I went with fabric pots over plastic nursery pots for my balcony tomatoes

Everyone in my building swears by plastic pots because they hold moisture better in the summer heat, but I switched to 10-gallon fabric bags last season after losing two plants to root rot. The drainage was way better and my plants actually produced more fruit despite needing water every day instead of every three. Has anyone else tried fabric pots on a small balcony and dealt with the extra watering hassle?

2 comments

2 Comments

hart.taylor8d ago

Yo, fabric pots are legit the move for balcony gardening honestly. I've been using 5-gallon ones on my tiny balcony for two years now and the extra watering is a small price to pay for no root rot. Pro tip: get a drip tray or a saucer under them to catch the runoff, it keeps your balcony from getting gross and saves some water for the plants to soak up later. I just check the soil every morning with my finger, if it's dry an inch down I water, no big deal. Your tomatoes will thank you with better yields for sure.

hayes.oliver8d ago

Whoa hold up, I gotta push back on the finger test thing a little bit. It's not always reliable with fabric pots because the sides dry out way faster than the middle, so you might think it's dry an inch down on the edge but the core is still soaked. I learned that the hard way when my peppers got droopy even though the top inch felt dry, turned out the center was still wet (and roots were starting to rot). What works better for me is lifting the pot to feel the weight, you get a much better sense of how much water is actually in there. Once you get a feel for the weight difference between wet and dry, it's way more accurate than just poking around.