Picture for attention. Trying to set up my plants in planters that’ll give them the room they need (I’m currently renting a house so I don’t have an actual garden so I use all planters) currently using 5gal planters maybe slightly bigger but I feel like my plants need more space. What is everyone’s thought on the 10gal grow bags or bigger? I’m doing a few varieties of tomatoes and a few different peppers.
by PuzzleheadedSun5061
11 Comments
Ive used 5gallon grow bags for tomatoes and they were more than enough.
I just planted tomatoes in 15 gal size and is think it will do excellent. Maybe could make 10 gal work but I have faith this 15 gal will work much better.
They work great. Significantly better yield with more dirt, also heavier and sturdier in a storm with more dirt on the bottom. Just make sure you are using good support for all the added vigor and growth. And of course water regularly in containers.
I use twenty gallon grow bags. I fill each bag with a 50 quart bag of soil. Get a tremendous harvest of tomatoes every year. I am in Sacramento and we get a very long season.
If you’re willing to invest in bigger pots, sure. 5 gallons is a much smaller buffer/storage tank than, say, a 10 gallon. Less water, less nutrients, less room for roots, bigger temperature swings, bigger moisture swings, bigger nutrient swings… It doesn’t matter when the plants are seedlings but when they’re months old, big, and fruiting, more soil = less work needed to keep them happy.
https://preview.redd.it/j087hcutkasg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a70459942a0b91692eb89e41c44f0d9ca3216912
Here’s a little sample of my tomatoes in 10 gallon grow bags. Just under a month since I planted them, and they’re doing quite well. I’d definitely go for 10 gallon over 5 gallon for the tomatoes. 5 might be good for peppers though.
We live in Denver and no matter how much we mulched they seemed to dry out much much faster than our raised beds. Our tomatoes just didn’t thrive…Something to consider if you live in a drier climate!
I use 10 gallon with 2 cubic feet of raised bed mix.
https://preview.redd.it/qj0axcuhpasg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=faa7bd338fdd77c65a1e0e7dbe96dea92602aab8
I used 10 gallon last year and got some 15 gallons for this year. I’m in 7B, NYC but had to water 2-3x a day – we had a hot dry season last year.
If you have access to Costco, they have the [22″ planters](https://youtu.be/F2T3t-NkNFo?t=919) for $16. Starting next week, they’ll be $12. Excellent deals – they are about 15 gallons.
https://preview.redd.it/cgl0j92etasg1.png?width=2000&format=png&auto=webp&s=64f62c03203c85398c16f36aaa5e04de235f2c69
I tried a 5 gallon for my sungolds and found that they declined pretty fast, especially once the weather warmed up. Rooted a cutting in a 20 gallon grow bag and that grew amazing. 20 gallons is the perfect size for me.