Is a Grow Bag Eco Friendly?

Which is Best – a Grow Bag, Grow Pillow, or a Pot?

So you want to grow some herbs or some vegetables at home.  What’s the easiest method – especially if you don’t have a big garden, and are short of space?

Your main choices are:

1. A bed in the garden (perhaps raised to make looking after it easier on your back)
2. A pot (normally plastic, ceramic or clay)
3. A grow bag, grow pillow or bag of compost

Growing vegetables at home is great – as long as you have garden space.  But what if you don’t?  What if you live in an apartment and only have a balcony or patio?

I normally grow my plants in a pot even though I do have garden space – I rent my home on this little island, and I want to be able to take my plants with me when I move (it’s more difficult – though certainly not impossible – to move plants already rooted in the garden soil).

But recently I’ve been researching the ready-made grow bag market – there’s a large choice available world-wide (I can even buy a grow bag (limited variety) here on my little tropical island).

I’ve seen people buy a normal bag of either compost or potting soil, place it where they want to grow their plants, cut a few holes in the plastic, and place their plants inside the hole.  It’s certainly an extremely easy method!  You don’t need tools, you don’t need to dig a hole.  It does have a few disadvantages though.  Plastic is not ‘breathable’ and it doesn’t allow water out.  This means that water may remain in the soil and, combined with a lack of air, cause root rot.  It’s not my personal favourite, but it’s certainly easy!

A grow bag or grow pillow overcomes these disadvantages.  The grow bag is usually made of polypropylene or hemp, which is breathable and allows water in and out.  In addition, the grow bag contains not only potting soil and compost, but also fertilizer and often, a specialized growth medium.  A grow bag offers more convenience than growing in a pot, because you don’t have to buy separate bags of potting soil, compost, fertilizer and so on, it’s all there, in the right quantities and ready-mixed for you.  If you’re not yet confident in your gardening abilities, this may be a good way to start.

Growing plants in a pot is the time-trusted method.  It’s not as convenient, because you have to buy all the “parts” individually (compost, fertilizer and so on) and mix them yourself.  In general, however (and this varies depending on where you live) it is the cheapest method.

Where I live, it is definitely cheaper to use a pot.  I can re-use the pot for multiple plants, and I can buy largish bags of soil to be more economical.  It might be different where you live.

So far, I have talked about the convenience, expertise level and price of the main options.  However, what about the options from an eco friendly point of view?

Planting in a compost bag is probably the most eco friendly option, because you’re not buying anything new (no pot, no tools).  Planting in a pot probably comes next – especially if you can buy a pot made from recycled materials.  (I can buy a very reasonably priced recycled plastic pot which is made locally – that’s a real plus on a tiny island with very little local manufacturing).  A pot can be used multiple times (reuse is a key eco friendly tool), and buying the “ingredients” in bulk reduces packaging.

At first glance, the grow bag option is potentially the least eco friendly, because  I was unable to get reliable data on how often the grow bag could be reused (if at all).  However, this is mitigated if the bag is made from a sustainable source such as hemp, and some grow bags are marketed as fully organic.  There is no waste when you buy a grow bag, as only the exact quantities you need are contained in the bag.

My personal verdict:  If the convenience of a grow bag is what it takes to get more people growing some of their own food, I’m all for it – it’s healthier, the food tastes better, and it’s much more satisfying to eat produce you have grown yourself!  And if you consider the bigger picture and compare a grow bag to growing mass-produced vegetables and transporting them country-wide, it might just end up being more eco-friendly too.

Next: How to use a grow bag

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