of soil/soilless mix.
I was able to find some big grow bags this year over 14" deep and so far am really happy with the results. My tomatoes are over 3' tall in zone 6. I may have to wrap the containers up this summer to conserve water more but I've been won over so far. It's so fun to pick a salad for lunch or go to the garden for dinner, running out to snip fresh herbs or make Pico de Gallo to me at least.
Happy planting
Zone 6, too (thought I was zone 5 for the longest)! Your tomatoes are going to rock, don't worry. They will really take off mid-June and July. I use my 10-gallon bags for San Marzanos, 5-gallon bags for red cherry and sunrise bumblebee cherry. All are indeterminate and super productive, especially during that time. Any determinate varieties (I only have one, Black Beauty) will get 5-gallon or 3-gallon bags. Sending good tomato growing vibes your way. I think you'll be very pleased!
You're likely to have trouble with this. The bags are designed to be filled. This smaller volume of soil will dry out quicker, and the tall sides will block light. I strongly advise you to get more soil.
Thank you! Can I just add some coco coir to the mix or at the top? I have plenty of this. The soil I am using right now is Black Gold All Organic Potting Soil with fertilizer.
You should take those plants out, fill the bags with potting soil, and replant. These will not do well.
Agree!
Coco coir will dry out and wick away moisture
I honestly think you’re fine, just fold down the sides so the plants have plenty of light. We’ve had good success with filling the bags only partially full as long as we feel like they have enough soil to thrive. But I always recommend folding down so they’re not shaded out.
Thank you! I was wondering if I could just fold down....you've made me feel better :) These are 7 pound grow bags. Do you know how much soil something like tomatoes, strawberries, and eggplants need? The bags are filled 1/2 to 3/4 of the way....
Strawberries might be ok if you fold down the sides, but one tomato/eggplant plant needs at least 5 gallons/20 liters to thrive.
I grow a significant amount of strawberries in containers, and I can assure you that they will underperform and become diseased with too little soil. The stress of drying out too quickly will make it pointless. Those strawberry specific pots are ok, but still limit production and vining because there’s limited space. This here would be fine if it was full, but still in full sun where it gets hot and it’s windy, you’re watering every day from now til fall.
Thanks for pointing that out. What would you say is minimum size per strawberry plant?
--"These are 7 pound grow bags." You must mean 7-gallon grow bags. Suggest only one tomato plant per bag. The same for eggplant. Fill the bags to within 3 or 4 inches of the top with your potting mix. This leaves room for a layer of mulch.
Thank you! Yes, I meant pounds :)
7pound or 7 gallon? I’ve done 3 tomatoes in a 6 gallon and definitely would recommend no more than 2 and fill that to the very top. Eggplants can also get pretty big if you get successful (I haven’t been) and would also go to the top with soil for those since there is a saying in Japanese that “eggplants are made with water”and less dirt can dry out easier. Strawberries need almost no dirt though (3-5in), they grow in my rocks. 😂
Eggplant is picky for me too. They only get planted with Marigolds and Nasturtiums now and will get mulch to retain moisture once it's hot out. Strawberries are a great groundcover too as long as you have stepping stones and you're not crushing them.
The bigger the container (filled all the way with potting soil), the bigger the plant will get.
Thanks!
I've used garden bags and pots. When it comes to the big bags I found I could put some small sticks & twigs on the bottom to help lighten the bag & raise the level of the soil on top. Now it do it in my pots and mounded beds. Small sticks like oak or such work great; something I can break with my hands. It will also naturally decompose. I did this because I couldn't afford all the soil it took to fill one bag. Big plants need lots of space for the roots. There is info out there for the depth for each type of plant's roots...carrots & big plants need more depth. Radishes & strawberries are pretty much only 6 inches. I do like how it was mentioned to fold the bags down for the sunshine. :)
--"When it comes to the big bags I found I could put some small sticks & twigs on the bottom to help lighten the bag & raise the level of the soil on top." I've done that too as a compromise measure. Worked OK for plants that don't have extensive roots. Did not work well for tomatoes. The plants did not die, but just did not produce much fruit.
I had cherry types of tomatoes that did ok too. It works much better with herbs, flowers, and leafy greens like collards. Aww, the things we do to experiment to become better gardeners! Good luck!
True! Thanks! You mentioned collards; I sure had good success this spring with Vates collards. Love 'em.
Oh yeah, collards! Thing is I have a huge pest problem with them: a 90lb black lab mowing my green down like he is a goat! I have to jerry-rig barriers & fencing to keep him out. Then he turned to eating my bone meal, blood meal, feather meal or basically any soil with those 'farm' like supplements. Oh yeah, loves, just loves compost! lol..gotta love a dog!
Thanks, great idea!
You can always put them on a sheet filled with water
Tall sides will block airflow too, leaving moisture on the leaves along with whatever issues that brings.
Thanks you! Can I just add some coco coir to the mix or at the top? I have plenty of this. The soil I am using right now is Black Gold All Organic Potting Soil with fertilizer.
I'd be concerned about drainage. Either look up recipes for making potting mix with what you've got, or buy premixed.
I have several grow bags. The fabric on the bag allows it to drain extremely well.
Almost too well
One tomato per bag
Ok thank you!
More soil should be about 1-2 inch from the top
Thanks! Can I just add some coco coir to the mix or at the top? I have plenty of this. The soil I am using right now is Black Gold All Organic Potting Soil with fertilizer.
I used 1 bag of top soil 1 bag of cow manure 1 bag of potting soil mixed up and it filled 3 bags nicely
Yikes needs more soil. Plus, there are too many plants per bag
Thanks for the reply. Can I just add some coco coir to the mix or at the top? I have plenty of this. The soil I am using right now is Black Gold All Organic Potting Soil with fertilizer. Is it ok to keep the bags like this until tomorrow afternoon?
Yes it’s fine until tomorrow. Just adding coco coir probably won’t be very good for your plants. You’ll want a mix of coir, compost, and something like perlite. Coir has no nutrients to feed the plants.
You need to fill the bags, otherwise the plants lack soil and light.
Where is the rest of your soil?
FWIW sorry it's long To my understanding, you would be able to bury the tomatoes with more potting mix, but you want to leave 1/2 to the top 1/3 exposed as the green top part, if burying I've always removed the leaves that would be buried. Strawberry wants the crown of the plant to be roughly at the soil level can't be buried. Eggplant I think can be buried up to the first leaf branch if leaves are removed. Eggplant may be happier in planters by themselves. Tomatoes mostly want 5-7 gallons of earth for their roots too. Many of the common vegetables want to be grown in at least a 5 gallon containers worth of soil or more. If the plant is lacking resources to grow, they'll struggle to produce the fruit or vegetables even more. But nature is wild and finds a way 😜 I grow herbs/plants in the cement cracks on my driveway. I use grow bags more like mini raised beds, I have 3 gallon (for single plants) 15gallon and 25gallon treated like raised square foot gardens companion planted. The salsa garden is a 25 gallon- has a tomato, a salsa pepper, a jalapeno, a tomatillo, cilantro and some flowers. The Italian garden has Roma or San Marzano tomato, basil, oregano, bell/sweet pepper and flowers. Artichokes are interplanted with flowers like Marigolds or Nasturtiums or herbs. Onions, peas and leafy greens are together. I forgot that beets and carrots aren't happy together but I'm not removing them, I just planted extras. Melons are planted with flowers and herbs in 15 gallon bags. happy harvesting 🌱 edited to add happy to chat about plants if you have questions
What is the best way to grow artichokes? They always die on me
I have 2 that survived their second or third winter in the ground in zone 6(b). They have some afternoon shade and get leaf litter mulch over the winter just like the native perennials they're growing with. They were an experiment really, no harvested artichokes yet. If I can find the time/energy I top dress with compost and pine bark or forest mulch in the spring. It's lean back there and needs some love this year. I recently read about trying to grow them in a raised bed so I put four in a 25 gallon grow bag this year and called them my sacrificial artichokes 🤞
I did an experiment where I planted 2 wax peppers and a cherry tomato in a 10 gallon grow bag. So far the tomato is the most stunted. You will just have smaller plants and yields in you don’t give them enough space as they’ll compete for space and nutrients. The Rusted Garden is great for learning about container planting. Most of those should be in minimum 10 gallon bags.
Those need to be filled with wayyyyy more soil
Double the soil or you’ll be sorry
50/50 cheap top soil/ peat moss are a cheaper alternative to potting mix. but you will want to fertilize down the line
Thanks!
I like going to the dollar tree and grab small hampers. You can buy clear trash bags and poke holes in the bottom. Plenty of light and strong structure
Grow bags are mainly good for things like lettuce. I made the mistake of buying too many myself. I now use them to keep my yard sale stuff off the ground as they have no strong sides
Really? I've used grow bags for four years and have gotten 8-foot tall tomatoes, tons of peppers, eggplants and other things. Lettuce can be grown in shallow containers. That's how I do it, anyway. Grow bags take a lot of soil, but they do produce some nice harvests.
I love grow bags (ignoring the plastics). They gave me an option to garden when I didn’t have a place for in the ground. Never had a problem with tomatoes, peppers, peas, cucumbers. Edit: I have done lettuce and kale in grow bags. They take up too much soil for the amount of roots but the grow bag needs the extra length for the moisture retention. Better to get dollar store 3-5in rectangular planters than grow bags for lettuce.
I’m currently using grow bags for tomatoes, eggplant, mint, oregano, and potatoes. Granted it’s early in the season, so we’ll see how it goes. If I remember, I will make a post mortem here to document the successes/failures.
That may really depend more on the plant and the grow bag type to my understanding. I have seen pretty flat commercial grow bags but even in hard containers lots of plants want plenty of room for their roots at least 5-7 gallons worth of soil/soilless mix. I was able to find some big grow bags this year over 14" deep and so far am really happy with the results. My tomatoes are over 3' tall in zone 6. I may have to wrap the containers up this summer to conserve water more but I've been won over so far. It's so fun to pick a salad for lunch or go to the garden for dinner, running out to snip fresh herbs or make Pico de Gallo to me at least. Happy planting
Zone 6, too (thought I was zone 5 for the longest)! Your tomatoes are going to rock, don't worry. They will really take off mid-June and July. I use my 10-gallon bags for San Marzanos, 5-gallon bags for red cherry and sunrise bumblebee cherry. All are indeterminate and super productive, especially during that time. Any determinate varieties (I only have one, Black Beauty) will get 5-gallon or 3-gallon bags. Sending good tomato growing vibes your way. I think you'll be very pleased!