Hanging basket compost bags for tomatoes

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DMcL
KG Regular
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Apr 21, 2020 11:57 am

This is another proposed experiment.

I could not get hold of standard growbags this year but there were 40 litre HB compost bags at 3 for £11at a well known rebellious independent plants centre near me in EXETER.... I plan to use them as growbags for my tomatoes. They are shorter and deeper than growbags

I do NOT have a greenhouse
I usually only grow trailing cherry or plum varieties

I lost half my tomatoes last year to late blight,
growing then in the open on a raised bed 10 ft from the house

the year before we had a huge successful Crop from growbags sitting on horizontal ladder 2ft off the ground right next to our south west facing house front wall. The ladder is now knackered and unavailable.

( I am also using rootrainers for all indoor sowing for the first time this year )

I propose to grow a mixture of trailing and normal vine tomatoes this year using full 40 litre bags of hanging basket compost,
with planting holes big enough to Slide in the rootrainers plants

- Two bags will be on top of a 3ft high wall near the house ( one of these bags will be normal multi compost )
- One bag will be on a bench by the same house wall
- One bag will have vine tomatoes growing in a cheap plastic covered lean to cold frame against the same wall.

This can be heated overnight by a couple of slow cookers - Yes we did have a sausage casserole one day cooked overnight.
It protected my infamous early PSB and sweet corn plants during hardening off and now has tomatoes and imminently squashes in it upper tiers.


All the bags will benefit for a timed micro bore irrigation system.

Any comments welcomed re nature of experiment
- Especially on number of plants per bag , I previously have planted 3 trailing plants in each standard growbag

Any comments on personality of experimenter might be amusing

Donald in Devon
Westi
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Location: Christchurch, Dorset
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Hi Donald!

I'm finding it hard to visualise what bags you have, but if deeper than a grow bag that is a bonus as you put the plants in much deeper right up to the first leaves as each hair on the stem will root, giving you a better root run and a better crop. You have the watering system so it won't be a problem to ensure the water gets to the bottom. I'd personally would go for 2 plants in each.

I certainly wouldn't comment on the personality of the experimenter, but liking the multi-use of the slow cooker - very inventive. Can't do much about late blight but it you sign up to Blight Watch you can get a warning sent to your e-mail when conditions are right for blight in your area.(It's free as well)! If you spray the toms with copper spray when you get a warning you can save the crop from blight, although you will still need to nip the odd leaf off.

Happy growing Donald! Keep us updated on your progress!
Westi
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