Make Your Own Grow Bags
Growing vegetables in bags is becoming very popular, if for no other reason than it is very convenient, especially if you don't have room for a garden or the time to look after it.
You can buy them at any nursery and most hardware stores, even some of the larger department stores and supermarkets have them. The downside is they are rather expensive to buy and you are limited to growing what comes with the bag.
Save yourself some money and make your own. It will take you all of 15 minutes (at the most) to get your grow bag garden up and running, and you can do just about anything for 15 minutes can't you?
Go to your local nursery and buy a bag or two (or more) of good quality compost. The key words there are "good quality". It will cost you more than the cheaper potting mixes but it will be worth it.
Choose a punnet of healthy seedlings (lettuce, parsley, spring onions, silverbeet, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers - whatever you like).
When you get home choose a nice sunny spot for your grow bag. Remember, most vegetables need at least six hours of direct sunlight a day for healthy growth. Make sure your garden hose reaches that spot - they will need regular watering too.
Lay the bag flat on the ground. Use a screwdriver or a weeding fork to punch holes in the bag - these will be the drainage holes, so make sure there are enough of them - one hole every 10cm works well.
Turn the bag over. Use a Stanley knife (or similar) to cut eight evenly spaced crosses across the bag, in two rows (four on the top row, four on the bottom row).
Plant your seedlings into the compost, one per cross.
Water in. That's is, except for the daily watering (and if it's been very hot they'll need watering morning and night).
Once the plants are finished and you've harvested all your delicious veggies, tip the compost onto your garden and dig it in. Start with fresh compost next season.
You can buy them at any nursery and most hardware stores, even some of the larger department stores and supermarkets have them. The downside is they are rather expensive to buy and you are limited to growing what comes with the bag.
Save yourself some money and make your own. It will take you all of 15 minutes (at the most) to get your grow bag garden up and running, and you can do just about anything for 15 minutes can't you?
Go to your local nursery and buy a bag or two (or more) of good quality compost. The key words there are "good quality". It will cost you more than the cheaper potting mixes but it will be worth it.
Choose a punnet of healthy seedlings (lettuce, parsley, spring onions, silverbeet, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers - whatever you like).
When you get home choose a nice sunny spot for your grow bag. Remember, most vegetables need at least six hours of direct sunlight a day for healthy growth. Make sure your garden hose reaches that spot - they will need regular watering too.
Lay the bag flat on the ground. Use a screwdriver or a weeding fork to punch holes in the bag - these will be the drainage holes, so make sure there are enough of them - one hole every 10cm works well.
Turn the bag over. Use a Stanley knife (or similar) to cut eight evenly spaced crosses across the bag, in two rows (four on the top row, four on the bottom row).
Plant your seedlings into the compost, one per cross.
Water in. That's is, except for the daily watering (and if it's been very hot they'll need watering morning and night).
Once the plants are finished and you've harvested all your delicious veggies, tip the compost onto your garden and dig it in. Start with fresh compost next season.
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