Growster-dripper-bagger-feeder...

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Growster...

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Growster-dripper-bagger-feeder...
« on: May 16, 2020, 06:48 »
Mrs Growster and I were sorry to lose our regular leek rows of about 250, when we had 'The Patch', so after seeing them for about a quid each in the shops, we're having another go, but in the Growster-Micro-Garden, formed from chopping down a useless hedge, hoiking out the old sprawling compost, and doing more in the less space we now have.

The spud bags never really worked well for us, we tried for a few years, but the disappointment at the poor yield was enough to cause us to give up, so, this year, we're trying an experiment, (which has been tried elsewhere, maybe here, with some success) - leeks in bags!

The pics show the position, with the old holly and laurel stumps still in the ground, because they go down too far to clear out this season. The space behind was going to waste!

So the old compost, some more garden soil etc, went into the three bags, with no trays underneath (they don't fit well), and as we need at least a foot of depth, and there's an overhanging tree (out of pic), plus the old wall adjacent, there has to be a new way to water them!

Step up 'Growster-Drip Ltd, Inc,PLC' (a new firm, incorporated somewhere daft in Kent, and probably already under the scrutiny of some authority or other...)!

The idea is to sink an ordinary short length of drilled 2" pipe, down the middle of the bag, with the holes further than half-way down, so that all the water,  comfrey tea, more 6x liquid stuff etc., can be directed to the bottom, while the normal rain/watering can deals with the top! The funnel just helps alleviate any hand-shake when filling the pipe, (not unusual...) which takes about two  minutes to permeate the compost down below! The grey pipe is a bit ugly, but hopefully, the plants will mask all that when (if) they grow properly!

(The old chimney pots next to the bags will have courgettes, which need top watering and feeding more easily, so I'll treat them as normal with just a can etc. I wanted a climbing variety, but there just isn't room at the moment. Thanks Mum, though, for your advice back then)!

I must also confess that we have actually found some space for a few leeks in the ground nearby, but not nearly enough, so we'll see how this all pans out this year! I'm not exactly sure how many to pop in each bag yet, any ideas?



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mumofstig

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Re: Growster-dripper-bagger-feeder...
« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2020, 09:33 »
It's really worth a try Growster,  you'd have needed a credit card to pay for them in the shops this past winter  :ohmy:
I'd go for about 10 per bag in an inner and outer circle IYCWIM.  'Squarefoot gardening' guides suggest 9 per square foot, but that seems a bit tight to me. Good luck!

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Mr Dog

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Re: Growster-dripper-bagger-feeder...
« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2020, 12:37 »
For an idea on spacing, 5 in a flower bucket appears to work quite well https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld57sB1mV6w Not the biggest in the world but I'd be happy with them.
« Last Edit: May 16, 2020, 12:40 by Mr Dog »

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Growster...

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Re: Growster-dripper-bagger-feeder...
« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2020, 14:53 »
Thanks Lady, and Mister!

Having seen pics of leeks growing like this, they're nowhere as fat as those in the ground, but it's the yield which is important - size doesn't matter...:0~

They're nowhere near DD's pencil thickness yet, and may never get there, so in a few weeks time, we'll see what happens!

Biro refill, anyone...:0?

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Vagabond

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Re: Growster-dripper-bagger-feeder...
« Reply #4 on: May 17, 2020, 12:51 »
Great to see the pics to accompany your descriptions. Good luck and hope you keep us posted on progress.

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Growster...

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Re: Growster-dripper-bagger-feeder...
« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2020, 14:43 »
Great to see the pics to accompany your descriptions. Good luck and hope you keep us posted on progress.

Thanks, Vagabond - I'll see what they do, and report back...

...maybe not if they're failures, and double up as spring onions..:0~

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jambop

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Re: Growster-dripper-bagger-feeder...
« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2020, 17:02 »

Don't know about anything else Growster but surely you must be getting some run off goodness from the plot just next door :lol:
 As to the pipe good idea for container growing the depth would be the crucial  factor though not too deep so the goodness goes where it is needed not straight to the bottom of the bags.

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Growster...

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Re: Growster-dripper-bagger-feeder...
« Reply #7 on: May 17, 2020, 20:55 »
They're pretty quiet these days, Jambop, but sometimes Halloween is a bit of a barney, as they all start arguing, and really get on our nerves...

You can't really see much from the pic, but the wall is very low here, mainly because over the thousand or so years, they had to keep filling up the boneyard to cover the late arrivals, and then they carted in more and more topsoil to cover the graves, so that the church looks as if it has sunk a foot or so...

It's only because the place is buried over so many times, that we reckon that there could well be 80,000 souls asleep here; enough to fill Twickenham Stadium - with less noise! Bill Bryson alerted me to that phenomenon in one of his fabulous books, so I did a spreadsheet on the areas, numbers of generations, family numbers etc., and he's spot on!

Great subject to research, but I digress...

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jambop

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Re: Growster-dripper-bagger-feeder...
« Reply #8 on: May 17, 2020, 22:38 »
So Growster what you might call the ultimate deep bed... but not no dig... tish boom ! I thank you  :lol:

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Goosegirl

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Re: Growster-dripper-bagger-feeder...
« Reply #9 on: May 18, 2020, 12:15 »
Leeks are one of my favourite veg. Whether it was brought to England by Edward 1 (look up his other name) or by an invader from Wales, I don't particularly care. I so love the taste I get from the tender white stems that I could eat it on its own with some new potatoes.
I work very hard so don't expect me to think as well.

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Growster...

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Re: Growster-dripper-bagger-feeder...
« Reply #10 on: May 18, 2020, 14:15 »
Wasn't he Edward the Compressor, as he managed to get 30 leeks into one Gro-bag, or is that someone else I'm thinking about...

As Jambop says, it might have been a deep bed, but then I suppose they all were back then, and people slept upright, hence the hats and the Queen Victoria's Secret Jim-Jams!

I agree about tender young leeks too...

Marvellous raw as well!
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