I started building container gardens in Chicago in 2016 as a hobby, with the goal of producing vegetables fast. I began by focusing on things like SIP planters and tiered grow bags that would allow fast vegetable growth with minimal effort. This also led to starting the Growrack. At present I rotate between “elevated” bags and “raised bed” bags using recycyled soil + amendments. Below are some shots of past configurations!
For 2021 we had a late-start due to a wintertime roof leak, so we opted for 1 6ft, 3-cell raised bed on riser pads - then the rest in grow bags on pot elevators. The mobility allows us to move around the deck with the season, so that we can hopefully recoup some yield!
2020 was our first year of “no-till” bags, which are covered more here and here.
After a lazy 2018 due to travel, Jill and I decided to set my bags and planters our new roof. We used suncalc.org to find the spot that would average the most sunlight over the course of the summer, and added in some bigger grow bags for good measure. This year also led to the Growrack.
Same setup as 2016 + more tomatoes, lettuce, and plants per cell. Moved peppers to match sun pattern observed previous year, yielded first batch 1 month early.
These grow bags are nonwoven polysester with a neoprene liner that covers points of contact, so the wall is protected while still receiving the benefits of aerated soil. I very carefully drilled 3 tiny plugs out of each liner (but didn’t penetrate the fabric) to allow each to drain into the next, and tucked the tailings into the back…I’ve since used them for several seasons, and have replaced or removed the plugs once per season as the setup dictates!
