Maintaining a garden sure is fun, but it can also be quite stressful. This is especially true when you only want to grow a couple of crops on your own for your small dishes, or you want to start small to see if you have the skills and determination to grow an entire garden.
Good thing gardening has grown very dynamic. Nowadays, gardening doesn’t only mean digging and plowing for an entire day; it could also mean maintaining your veggies in a small bag!
What is plant grow bags?
Contrary to people’s beliefs growing bags aren't new things. In fact, people have used them during ancient times! To give direct sunlight to their plants, Egyptians and Greeks alike used growing bags to create a mini garden on their rooftops until English gardeners discovered that you could give as much as direct sunlight to your plants using greenhouses.
Aside from this, there’s also many people who have been growing plants on black plastic bags. Essentially, these plastic bags are just the same as plant grow bags, only that they’re made of more eco-friendly fabric. These grow bags can be compared to pots, too. They make gardening more compact, more mobile, and definitely a lot simpler.
In short, plant grow bags aren’t new! If you’re one of those people who don’t believe that grow bags can successfully tend to a plant, then just look at your street because we bet one of those houses use pots or plastic bags.
Aside from that, if you’re unsure if you can maintain plant grow bags, there isn’t much of a difference to maintaining flowers in a vase. And we bet you have one on your house now!
What are the benefits of plant grow bags?
The most common problem in using plastic bags and pots is that their roots get tangled inside when the plants get bigger. This will soon result in withering. This thing happens not just because of the lack of space inside the plastic bags or pots but also because of the lack of ventilation.
This leads us to the major benefit of plant grow bags— air pruning.
Since plant grows bags are made of fabric, both the soil and the roots are properly ventilated. This results in air pruning. Air pruning happens when the plants’ excessive roots inside a plant grow bag dries and breaks due to air exposure. This naturally forces the plant to grow new roots instead of withering.
Simply put, plant grow bags’ proper ventilation forces the plants to develop a healthier root system!
Aside from this, plant grows bags also allow people to plant their own crops even if they’re living in the city. Not everyone has the pleasure of space to have their own gardens. Plant grow bags allow you to plant your own crops on your balcony or even in your kitchen!
Plant grow bags avoid overwatering on plants, too. Because pots and plastic bags are completely enclosed, a mishap on the watering can already cause them to drown.
They also offer versatility. Sure enough, you can’t change your mind halfway through the planting process if you’re tending an entire garden. That will just be counterproductive if not really tiring. But that isn’t just the case with plant grow bags. If you notice that your chili peppers aren’t going properly, you can easily switch to cucumbers!
Lastly, plant grow bags can be a ground training ground for new gardeners. If you still want to see if you have the commitment and skills for growing crops, you can start with some plant grow bags. If you see that you’re up for the gardening challenge, then that’s good! But if not, you can just literally fold the plant grow bags, keep them in your cupboard, and try again next time!
What should you look for on plant grow bags?
So, are you now convinced to try plant grow bags? Before buying a new one, make sure that you know the features that you should look for!
First and foremost, your plant grow bag should be made of durable fabric. Note that while proper ventilation really creates a better root system in plants, your plant grow bag still has to hold your entire plant. And you would definitely need durable fabric with strong stitching to hold damp soil, growing roots, and heavy branches together!
Another thing that you should look for is drainage holes. Aside from the natural ventilation of fabric, you still need drainage holes to prevent watering.
As much as possible, get a plant grow bag with a window opening in it. This is especially important when growing root crops such as potatoes.
While it’s relatively simple, you should also look for a strap holder on your plant grow bags. The truth is, you would be moving your plant grow bags a few times. You would want to place them on the ground when watering them while you would want to place them somewhere elevated to protect them from animals. You also have to move them to spots with direct sunlight from time to time as well.
Gardening shouldn’t be fun. It should be simple and fun. And for us, this is the exact experience that plant grow bags give to gardeners.