Root crops are the one thing a grow bag makes awkward, because you cannot see how the crop is doing without digging it up, and digging it up stops it growing. That is what the side window is for. It opens on the wall of the bag, so the tubers or roots can be checked and, if they are ready, taken from the window while the plant keeps growing and the rest of the crop keeps sizing. The bag itself is nonwoven felt, which air prunes the root tips at the wall and drains the excess water away, and it is UV stabilised so it can stand outside for the season. Two handles carry it when it is full.
Growing root crops in a container has always had one awkward step in it. The crop is under the surface, so the only way to know whether it is ready is to tip the bag out, and once it is out the plant stops. A side window removes that step.
The window is a flap on the side of the bag at the level where the crop sits. It opens to show the tubers or roots, so the grower can judge size without disturbing anything, and it can be opened again later to take a few at a time while the plant is still growing. That turns a single harvest into something closer to a picking, which is what makes the bag useful for a kitchen crop rather than only for a bulk one. The flap closes back over the opening, so the medium is not exposed between checks. The rest of the bag does the ordinary job: the felt wall lets air reach the root tips, and water drains through instead of sitting at the base.
The bags are used for potatoes, carrots and other root crops on a patio or in a raised bed, in nursery bays where stock is being grown on, and for salad crops where the grower wants to pick over a period rather than lift everything at once. The fabric holds the root ball together when the bag is lifted, so moving a crop mid-season is possible without the medium falling away. The bags are also frost proof and breathable, which between them cover the two things that usually go wrong with a container left outdoors. Growers ordering for the same ground often take a planting bag from the same range, and where the plants also need shade, the shade net range covers that separately.
| Model | GB-041 |
| Material | Non woven felt fabric, UV stabilised |
| Size | 1 to 400 gallon, or made to your requirement |
| Window | Side harvest window for checking root crop growth |
| Handles | Two reinforced side handles |
| Set pack | 8 pieces per set on request |
| Colour | Black, grey, or to your requirement |
| Sample | Free sample available |
The felt wall is doing two jobs that look contradictory and are not. It is porous enough that the root tips reaching it dry out and stop, which causes the plant to branch roots further back instead of circling; and it is porous enough that water and air move through it, which is what keeps the base of a bag from turning into a saturated layer after watering. On a root crop that last point matters more than usual, because the crop is sitting in the lower part of the medium where a wet layer would do the most damage. The fabric is UV stabilised for the season outdoors, and frost proof, and the handles are reinforced where they meet the wall. Where a round rigid container is wanted instead, a grow bag with air pruning seams is also available.
Sizes run from 1 to 400 gallon, with a 10 gallon bag measuring roughly 16.9 by 12.6 inches and larger or smaller sizes made to order. The bags can be supplied in sets of eight where they are being sold as a home growing kit, and with or without the side window depending on the crop. Colour and logo are specified with the order and a free sample is available so the fabric and the window can be checked in the hand. Tell us the crop, the size and the quantity and we will confirm the specification. Buyers tracking what is going into nursery and patio growing can follow trade coverage such as HortiDaily and FreshPlaza for what growers are installing.
What is the side window for?
It lets the root crop be checked and picked without tipping the bag out, so the plant carries on growing while part of the crop is taken. The flap closes over the opening between checks.
Can the bag be supplied without the window?
Yes. The window is a specification rather than a fixed feature, so bags can be ordered plain for leafy crops or with the window for root crops. Tell us the crop and we will advise.
Will the bag stand up to being left outside?
The fabric is UV stabilised and frost proof, and the handles are reinforced where they meet the wall. Tell us the exposure and the crop and we will confirm the weight.
Tell us the crop, the size, whether a window is required and the quantity, and we will confirm the specification, the sample and the packing that suit your order.
Mark Wu, Co-founder & Technical Director, Sichuan Zhifang Net Industry. 15 years manufacturing agricultural nettings for growers in 32 countries.
