Introduction to Fabric non-woven Grow Bags
With all the home quarantines in the first half of 2020, there was a huge uptake in hobbies among people who were confined to their home and garden. Of these hobbies there was a large upsurge in gardening, at a level never witnessed before. Many people could not go out to malls and big stores, so online shopping sales exploded. People with small gardens or even just balconies wanted to try their hand at growing their own fruit and vegetables. After all they had lots of time on their hands.
The container garden revolution had already being with us for decades, and it was only normal that this is what the ‘new gardeners’ were going try. There was one problem, and that was the shipping of large 5 – 100 gallon plastic containers was prohibitively expensive because of their size or should I say bulk.
Enter the fabric grow bag. One dozen 7 gallon grow bags can be folded into a small package, and the shipping cost is minimal or free to the customer. These non woven fabric grow bags have been around for 40 years, but it is only in the last 5 years or so, that they have became popular. They now come in many colors, from the flamboyant to the reserved. Fabric grow bags come in many sizes usually from 1 gallon to 30 gallons and even a 100 gallon bag if you are growing something very large. We recommend Vivosun brand, as they are made from 300g non-woven fabric. I have put a calculator below so as you can find the volume of your bag based on measurements. You can input metric or imperial, and select whether you want the output to be in litres or gallons.
Below is a video where we use fabric bags to grow ’round’ bitter melon (Ampalaya bilog) all the way from seed to harvest:
There are even grow bags with a front door for growing root crops such as potatoes. This allows the gardener to remove some of the potatoes and then close the door to allow the smaller ones to continue growing
What are the advantages of using grow bags?
Shipping & Storage
As we mentioned above, fabric grow bags can be folded to enable easy shipping. We can also fold them and store them at the end of the season, with minimum fuss. They will take up very little space in our storage area compared to traditional containers.
Better Drainage
Because the fabric in these non-woven grow bags is breathable, the provide better drainage and aeration of the root system. These is a much less chance of the plant being over watered.
Air Pruning
In a traditional plastic containers when the roots reach the side walls, they tangle themselves around in circles, and then the plant become root bound. A root bound plant can increase the chance of pockets of water developing.
With fabric pots, once the roots reach the aerated sidewalls, they burn off, and then the root system produces new much more healthier roots. This is know as air pruning.
Temperature Regulation
Because the fabric bag is breathable, it allows the plant to dissipate excess heat from within. When the sun is at it hottest plastic containers, tent to get very hot, as does the soil within. As they cannot breathe, this unwanted heat is retained for a long time inside the pot.
Cost Factor
A typical good quality 5 pack of 10 gallon injection molded nursery containers cost over $60, whereas a 5 pack of quality Vivosun 10 gallon 300g fabric grow bags cost less than half of the plastic ones.
Conclusion
If you have any questions or opinions, please send us a message on the form below.
Please feel free to use the cylinder calculator below from Omni.
