Transistioning seedlings to the GH

[FourOaks]

Well today was moving day for my tomato seedlings. They didn't seem to mind. For the most part I have 3 seedlings per 4 inch pot. It doesn't look like it, but there is roughly 140 seedlings in the first picture.

I also managed to transplant 15 seedlings into their permanent home. This year im using 7 gallon grow bags. I specifally searched out white bags to help reflect the heat. Last year I used 5 gallon bags with pretty good success. I think the 7 gallon should do even better.

Unfortunately these 15 plants will for now be mystery 'maters. When I originally moved the seedlings into the 4 inch pot a few weeks back, I got sidetracked. I forgot to label the transplants, then several days later I realized it. My best guess in order of likeliness - A. Big Beef, B. Better Boy, C. Celebrity.

Oh well.

[PureHarvest]

My man! Looking good.
I'm a bag man myself.
Where did you get the white bags?
I have black 5 gallon size and I had to paint them white last year.
I really don't want to go through that this year because I will have 75 or more to do.
That and I'm thinking 7 gallon would be good for the varieties that I'm putting 2 plants per bag.

[FourOaks]

Thanks for the compliments Pure Harvest.

I mostly grow in bags due to poor soil. I have about 4.5 Acres of land, and it drains like a stopped up sink. Im in the Piedmont region of NC and we have a really high water table. So the best thing for me is raised beds, which I do have and/or Grow Bags. I have tried both poly and the cloth bags that "air prune". Didn't have a lot of luck with the cloth bags.

So, to answer your question, I got these particular 7 gallon bags from Amazon. Im not sure if its kosher to put a direct link, so just search:

ViagrowTM 7 gallon Grow Bag, 25 pack

I just looked and the seller on Amazon (Atlantis Hydroponics) who I bought mine from, no longer has them. I paid $11 for each pack. The current cheapest price appears to be $20. Thats a real shame. I wish I had bought more now. I bought 5 packs.



The Viagrow brand seems to be a good quality bag. They are thick. Last year I used Sunleaves brand 5 gallon bags and they are high quality as well. The Sunleaves brand I bought from my local Hydroponics store. Im all about supporting local business, but price wise it didn't make sense. I was able to get the 7 gallon for a good bit cheaper then the 5 gallon.


You mentioned that your putting 2 plants per bag? Last year I did 2 pepper plants per bag and that worked quite well, they were very happy. 1 Tomato per 5 gallon bags was "ok". Im not sure that 2 Toms. per 7 gallon would work. But give it a shot.


What varieties are you going to try?

[PureHarvest]

I pruned the plants to a single stem, removing all suckers. 2 plants done this way seemed fine. I trained them up a string with trellis clips.
I'm now thinking 7 gallons would give me more potential. I will try both 5 and 7 and see. At the end of the year, none of the bags were rootbound, so I'm curious to do a trial since it will cost more to use more promix HP in each bag.

I'm growing:
Black Beauty, Dark Queen, the Tie Dyes, Large Barred Boar, Black and Brown Boar, Girl Girl's Weird Thing, Blue Chocolate, Purple Bumble Bee, Delicious, Chapman, Big Zac, about 9 different dwarfs covering green/red/yellow/orange, Paul Robeson, and Pierce's Pride.
On the dwarfs, I'm going to try one per bag, and two per bag, no pruning on either. Still thinking about pruning a few to see what happens.

[Father'sDaughter]

Home Depot has the Viagrow 7 gallon bags for $16.98 and either free shipping to the store or free shipping to your address with a $45 minimum order.

[PureHarvest]

Thanks for the heads up on the bags guys.
I searched the whites in the past, but a lot of the comments said the product came black or that sometimes there were no holes, wrong size etc., so I passed.

I will check out the HD ones.

Edit: Just ordered 50 to come in at my local HD.

Thanks for the heads up Farmer'sDaughter!

[FourOaks]

Originally Posted by PureHarvest

I pruned the plants to a single stem, removing all suckers. 2 plants done this way seemed fine. I trained them up a string with trellis clips...

Ok then. Single stem would certainly work I would think. Always wanted to try something like that, just seems to elude me when it comes time.

Originally Posted by Father'sDaughter

Home Depot has the Viagrow 7 gallon bags for $16.98 and either free shipping to the store or free shipping to your address with a $45 minimum order.

Thanks for mentioning that. I completely forgot about HD having them. I almost purchased from HD when I found them on Amazon cheaper. Obviously that is now a moot point, being that my seller no longer has them.

Originally Posted by Worth1

Has anyone tried doubled up heavy duty trash bags with a drain hole.
I grew a New Big Dwarf to a very good size for plant out in a 1 quart ziplock bag.

The plants look nice by the way.
Worth

If heavy duty trash bags came in white, I would give it a try. I think black grow bags would only truly work for those folks up north, with their cooler summers.

Thanks for the compliment.

Originally Posted by PureHarvest

Thanks for the heads up on the bags guys.
I searched the whites in the past, but a lot of the comments said the product came black or that sometimes there were no holes, wrong size etc., so I passed.

I will check out the HD ones.

Edit: Just ordered 50 to come in at my local HD.

Thanks for the heads up Farmer'sDaughter!

Glad you found some to order. Also, I think the quality of the bags have come a long ways. I would have no hesitation vouching for both Viagrow and Sunleaves brand bags. Both are just good quality.

I plan to reuse last years 5 gallon bags for my peppers. They have held up just fine.

[Father'sDaughter]

And as I'm a bag lady myself, here's what I've found --

Peppers -- compact hots (habanero, ghosts) are perfectly happy in either a three of five gallon bag. Slightly larger ones (jalapeño, pepperoncini, Aji Limon) do better in a five gallon.

Dwarf tomatoes -- if you keep on top of watering and fertilizing, they do great in a five gallon bag. Last year I put one in a 10 gallon (ran out of fives) and really didn't see any difference in plant size or production. I also stuck it's sibling in a three gallon bag and while it didn't grow as large, I still got a decent yield from it.

Tomatoes -- last year I had Moravsky Div, San Marzano Nano/Bush and Early Wonder Pink in 10 gallon bags (again, I forgot to order more fives). The year before I had an EWP in a five gallon bag. The one in the ten gallon did grow a bit larger and produced more, but I think ten gallons was overkill. I'm guessing seven gallons and one plant would be ideal.

[Worth1]

Has anyone tried doubled up heavy duty trash bags with a drain hole.
I grew a New Big Dwarf to a very good size for plant out in a 1 quart ziplock bag.

The plants look nice by the way.

Worth

[BigVanVader]

The only thing I dislike about bags is having to spend so much on dirt. If I could just fill em with manure and red clay id use them a lot more.

[Ricky Shaw]

No kidding on the pro-mix, ballpark I'm thinking I need about 10lbs a tomato plant for breakeven. Glad it's only a hobby.

[PureHarvest]

What were you paying for 3.8 cuft HP?

It costs me about 5.75 to fill a 5-gal bag.

BigVan, it's all relative i guess to other costs and your yields and selling price. But it is a my highest input cost per plant other than labor.
I am talking to a couple big greenhouse guys I know and am looking into bulk delivery options of media. I just love HP, so it's hard to get an apples to apples comparison on product , irrespective of price.
I could get peat, perlite and limestone and make my own, but I don't want to mess with setting up a mixing rig and breathe the dust etc. That will probably change in the future when I have time to plan and do, as I imagine that will save some good $$$. Or the bulk deliver comes through and is cheaper than I can make it...

[FourOaks]

Glad to see some folks with an interest in the grow bags. One of the biggest concerns is the cost of filling the bags.

Its true that it can be expensive, at first. I have no reservations with recycling soil. None what so ever. Another point, at least for me is a native soil drainage issue.

Now onto the cost..

Locally I buy my products. I purchase my ingredients and mix my own. I use 3 parts peat to 1 part perlite, plus lime.

$11 3 cu.ft. peat moss (need 2 of those)
$18 4 cu.ft. perlite
$? Lime (arguably cheap, and it lasts for ever.)

So thats $40 plus the lime.

The peat moss should expand by a factor of 2. So 2 bales should expand to approx. 12 cu.ft. Add in 4 cu.ft. of perlite. Thats 16 cubic feet of soil, give or take.

16 cubic feet of potting soil should equal approx. 102 gallons. My 7 gallon bags realistically hold 5 gallons of soil. 102/5=20.4.. So we should be able to fill 20 bags for $40. 40/20=2.

So, each bag should cost about $2 to fill with a basic potting soil mix. With all that being said I have been trying out different combinations, including adding compost to the mix. I havent done the math on using compost, I just happen to have a small mountain left over from last year.

[PureHarvest]

I don't think you should expand the peat by two. It settles back down when watered. Maybe not as tight as the 3.8, but it settles. Not sure exactly how to account for that though.
When I calculate, I go right off the 3.8 bale to be conservative.
I fill my 5-gals almost to the top because I don't hand water so I don't need to leave more than 1/2 to 1" (each Bag is watered with a spray stake). The 5 gal takes about 2/3 of a cubic foot or .66
Also, what if u added all your labor for mixing time?
I would have to add that in b/c I'm running an enetrprise budget to nail down the costs as a business. Not trying to be correcty correctorson, just curious how long it takes you as I would consider doing what you are doing one day.
I assign 12.55 per hour of labor.

[FourOaks]

Originally Posted by PureHarvest

I don't think you should expand the peat by two. It settles back down when watered. Maybe not as tight as the 3.8, but it settles. Not sure exactly how to account for that though.
When I calculate, I go right off the 3.8 bale to be conservative.
I fill my 5-gals almost to the top because I don't hand water so I don't need to leave more than 1/2 to 1" (each Bag is watered with a spray stake). The 5 gal takes about 2/3 of a cubic foot or .66

Its hard to say in truth about the expansion of peat, no arguments here. I have searched all over the internet, countless hours, and the general consensus seems to be a factor of 2. So... I go with it. If you have any relative links, or info, Im all ears. I think the key is to be consitent at any rate, whatever formula you go with.

The 7 gallon bags, if you do the math on the measurements come out to be just a shade over 5 gallon. Im confident that we both understand the difference in "gallons" and "nursery gallons". Some folks just can't wrap their head around it. With that being said, I filled my bags to about 3/4. As the plants grows up and out of the bag, Ill top it off. Saving a little room for some kind of mulch.

Like you, I use drip irrigation. Its the only way, far as I am concerned. Im on a well, so water is precious. I learned my lesson last year with the drought we had. Middle of summer, my well was almost dry. I had to let everything die. I now have an additional 5000 gallon agriculture tank for an emergency. Its plum full of water at this point. I stashed it behind my storage building and ran a gutter over to the tank to fill it up with rain, during the winter.

Originally Posted by PureHarvest

Also, what if u added all your labor for mixing time?
I would have to add that in b/c I'm running an enetrprise budget to nail down the costs as a business. Not trying to be correcty correctorson, just curious how long it takes you as I would consider doing what you are doing one day.
I assign 12.55 per hour of labor.

Labor costs... I really have no clue. I understand where your coming from though.

For now, its just me running the greenhouse and "Farm". My wife works a full time medical job. With that being said, and Im sure you can relate too what Im going to ask:

Do you ever really stop thinking about your business? Can you separate your personal time from business time?

Im pretty much thinking about it all the time. Before I go to sleep, and when im stumbling around the house in the morning with that first cup of coffee. The greenhouse, the plants, the farmers market, its all their, living in my head.

How does one pay for all that "thinking time". I don't know. Maybe Im over dramatizing it, but Im sure you can relate.

But your question does challenge me. With pure luck, I have run out of soil making supplies. This weekend I have to go get more supplies. Ill keep track of the cost of all supplies, and time involved in the mixing and transplanting of seedlings.

Im curious as to what it comes out to be. For reference I do mix by hand in a 27 gallon storage tote. I have been looking into a concrete mixer.

Thats a business write off, isnt it?