Grow Bags and Canes

[JennieAtkinson]

I have been struggling to get canes to stay up in a growbag! and need some help!

I have a standard growbag in which I have put three largish pots with the bottoms cut out (I always plant into a pot rather than straight into the growbag). I have three tomatoe plants (Gardners Delight and Aviro) to put in, so I need canes about 5foot high. Last year the growbag lined up very nicely with the overhead crop bar so I managed to tie the canes to that, but due to crop rotation etc. my bag this year is not under anything I can tie it up to.

I can't get the cane deep enough and when I tried to put on cross bars it still just fell over with the weight. I can't really do a sort of brace job from the bed opposite as it would cross the path (which is getting smaller by the minute)

Of course I could just let the toms grow as bushes

Any suggestions?

[Sue]

Jennie
I've seen various contraptions on sale to do this, basically an outside bracer to hold the cane in place. It looked a bit expensive, although the prices vary a lot but would have thought a similar thing could be bodged up, ie heavy wire under the bag and hooked on to the cane?
Sue

[rustylady]

You can buy special grow-bag support systems, Harrod Horticulture do them, but they are expensive. I usually manage to rig up a support wire from the greenhouse frame to tie my canes to. Good Luck

[Alice]

I think I must be missing something here. I just have a standard 6x8 greenhouse. I run a wire parallel to the floor about 4 feet up from the floor. The wire is fixed to wherever I can fix it - tied round the frame or whatever. I stick the canes in the pots and tie them to the wire. Very stable.
Maybe the problem is with upmarket greenhouses and there is nothing to tie the wires to.

[debsducks]

Hi,
Last year i bought a pack of three cane supports from my local garden centre.
They only cost about a fiver and will last a good few years. I am sure i have seen them in places like homebase as well so have a look round, they really do the job well.
regards
Debbie

[JennieAtkinson]

Thanks everyone. I have seen the cane supports for growbags, but they are quite expensive. I'll have a search on the internet to see if I can find a cheaper supply - haven't got a Homebase or anything like that up here Debbie!

Alice - I should have said I was growing in the polytunnel and there are not so many bits to hang things on! And rather alot of plastic to try and put wires etc near!

[dan1979]

Can't you just use something like upside down yoghurt pots with a hole in the base?

It won't be amazingly strong but it should be fairly stable, another option would be cut in half tennis balls with a hole pierced in them - anything that increases the surface area at the base should help a bit, once they're fairly upright you should be able to brace them with a horizontal cane.

[SarzWix]

I had this problem last year, and managed to find an old clothes rail which i adapted a bit, and the toms grew up some strings attatched to that. It worked ok, but wasn't quite as tall as I'd liked. I've bought some growbag cane supports this year, if they work well will get some more next year. I've kept the clothes rail too, as I seem to have hundreds of toms this year!!

[debsducks]

Hi,
The supports i mentioned are made by Gardman and if you look on their website under plastic coated supports it shows a good piccie of them. Most garden centres stock them otherwise you may be able to contact them direct.
Regards
Debbie

[JennieAtkinson]

Thanks Debbie

[Madasafish]

Take two logs the length of the growbag. Place on either side. Drill holes where you want supports to be. Insert two bamboos - one on either side. Insert bamboos so they touch at the top... hopefully above gorwbag. Tie together...

[rustylady]

If you're growing in a polytunnel, presumably the growbag is sitting on top of the earth. Get some long bamboo canes, and make a frame from them. Two pushed into the ground either side of the growbag at each end, crossed and tied at the top, a third tied across the top, and canes inserted into the growbag tied to the top "crossbar". Similar to the runner bean supports favoured by many before the advent of the wigwam.

[JennieAtkinson]

Thanks for all your advice - I managed to get some of the fancy supports today which are GREAT!

Thanks RLady, the problem I have is that I use the middle of the polytunnel which is a path and undug, for my grow bags, so can't get anything into the ground unfortunately, which is why I couldn't get anything to stay up!

The log idea sounds interesting Madsafish, is that where the bag goes on its side? Seen that somewhere recently in a magazine. I thought it would be a good idea for saving space, which I seem to be running out of at the moment!

[Snadger]

I know you have sorted out your problem now but I would question why you need canes at all.
A string tied across the top of the support hoops of the polytunnel, with vertical strings coming down and tied around the base of each plant. Twist the plant around the string as it grows and 'jobs a good un'

Now you are going to explain to me why this isn't attainable and I'm going to say to you "Oh well, glad you got it sorted out!"

[Jimmy]

I create a simple pallet. A few scraps of old pallet wood. Two as long as a grow bag and four as wide plus a few inches. Nail them together to form a small pallet. Put the grow bag on and the four strips should stick out the side of the bag. Drill holes in the ends. I grow toms on one in the greenhouse, with a helper I can then carry them out on the pallet when weather OK. Put canes in drilled holes and form a wigwam.