How do i grow tomatoes/cucumbers in a growbag?

cooking-mama

if im growing tomatoes(gardeners delight)in a grow bag,do i just cut holes in the bag and plant the plant(if you know what i mean),or do i need to put in a plant pot full of compost with the bottom cut out?
Also similar question about cucumbers,,do they grow upwards like tomatoes?,do they also need a pot in a growbag with a bamboo cane to support them?.
I dont think my little seedling plants are big enough to go out into my plastic greenhouse yet,im just trying to get organised for when the time comes,but sorry,I havent a clue:o

chrisaj

Hi
All you need to do is cut holes in the growbags, there should be marks where to do this. 3 plants per bag. Put a cane beside each plant before you put the plant in, so you dont disturb the roots pushing in the cane, they should grow quite happily. Cuc's shouldn't need staking

knithryn

You might find the toms dry out if youu leave the grow bag flat on the ground and just cut holes.
It's easier to keep them watered and happy if you pick cut the bag in two across the middle and stand the ends up as two 'pots'. Also.... tomatoes will sprout rooty type things from the bottom 6 inches or so of their stem, so every time you pot up your toms, plant them really deeply - so you bury some of the stem too. This will make them a bit stockier and less prone to flop over. Using the bag as two 'pots' also means you have a reasonably depth of soil to stick a cane into.
For the cucumbers, they seem to be fine in a flat growbag. They sprawl over the side and grow along quite flat. (A small word of warning,... my cucs tased very bitter last year, I have yet to work out why...so be prepared to have to peel them)

theGrinch

I tend to half the grow bags for deep rooted crops and !!!!! holes around the base.

Rotwein44

In Focus they sell 'grow cubes', like a grow bag but deeper and therefore not as long and flat, think they were about £1.20, which i think will be better for toms!

moodydonkey

knithryn wrote: »

You might find the toms dry out if youu leave the grow bag flat on the ground and just cut holes.
It's easier to keep them watered and happy if you pick cut the bag in two across the middle and stand the ends up as two 'pots'. Also.... tomatoes will sprout rooty type things from the bottom 6 inches or so of their stem, so every time you pot up your toms, plant them really deeply - so you bury some of the stem too. This will make them a bit stockier and less prone to flop over. Using the bag as two 'pots' also means you have a reasonably depth of soil to stick a cane into.
For the cucumbers, they seem to be fine in a flat growbag. They sprawl over the side and grow along quite flat. (A small word of warning,... my cucs tased very bitter last year, I have yet to work out why...so be prepared to have to peel them)

apparently pollinated cucumbers are bitter so you need to remove the male flowers (so i read, it's my first year growing them)

misskool

moodydonkey wrote: »

apparently pollinated cucumbers are bitter so you need to remove the male flowers (so i read, it's my first year growing them)

depends on the cucumbers. are you growing an f1 all female variety or an outdoor one?

cooking-mama

Thanks guys,great advice...ive no idea what type my cucumbers are,they were in a little pack from poundland with a bag of compost and mini propogator,theyve come on a treat on my window sill,each has 5 leaves,all it says on the pack lid,is "cucumber Marketplace"..it does go on to say after hardening off for 1 week,they can be transplanted either into the garden or into a greenhouse.
"Nip off male blooms,leaving female blooms"-Duh,how do i tell the difference?

misskool

cooking-mama wrote: »

Thanks guys,great advice...ive no idea what type my cucumbers are,they were in a little pack from poundland with a bag of compost and mini propogator,theyve come on a treat on my window sill,each has 5 leaves,all it says on the pack lid,is "cucumber Marketplace"..it does go on to say after hardening off for 1 week,they can be transplanted either into the garden or into a greenhouse.
"Nip off male blooms,leaving female blooms"-Duh,how do i tell the difference?

The female blooms will have a wee cucumber behind it. The male blooms will be a thin stalk. Easy peasy,

cooking-mama

Brilliant thanks misskool--fingers crossed my plants even get to that stage

jamma_2

I grew Cucumbers last year and they were very easy, just make sure they have lots of water, I used rain water and they seemed to thrive.

Good luck:):)