Grow bag or pots for toms?

That is the question.

What do you all prefer?
I grew some in a grow bag in the green house last year, I found them to be a lot of trouble for too few tomatoes?

This year I am trying brown toms from seed and have about six healthy seedlings.

 

I was considering grow bags, I have about 12 healthy seedlings at the moment so I think it might well be worth getting myself a grow bag.

If I had less, like I do with courgettes (4 so far :( ), then I would probably go for the pots.

 

I used a growbag last year but found it really hard to water, so this year I've bought some of the tomato pots the ones without a bottom which you plant the plants in and sit on the growbag, more compost and easier to water, so hopefully I should get a better crop

 

I hate grow bags! No depth of compost, hard to water, very hard to get the moisture content right, no "depth" to help with staking the tomatoes. I'm definitely not a fan!!

11" - 12" / 10 Litre pots will do. Or cut a grow bag in half, and stand both halves on end and Bingo! two decent sized pots with decent depth (make some drainage holes in the bottom). 1"" - 12" pots aren't cheap, but grow bags are bright yellow !! so up to you on that one.

The compost in growbags is fine for growing Toms, and proably cheaper than any multi-purpose compost alternative.

 

I don't like growbags Stingo. I find it hard to control the watering in them.
I buy them because I can lift them - as opposed to big bags of compost - and empty the compost into pots.

 

Bought a few growbags and gonna empty them into pots - seemed cheaper and as they were Tomorite bags assumed they would be at least as good as 'proper' compost. The reason for me, after last year using growbags, was the flexibility of shuffling them around my greenhouse as they grow.

 

I never had much luck with toms in growbags either,mine ended up more like "boil in the bag" bags.
My most vigorous tom plant (foliage wise) this year is one in dwc using 14-10-27 phostrogen for a nutrient :wink:

 

Thanks for all the advice on growbags, I'm now thinking about giving them a miss.

I really like the ideas about getting a tomato grow bag and then emptying in to a pot later.

 

I planted in pots last year (first time growing tomatoes), and were a great success, so i'm doing it that way till it fails.

 

I grew them in pots last year and they did very well.

This year i've bought outdoor girl toms and planning to plant them in the rasied bed in our sheltered rear garden.

Fingers crossed!

 

I raised my own plants from seed and have them in grow bags,pots and a hanging basket too. ....We love tom's

 

:thumb:Thank you all for your imput, I think I will put them in pots as I only have about 7 healthy looking seedlings, grown from seed and they are a brown tomato, can't remember the exact name at the moment though!

Glad I asked for advise but then again that's what this forum is all about, fellow gardeners are very nice people.

 

Hi Stingo,

"Glad I asked for advise but then again that's what this forum is all about, fellow gardeners are very nice people. " I'll second that :gnthb:

I have my toms in pots and always do them that way. Good luck with them.

 

Yeah, Pots all the way for me with a mixture of Irish peat moss,sand and top soil at a ratio of 1,1and 7 keeps them moist for longer.

I do use grow bags for my cucumbers though.:thumb:

Regards Bob.