Growing Indeterminate Tomatoes in Grow Bags

garyc1234 · July 2, 2016

I've been thinking of growing indeterminate tomatoes in grow bags. I've seen others on this site use grow bags, so I'm thinking of trying it out myself. I have a bunch of tomatoes in containers already, but I've basically run out of containers, and I still have some more plants that needed to be potted up to their final container. Grow bags seem like a quick and cheap solution since I don't have time to build any more Earthtainers this year, and even 5 gal SW containers from Home Depot buckets would take time to make. Here are some questions I had. (I did search this site for some info, so apologies if this was already discussed in another thread.)

(1) What mix do you put in grow bags? For containers, I am used to using potting mix (Miracle Grow w/o Moisture Control). However, I am reading in some places that for grow bags, I should be using potting soil instead of potting mix because the bag already provides plenty of aeration for the soil. Is this correct?

(2) How long do grow bags last? I know every grow bag may be different. I am using the VIVOSUN 5-Pack 15 Gallons Fabric Pots Grow Bags that I purchased from Amazon last night. However, if the grow bags only last one growing season, that is adding ~$6 to the cost for every tomato plant every year. Then plastic containers may be a better long term solution.

(3) Anything else different about growing in grow bags rather than regular containers? Still a circle of Tomatotone at the top, and I assume you can still use a cage if the grow bag is large enough? I am using 15 gallon grow bags. I assume this should be big enough for most indeterminate tomatoes? Thanks!

July 2, 2016	#1
garyc1234 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Zone 10a (Alameda, CA) Posts: 67	Growing Indeterminate Tomatoes in Grow Bags I've been thinking of growing indeterminate tomatoes in grow bags. I've seen others on this site use grow bags, so I'm thinking of trying it out myself. I have a bunch of tomatoes in containers already, but I've basically run out of containers, and I still have some more plants that needed to be potted up to their final container. Grow bags seem like a quick and cheap solution since I don't have time to build any more Earthtainers this year, and even 5 gal SW containers from Home Depot buckets would take time to make. Here are some questions I had. (I did search this site for some info, so apologies if this was already discussed in another thread.) (1) What mix do you put in grow bags? For containers, I am used to using potting mix (Miracle Grow w/o Moisture Control). However, I am reading in some places that for grow bags, I should be using potting soil instead of potting mix because the bag already provides plenty of aeration for the soil. Is this correct? (2) How long do grow bags last? I know every grow bag may be different. I am using the VIVOSUN 5-Pack 15 Gallons Fabric Pots Grow Bags that I purchased from Amazon last night. However, if the grow bags only last one growing season, that is adding ~$6 to the cost for every tomato plant every year. Then plastic containers may be a better long term solution. (3) Anything else different about growing in grow bags rather than regular containers? Still a circle of Tomatotone at the top, and I assume you can still use a cage if the grow bag is large enough? I am using 15 gallon grow bags. I assume this should be big enough for most indeterminate tomatoes? Thanks!