Many people use the bag gardening method as their first attempt at gardening, in areas where the soil cannot be worked, or even in places where there is no soil at all.
But what exactly is the bag gardening method and is it really as quick, cheap and easy as it is made out to be?
The bag gardening method requires for you to have:
- At least 1 bag of garden soil, still bagged from the garden center
- Seeds to sow – or –
- Nursery plants
Many folks are looking for a simple way to grow their own food. The in quest for a weed-free, no-dig, takes 2 minutes gardening method, out comes the Bag Garden.
Let’s not draw this out… here is all it takes:
- Lay the bag flat, just like you bought it from the store
- Cut a few slits in different areas across the bag – these will be for water drainage
- Flip the bag over
- Cut out the center of the bag, leaving about 2 inches of bag around the edge to old in the soil
- Sow your seeds or plant your plants
- Water in, as usual
A completed bag garden. Photo by J&J
That is it. You’re done. Keep the soil at the right moisture for whatever you planted and at the end of the season you can do 1 of two things:
- Add some nutrients back into the soil, such as blood meal, bone meal, etc., and plant again
- Use this soil someplace else on your property and buy a new bag next year
Most folks just buy a new bag since the soil amendments cost more than a bag of soil.
In the video above I planted a 9-cell pack of Broccoli and another of Spinach. The plants cost me $7 and the soil cost me $5.
It took about 5 minutes to do the work of planting this garden.
Now, I won’t say this is the least expensive or the easiest way to garden. By buying soil from the store it certainly isn’t the most ecological approach to gardening.
However, I think it holds a place for the first time gardener – a great way to get something in the soil and growing so you can feel that sense of accomplishment of having grown some of your own food.
Be sure to Subscribe to our YouTube Channel as we’ll show you this again later as the year goes on. As far as the ground around the grape trellis, we’ve got some plans for that too, so stay tuned.
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