Anyone tried growing tomatoes in fabric grow bags?

[Juliana]

I usually plant my tomatoes directly in the ground, but this year I’m thinking of trying fabric grow bags to help with root aeration and soil drainage. I’ve read they can help avoid root rot, but I’m curious about yield and taste compared to in-ground planting.
If you’ve tried this method, how did it work out for you? Any tips on watering frequency or soil mix?

 

[Chuck]

Since I had to move into a town and give up my big garden I planted everything in grow bags. Tomatoes in 10 gallon, peppers in 5 gallon, corn in 10 gallon, cucs in 3 gallon, melons in 10 gallon, okra in 5 gallon, herbs in 2 gallon. I saw no reduction whatsoever in anything except cucumbers and I think that was because of a lack of pollinators. I used a refined hugleculture method. Rotten sticks and limbs in the bottom layered with horse manure compost and basic topsoil. I fertilized about a month before planting and again at planting and thereafter once per month. Watering wasn't really a problem until it got hot and then I would water everything 2 times per week.There is a learning curve when planting in grow bags but all one has to do is just pay attention to your plants and they will tell you when they get thirsty.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I grow outside in the ground, but I also grow in orange buckets with holes drilled in the bottom. They are £1 each from B&Q and I usually get one at the door and use it to carry my other purchases. I use a similar technique to Chuck, wood in the bottom, sieve horse manure into commercial compost and mix, what won't go through the sieve goes on top of the wood, then the compost. They are only 14 litres much less than ten US gallons, but I probably grow them much smaller, stop them at three or four trusses, different climate. Plant slightly forward of the centre so I can still use the handle. I have recently started burying a small terracotta flower pot with a squidge of silicone in the hole at the back. Filling it with water semms to work well as a way of continuous watering.