Are the fabric grow bags as good as the plastic nursery pots?

[nisryus]

I have bene tryign to grow Dragon Fruite here in Tx. Due to the weird heat waves this summer, they grow, but so far no blooms. (whihc is disappointing as a few times I thought ht ebuds were actual flowers.. but nope just anothe rsucker brnach that i had to clip off).

The laregst pots they are in are 5 gallons, so I could only put two of them in each pots. Since they get tall they became upper heavy. I see most videos suggest using 10 gallon nursery pots. But i think du eto the Pandemic the price is much higher now (almost 25 bucks for one minus shipping).

Anyone has experience using 10 gallon+ farbric grow bags? Are they as sturdy as the plastic ones?

 

[mindless1]

Fabric grow bags can be sturdy but depends on which plastic pot you are contrasting against. The material used also matters, if you want years of use while getting a lot of UV exposure.

With heat waves, fabric seems contraindicated because you will have a lot more soil moisture loss. It might help if you give the plants late afternoon shade, or a partial shade screen most of the day.

How about using plastic 55 gallon drums cut in half so you have 2 x (up to...) 25 gallon pots? In my area, they're available with lids (important so you can use the top half as a pot too) on Craigslist for about $15 each.

I don't see the tie-in, that a larger pot won't bring the temperature down, and if you were putting two plants in each pot, why not just put one plant in each pot instead? At the same time, yeah if they are healthy then each plant should have closer to a 20 gallon pot.

 

[bbhaag]

I've never used the fabric grower pots before but I see them at trade shows. To me they seem more like an end consumer focused product versus long term nursery production. I could see the grow bags lasting 2-3 years before breaking down and needing a repot.
How long are you planning on keeping them in containers?

 

[mindless1]

Forgot to mention, that they are likely to get taller (AKA leggy) when you place them so close together, competing for sun, while they should take a little shorter, fuller shape if spaced out more. For example, 2 x 10gallon pots spaced a couple feet part with one plant in each, is better than 1 x 20gallon pot that you put two plants in, spaced only a foot apart.

 

[nisryus]

Thx bbhaag, mindless.

I plan to keep the dragon fruits for several years (as long as I stay in Texas). Most vidoes and advices I got were to keep three of them in one pot and let them grow to about 5 ft, with trellis to support them.

The most commonly used are 10 gallon pots for two, 20 gallons for 3 or more. I mostly have 5 gallon pots for two, which was not enough.

I didn't think of moisture lost with fabric pots.. good call on that. Plus with UV rate, look slike plastic nursery pots would sitll be better option.

 

[nisryus]

Most sites have 20 gallon pots for 18 bucks.. but their shipping are outrageous..

One site listed $161 buck???


or...


is this... normal?

 

[mindless1]

It seems very abnormal to charge that much. Look into what I suggested previously, 55 gallon plastic drums on craigslist, $15 a piece here and cut them in half. If you don't want near 27 gallons, just cut them smaller or don't fill them as full of soil.

Grow bags are a short term solution for smaller plants. People saw nurseries using them and got confused about their purpose which is just to be an inexpensive way to keep a plant going until sold, then in that case the grow bag was meant to be put in the ground and would disintegrate, but somehow, faux-know-it-all gardeners didn't understand the how and why of the situation and just started jumping in the band wagon of trying to profitize selling bags.

Keep in mind, that I'm in favor of putting plants in the ground, not bags or pots.

Either way we are back to what I mentioned previously, that these options do not overcome high temperatures that result in blooms not turning to pods and fruit. If anything, the situation you will face with otherwise healthy plants that don't produce due to the temps too high, is that the plant gets that much larger by putting energy into growing instead of fruit. In that case, hopefully you will get a large yield towards the end of the season once temps cool down, from a very large plant, but that needs plenty of soil to support it.

Then there is the practical side of this. In any given region, the climate isn't the best for some plants and picking the plant above what the region supports is a lot more work. Either way, despite some recent crazy arguments to the contrary in another topic, more soil is better. I don't see the argument for grow bags in your climate, nor anywhere else unless you can get them for a fraction of the delivered prices you're seeing.

Keep in mind, for far lower cost you can pour concrete to make a garden, or make a raised garden from wood, or just till up ground and use it, amended if the soil needs help. Do not get trapped into the idea that you need to do this a certain, high expense way. In your climate you mainly need some sun shading and to keep the soil moisture good but not overwater.

 

[Gardener]

I can't imagine woven poly bags lasting very long in Texas sun. Is there some reason you aren't planting directly in the soil?

Mindless has listed several good options. Galvanized livestock troughs are now commonly used as planters, I'd check out a ranch supply store and see what is available.

 

[nisryus]

I am looking into the drum as suggested by mindless, and probably the galvanized troughs too, thanks gardener.

Since we might move in the next two years, wife doesn't want to plant them into the yard (and we have a big backyard), so I have been using smaller pots (1 to 5 gallons). Plus its easier to move them since it get cold in the winter and we moved them into the garage with a grow light and heater to keep them warm.

 

[mindless1]

I can understand that. Due to my affiliations with a baseball league where they handed out shirts ++ in extra large buckets, I have several 7 gallon buckets which I find to be about the largest I can reasonably move around without mechanical help. I prefer larger containers but those stay where I fill them with soil, especially after years of sun exposure so they become brittle.

I don't do the grow light and heater in winter though, any perennials that can survive an overwinter, I put in the basement to just hibernate till spring. Then the thing is, out of sight, out of mind, have to remember to water then a little, every couple weeks or so.