Since most growbags are made of small plastic fibers, mainly HDPE, PE or PP, it makes sense to assume many fibers break off over time, end up in the soil and eventually in our plants as microplastics. So I won’t be buying growbags made from plastic fiber anymore.
Hemp fiber would be an alternative, and ofcourse more expensive and will disintegrate after a few cycles…
So airpots may be the best alternative.
Just something to consider. It’s astounding how much we’re fucking up the environment at every turn… but fortunately we’re all capable of learning and adjusting.
We live in a world where you have to stop and double check and research absolutely everything… Anyway, just thought I’d raise some awareness about this.
Now I ask myself the question, do I continue to use the bags or not…
I’ve repurposed all the old trash bins from our old office into pots for my grow room and re-use the big pots our fruit trees came in for my outdoor stuff that’s not directly in the ground.
trellis netting is another source of plastics and zip ties . I’ve been picking up bits and pieces all spring the sun destroys these plastics and they just crumble . My grow bags look like fiberglass fibers same bags for years . Trying to source hemp netting for next season never to late to try and cleanup the earth . Found an old tag my bags might be made of this another plastic ? most grow bags are made from polypropylene. This is a fabric that is strong, can handle the heavy use of gardening supplies, and last for a long time. This is the same fabric that is used to make some of the reusable shopping bags that you see different people carrying in the supermarket.
The advantages of using this material are that it does not retain heat or water. It is a breathable material that is soft and allows for root pruning. With polypropylene’s ability to breathe you can avoid exposing your plants to root rot.
I’ve used the same set of cloth bag ones for 2 years no problems. Just rinse and repeat. They came from good ol amazon. They were cheap, and so far have been efficient at allowing air through the soil, and air trimming excess roots.
They make break down less quickly, but the air pots are still plastic. If you want to get away from grow bags because of the plastic aspect, it should probably be for another material all together. Beds or small planter boxes made of cedar?
The way I see it we already fucked ourselves on the micro plastics, and the amount that that bag adds vs the smart pot vs what is already out there everywhere in your water source and native soil is probably pretty negligible. I’ve resigned to the fact that I will use some plastic in my gardening, and most of it is the containers. I try to pick them mindfully and support what I find to be a happy medium on the plastic issue and a company I feel alright giving some of my money to.
A plus for the grow bags vs air pots is the bags(root sacks at least, my current go to) get made from plastic water bottles that are otherwise unrecycleable and will otherwise end up in the landfill.
I vote yes. If you don’t they will just end up in the trash.
This might not be with the vibe of the thread but I love my plastic pots. I’ve got the rigid heavy gauge expensive kind. They have been reused many times. I also reuse yogurt plastic cups for germing/early veg. Easy to transplant, rigid, easy to move without smashing the rootball. All around very practical.
Not sure how well this would work, I’ve only used something similar once for an herb garden, but had ok results.
You could use something like this and some wire to build your own, or find some pre waist if wire baskets to line with them. Alternatively to coco, you could use something like barley straw or even stalks from your plants if you have enough.
It’s not quite a hemp fiber grow bag, but may be the closest option available at a reasonable price point.
I absolutely love fabric pots for a final destination on my container grows. They can be reused, but honestly, I never reuse them. Not sure what’s worse, using them once in my garden or the fact that I now have a jillion wadded up in a trash bag in my garage because I don’t know what to do with them. Recycle bin or just buy the most ridiculously large plastic pots for outdoors that I actually reuse? Luckily most of my plants end up directly in the ground and very few are kept through bud in containers each year.
I don’t know that the plastic problem will be solved in my lifetime, and I’m one of the younger members here… The research behind the dangers of micro plastics, I don’t know, I’m not bothered. Our beaches are absolutely covered in plastic of various sizes and states of decomposition.
I will go out of my way a certain amount to keep my ecological footprint low, but since it’s just a drop in the bucket anyways, why make my life extraneously difficult? The grow bags work amazing. I reuse mine, but I’ve only had them maybe a year. I’d only stop if they started to fall apart… but after that? Trash I guess- I don’t know where I can turn in the fabric to be recycled. The city won’t take it in the bin. And plastic recycling is a fucking joke realistically anyways.
So what are my options… bio pots that disintegrate or other plastics that last longer, but either way suddenly now I have to prune my roots- unless I use an aero pot but like it’s been mentioned that’s still plastic…
Plastic was such a miracle when it was found it spread so far before we ever looked into it’s long term effect. I think plastic won’t be gone until long after the human race. It’s integrated into our lives too much. It would be easier to deal with an EMP and lose our tech- because how much wasted is stored in HDPE? How much food do we store for emergencies in Mylar, in plastic drums. CELLOPHANE! (Such a great invention at the time Cole Porter referenced in a song)
But I digress… I admire you for wanting to be responsible. If you find a good solution I’ll happily switch, but I don’t plan to stop using, reusing, or buying them. I think people worry too much about things much bigger than themselves… me included.
Microplastics that are small enough to get into our blood and being unidentifyable by our immunesystem might explain the rise in autoimmune diseases.
It’s a big issue, but apparently there’s already waste management system prototypes where you can throw in just about anything, including plastic, and it gets processed into diesel and water. And if we ever have excess diesel it can be used to grow oystermushrooms. The solutions for all the major problems we face seem to already exist, it’s a matter of patience and awareness.
