Blog: Why I’m ditching grow bags for good
While it’s good to see more peat-free grow bags on the market, I’ve decided to give them a miss for good, instead growing tomatoes in pots.
Why? I hear you gasp. It’s a matter of logistics and nagging from my family over my ongoing balance problem (you’ll soon see why). Most of my tomatoes grow in the conservatory, a 30ft x 5ft structure which was originally a path around the side of the house. Read more about growing tomatoes and the wonderful Rosella.
As with so many houses in Gateshead, it’s built on a hill, so the house has two storeys at the front and three at the back. To reach the kitchen and conservatory, you have to go up a hefty flight of stairs. Read more about growing tomatoes in grow bags.
Growing tomatoes in pots – Lifting sacks of soil upstairs
That means carting large quantities of soil up there, never a popular job. With the conservatory being so narrow, grow bags and trays hang over the sills, held up by Heath Robinson-type stakes. It always was an accident waiting to happen and made watering (and access to the kitchen) a thankless task and a complete trip hazard.
There was also the added problem of lugging the used bags back out at the end of the season, where they were invariably dumped until bit by bit, I used them as mulch. With this system, I have a manageable pot I can carry down without pestering other people for help. Placing ring culture pots on top of grow bags is another tiresome chore, as I find they dry out too quickly without them.
Pots all the way
All in all, quite a case against it. What to use instead? It’s a combination of 10″ pots and solid 10″ ring culture containers (they’re bottomless). They all fit well into the windowsill drip trays – the ring culture pots squeeze into the trays, getting four plants per tray. Using this method, I’ve fitted in 43 plants, about double that of my normal tally.
Excess water soon evaporates away, so I’m hoping root rot won’t be a problem with the bottomless pots. I plan to stop them before they become too unmanageable and have to be picked by ladder (again, not great for the balance-deficient), so even if the yield per plant is less, I should end up with a bigger overall crop.
Growing tomatoes in pots – Tomato catch-up – early June
My tomatoes are late according to my seasonal timetables. I sowed them later than usual due to the bad weather, then I was too busy to pot them on like I normally do, so they’re a bit straggly but still have their first and second flower trusses.
As to the varieties, there are five – the usual Sungold, Suncherry Premium and Rosella, joined this year by Garnet and Santonio. I’m using New Horizon Peat Free & Organic Multi-Purpose Compost because it’s the only one my local garden centre stocks. I don’t drive, and beggars can’t be choosers when you have to rely on multiple trips for soil!
