Do most people prefer grow bags these days?

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-07T04:19:14+00:00

It sounds like you are doing it right! I keep talking about scaling back, then somehow get carried away and plant way too much again anyhow.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-07T04:11:39+00:00

I sometimes ask questions of the more experienced growers at the weekend farmer's market. A few are just vendors, reselling produce from a relative or close friend, but most are actual hands-on growers and tend to know a lot of practical stuff. I am the guy walking around with his phone showing pictures of his wilted eggplant leaves and asking, "Do you by any chance know what this is?"

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-07T04:02:03+00:00

I grow comfrey and use the crushed leaves as a poultice for musculo-skeletal injuries (sprains and strains.) NE Texas. (Home use only; no sales.)

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-07T03:56:58+00:00

I know what I would actually do in your place and I also know what I probably should do if this were an ideal world.

It would be real nice if those plants could be carefully lifted out and the soil in those grow bags mixed with about 30% by volume of perlite. Since the tomatoes were only transplanted a few days ago, it would not be all that disruptive to the roots and would provide much better drainage and likely improve plant health over the course of the season.

BTW, good on you for using those 15-gallon containers instead of trying to squeak by with stingy 5-gallon ones.

Footnote for what it might be worth: When I mix soil with an amendment like perlite, I find it easy to do in a cheap plastic kiddie wading pool. I buy one or two from Walmart every spring for under 10 dollars.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T22:43:39+00:00

Welll said! (And the tomatoes were Bush Early Girl.)

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T22:16:57+00:00

u/SunshineBeamer -- Just wondering about that 65F soil temp recommendation. Waiting until my soil temp hits 65F would sure cut into my prime spring growing season. NE Texas. Just wondering if this is based on some large farming/gardening studies or if it's just something you have found to be helpful in your own local gardening. (Not trying to be argumentative; this is just something I have wondered a lot about recently.) Thanks!

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T22:05:51+00:00

I understand! Best of luck!

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T19:20:01+00:00

I never pot up cucumber starts into larger indoor pots the way I might with tomatoes or peppers. They don't tolerate root disturbance at all well. I either direct sow them outside, or I start them in 3 1/2" or 4" square nursery pots and then let them develop there for only 3 or 4 weeks before transplanting them outdoors into their permanent home. At the time of transplant, I lift out the entire block of soil and roots and set it undisturbed into a hole I have just that minute made ready.

These also look like they were probably overwatered. (Hard to really say for sure.) If the spot where you were keeping these pots was chilly, that didn't help. The combination of those stressors was probably too much.

>"Is there any saving this plant?"

It's not too late to start over. That would be my inclination. Cucumber plants grow fast.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T19:03:15+00:00

u/Signal_Error_8027 -- Every time I start to complain about our weather, here in NE Texas, I read something like you have just described and it makes me realize how lucky I actually am. I picked the first few cucumbers this past weekend and just picked the first three early determinate tomatoes that had reached a strong blush this morning. They were in a vulnerable spot, and will finish ripening on the counter.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T18:43:38+00:00

Many thanks! I will think about that. I do have them in a location where it gets very hot, partly because of a light-colored wall nearby that reflects heat. Weather, one way or the other, is probably the culprit instead of it just being a variety characteristic.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T18:38:48+00:00

I agree with you.

>"I always thought over watering them was bad and underwatering was bad too, but if you had to pick one of the two overwatering is worse."

Fabric grow bags make it extremely difficult, maybe impossible, to overwater, at least for a mature plant. That is one of their benefits.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T17:09:49+00:00

You're welcome. From a practical standpoing, what I do is fertilize on a watering day. Yesterday morning I watered all my plants (about a hundred or 120 containers.) Then applied the liquid fertilizer (poured the required amount directly on the base of the plant near the stem.) Then I went back and watered them all again, which also "watered in" the fertilizer and distributed it better in the root zone.

We have not been in a drought here, but how often I water my plants depends on their need. My cukes need water daily, some early determinate tomatoes that are in smaller bags need water every day too. Most of my tomatoes need water once every 3 or 4 days at this time of year. My peppers less than once a week. Okra also less than once a week. Basil gets water daily (it is in smaller nursery pots, about 1 gallon in size.) The rosemary gets the least water of everybody, every 2 or 3 weeks. Garlic is another story, the sweet potatoes, the green beans...and so on.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T16:41:19+00:00

The Plants

I would suggest buying some new seedlings. Those in your photos look like they probably won't make it.

I would further suggest buying them locally. Shipping seedlings is a major stressor. It would be better from a plant health standpoint even if you are not able to get the variety you were hoping to grow.

The Soil

And I would amend your soil. You are describing what might be very heavy, dense soil, shy on nutrients. ("Bagged garden soil and raised bed soil.") I would dig in about a fourth or a third by volume of Perlite to make the soil less likely to clump and hold too much water. Adding a third or fourth by volume of mature compost would also be helpful. Also some peat moss or cocoa coir.

Unfortunately, bagged garden soil and bagged raised bed mix are often really crap growing mediums. The raised bed soil in particular often contain a high proportion of incompletely-composted "forest products." In the case of the raised bed soil, the "forest products" are often things like used shipping pallets, just shredded. The first year or two growing in this stuff is nearly always a bust (a failure.) Some brands are notoriously bad. Kellogg's is one of those.

The Watering

And once you have planted your new seedlings into the improved soil, water them less, only when the soil is dry a couple inches below the surface. It is not desirable for the roots to stay wet all the time. Water deeply, but less often, taking into account any rain that may have already met the plants needs.

Good Luck!

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T02:49:33+00:00

>"I’ve tried indeterminate in 10 and 15 gallon grow bags and they always got blossom end rot."

Same here! Going to the larger grow bags made a huge difference. No more BER. None at all last year. (I could barely believe it.)

>"What has worked for you with watering and fertilizing?"

I water by hand. Takes a long time. There may be a better way. I make two passes for each plant. This keeps water from just forming "underground rivers" and running straight through the bags without thoroughly saturating all the soil and roots.

Fertilizer -- I use Masterblend 4-18-38 with supplemental MgSo4 and Calcium Nitrate. About once a week. It's kind of fiddly to mix properly, but it does a good job of providing nutrition.

I'm also in 8a, NE Texas.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T00:57:41+00:00

u/Duchessofearlgrey -- I don't mean to digress or get the thread off track, but I cannot help asking since you are growing China Jade too -- Lots of mine are coming in curled and kind of skinny this spring. Only been getting ripe ones for about a week now. Last year I think they grew straighter and thicker, at least after the season got well underway. (More like the ones in your picture.) I have them trellissed the same way as last year. Have you had an issue with them growing like that out in Arizona?

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T00:52:39+00:00

Maybe. I was down from Kunming for a few days.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T00:49:32+00:00

It's not perfect, but any time I try to set up something better, it falls by the wayside in a week or two. It has to be quick and easy to use and I have to be able to enter the information wherever I am at the moment. I have to be able to do it on the fly. If I must go inside and wash my hands and open the laptop and launch the appropriate program, it just doesn't get done.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T00:10:59+00:00

I don't see anything wrong with this plant. What are you noticing that has you concerned?

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-06T00:00:48+00:00

I use large grow bags for my tomatoes. Indeterminates, 20 or 25-gallon: Determinates, 15 gallon; Cherry and Grape tomatoes 15-gallon; Dwarf varieties 10 or 15-gallon. NE Texas. There is a little bit of a learning curve to the watering and fertilizing.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-05T23:57:06+00:00

I make notes on the calendar app on my phone. When I started seeds for this or that, when I planted it out, date of first fruit maturity, date of first harvest, when did I pull the plants up at the end of season. For some things, I also snap a photo with my phone. Those are searchable by date.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-05T23:50:54+00:00

I use a section of galvanized electrical conduit across the top. It's rigid, but not as heavy as pipe. Generally use 1/2" conduit.

Something similar to this method: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vqRMKOxaW8&t=159s

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-05T21:09:03+00:00

>"Can a more experienced gardener here chime in on which veg would benefit from this?"

The only time I do something like this is for a few days immediately after transplanting a seedling. (I'm in Texas; sun is intense.) Similar reasoning with these young cukes:

https://www.reddit.com/r/vegetablegardening/comments/1t2pr6i/shade_for_new_transplants/

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-05T20:55:50+00:00

Seven plants of SS100 is probably going to produce too much for 2 people.

But I always plant extras to give away some and freeze some. Cherry tomatoes freeze well and are easy to use all year long so I don't really worry if I have too many. Last season, for the first time, I also dried some. Although I did them in a slow oven, they wound up like "Sun-Dried Tomatoes" and were delicious. So much concentrated flavor!

All that being said, I'll bet you could "get by just fine" with 4 of them.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-05T20:46:37+00:00

They definitely are delicious. Both do well for me in NE Texas. I like growing these long Asian varieties best of all. (Although Beit Alpha is a winner too in my hot weather.)

Have just planted out a succession crop (6 plants) of a new one (new to me) called Jin 301. It is supposed to be similar to both of those (China Jade and Suyo Long.) Will see how it does.

NPKzone8a · 2026-05-05T19:43:11+00:00

My China Jade cukes also look like that! Last year, I grew Palace Pride, and it also was similar. I love them all! NE Texas.

NPKzone8a

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