Gardening in a Bag---or Bags!

It is time to plant, in our area,  spinach, lettuce  and 
other crops for fall harvesting. 

You know those bags they sell at  markets to reuse, rather than paper or plastic?  They are usually $1.00 each but when they went on sale for 3/$1.00, we bought nine and our thinking caps got busy thinking.

They are strong and great for toting lots of things besides groceries---and they are porous! They also lasted a full season---growing a variety of lettuce, spinach, and onions, right outside our back door!

Getting Started: Take a paper punch and punch a few holes in the bottom of the bag for drainage. The bag is a lot taller than you need for planting so just fold it down until it is as deep as you want. Place a couple of inches of small gravel or cinder in the bottom, fill it with potting soil and plant. We have done it with both seeds and starter plants.

We have also planted in dishpans and other semi-shallow containers.  Look "differently" at containers you already have or check out the thrift stores or garage sales.  You will be amazed at what you can find.
Want it more simple? Pick a spot and lay a full bag of potting soil down flat. Cut X's in the top of the bag where you want your plants, fold back the corners of the X's and plant young starts. Poke a few holes near the bottom for drainage.

If the growing season for your area allows it, you can  plant your salad greens in early spring and then again in early fall. When you want to make a salad, just snip off some of the  leaves and enjoy. The plants will keep on growing.