Y'all are a wealth of knowledge. The city used to 'give' us this type of bags periodically. They then switched over to lovely blue thick plastic bags, but have since stopped 'giving' us any. I put the give in quotes because of course it was all built into what we pay for water/waste. The bills have gone up, but the services have declined, since they don't give us either these days. I love the idea of doing this. My gardening containers have seen better days, and the prices of those have skyrocketed, so I only planted a few things this year. It never occurred to me that I could grow in bags or boxes. I have a few boxes I was about to put out for pick up, but maybe I'll save them instead, and try planting something when I get some soil. Does anyone know if sweet potatoes would also grow in this manner, and if so, are they also grown from pieces? I've never had one long enough to see if it sprouts, but I have seen that happen with old potatoes.
@Diane Lane , I start sweet potato sprouts, called slips, by cutting an inch off the end of a sweet potato and put it cut side down in a shallow dish of water and place it in a window where it can get some sun. Add water as needed, it will take some time; you should get several. When they are several inches long, separate them and plant them.
Thanks, @Sheldon, I'll have to try that. I don't have any in the house right now, other than canned sweet potatoes, but hopefully I'll remember to pick some up when I go shopping. I don't pay much attention to growing seasons, since things here tend to grow year round, but perhaps I should read up on them for the vegetables.
I'm pretty sure they grow much the same as other potatoes. I haven't grown any but my dad farmed, and sweet potatoes were a crop that he planted from time to time. As a kid, I didn't pay that much attention but I think the preparation were about the same as when he grew regular potatoes.
I have started sweet potatoes in a glass like Sheldon mentioned. When I lived in Missouri, we had neighbors who also grew sweet potatoes, and what they did was to plant the whole potato and then let it sprout. Once it had several places that were sprouting (they called those "slips"), then they cut the potato into pieces and planted the pieces, each with their own little green slip on it. Next year, we may try growing some in a sack or deep cardboard box. I think that it is probably too late this year to try that. Our soil is hard packed clay, and even after we rototill it, it is hard for anything to grow. We are getting better dirt in the places that we have used the most and added better soil mixed with compost into; but most of the dirt is just not suitable for root crops.
Last year I went from growing veggies to flowers, mainly because as just one person, I was throwing away perfectly good food. I couldn't find enough people to give them to. Then on FB I saw where someone had mixed the stuffing that is put into disposable diapers into the soil of potted plants to help with the hydration. I tried it on my potted flowers, and it cut down on the need to water by 1/2 to 2/3rds the amount. I wonder if that would help with growing veggies in containers? It sure made the weight of the planters lighter. If you try this, wet the diaper before you remove the contents, or it will float around in the air, and you could breath it into your lungs. But wet, it is easily mixable.
I'll bet the local food pantry (many are at churches) would appreciate fresh produce @Ina I. Wonder, just in case you decide to go back to growing vegetables. I know the ones here and up in Houston tend to give a lot of bread type products and less healthy foods, and I have occasionally been helped by them, and am always very grateful to get the fresh fruit and veggies when they have them. I never would have thought to use diaper stuffing, but that might be good for me to keep in mind, since the balcony gets a lot of sun, and sometimes the plants get drier than if they'd been in the ground and had some protection from the sun.