How to Plant a Hang & Grow Bag

Fill your Hang & Grow bag with potting mix, plant seeds, plugs or bare-root plants through the side holes and in the top, and let it rest flat for 7–10 days. Then hang it where it gets 4–6 hours of sun a day.

When to plant
Whenever your plants can go outdoors. To start seeds in trays instead of the bag, sow them 6–8 weeks before your last expected frost
Depth
Seeds pressed into the side holes and covered with a thin layer of mix; plugs set into the holes with the root ball intact; bare roots spread out through the holes and covered
Spacing
One plant per side hole, plus 1–2 plants in the top of a hanging bag or up to 4 in the top of a saddlebag
Sun
4–6 hours of sun a day
Water
Water through every hole and the top; keep the mix moist but never waterlogged, which can mean daily watering in hot weather
Soil
Good-quality potting mix (not included); about 6 quarts for a hanging bag and 8 quarts for a saddlebag

Step by step

  1. Match your plants to the holes. Bags with 1-inch holes are for seeds and small seedlings, and bags with 2-inch holes are for plugs and bare-root plants such as strawberries.
  2. Lay the bag flat and fill it with potting mix up to the first row of holes.
  3. Plant that row. Press seeds into the holes and cover them thinly, set plugs in without breaking up the root ball, and spread bare roots gently through the hole.
  4. Add more mix and plant each row as you reach it, until the bag is full. Tamp the mix gently around each plant to remove air pockets.
  5. Plant 1–2 plants in the top of a hanging bag, or up to 4 across the top of a saddlebag.
  6. Water thoroughly through every hole and the top.
  7. Leave the bag lying flat for 7–10 days so roots can settle, then hang it in a spot with 4–6 hours of sun a day.

After bloom

The bags are reusable. At the end of the season, pull out spent plants, empty the old mix and let the bag dry completely before you store it. Refill with fresh potting mix when you plant again.