I thought while we're on the subject of carrots, I should show everything. This is the bag with the carrots for winter use. I've just started to eat them, and they are great. (I am so modest). It may seem strange to make a fuss about carrots as they are far from exotic, but until I experimented with growing in builders bags I was totally unable to grow them where I live. They just seemed to hate the heavy soil and carrot fly maggots were all over them. Now I have clean crisp carrots which more often than not serve as part of an impromptu lunch while I'm on the plot.
I tend to make about eight parallel drills across the soil when I plant, giving plenty of room to grow. The bag gives them about a foot and a half of soil depth which is more than I have on most of the plot. I heard of somebody who grows all their veg in these bags, but for me its a way to create a space with customised soil for a specific purpose.
This looks like a solution that I could steal from you :) I have clay(ish) soil and carrot fly are a real bugger.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of questions:
What do you fill the bag with? Soil, Compost or a mixture of both?
And do you replace the soil/compost in the bag each year?
Thanks.
Iain
This year the bag was filled with riddled compost from my compost heap. I compost everything - all weeds and kitchen waste. Last year I cleared a new plot and had a builders bag packed with weeds and probably quite a lot of soil with it. I sealed it up and left if for a year as there was quite a lot of bindweed and other nasties. Afterwards I riddled out the good compost and left the rest to compost again. In short, its soil-based home made compost. I don't buy any compost anymore. Filling a bag with bought compost would probably cost a fortune. If you are short on compost, half fill the bag with whatever, and then put a foot of good home made compost on the top.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jon, I am only in my first year at the plot so my compost is notvredybfor use just yet. But this is a method I will be trying.
ReplyDelete