How to Use Grow Bags

If you've never used grow bags before, these can be a great way to increase your garden flexibility. Let's talk how to use grow bags!

What Are Grow Bags?

Grow bags are a breathable fabric pot made for growing plants in.

They allow excess water to easily drain, and oxygen to get into soil to oxygenate plant roots as soil dries back.

Grow bags are lightweight, reusable, and easy to use, and don't take up much space to store.

They're often touted for their ability to "air-prune" plant roots, meaning that they roots naturally stop expanding when they hit the breathable pot walls and bottom.

Unlike plastic planters where roots can wrap and easily become root-bound, breathable planters signal to the plant that they stop growing roots when they hit the breathable walls, and instead redirect that energy to other roots which have not yet hit the edges of the grow bag.

This leads to more efficient root growth, with less wrapping and less chances of becoming root-bound.

Common Use Cases for Grow Bags

Let's look at some of the most common uses cases for grow bags, and identify why they good choice for your growing container in certain scenarios.

Grow Bag Potatoes

One of the most-common use cases for grow bags is growing potatoes.

Because potatoes require a lot of soil to be dug up for harvest, grow bags make a great solution because of their ease of flipping over and dumping.

You can turn a grow bag upside-down, squeeze it a little, and get all your potatoes out immediately.

You won't risk poing any with a garden fork or shovel like you might digging them up from an in-ground planting.

You also won't have to disturb any of your in-ground soil and the delecate microbiome you've cultivated in your garden plots or beds.

Grow bags isolate a small amount of soil that you can flip at the end of the season. You can even dump your potato grow bags out on a garden plot or raised bed so the excess soil goes right into your garden.

Grow Bag Advantages Over Plastic Pots

Like potted plants, grow bags are easy to pick up and move. This makes them ideal for plants that don't yet have permanent homes, for oscillating between shady and sunny spots, or for bringing plants indoors for the winter.

Grow bags are easy to transplant out of, because the soft sides and bottom mean you can easily squeeze them to extricate the soil and roots from the bag.

Frequently Asked Grow Bag Questions

You asked and we answered! Here are the most common questions we've had about grow bags:

What Are Grow Bags Made Of?

Grow bags are typically a thick felt fabric. Often recycled, it provides great permeability for excess water to drain away, and oxygen to get to the soil and roots.

More expensive grow bags can be found in a woven nylon mesh, which increases durability further and prolongs the lifetime of the bag while maintaining or improving breathability.

How Do You Clean Grow Bags?

We have a whole article on the different ways to clean and sanitize your grow bags, fabric pots, and grow beds. Click here to read it.