Smart Pot Big Bag Bed: A Product Review

It's raining outside, so I thought I'd use the break from my break-neck pace of planting to give you my first product review. And for the first, it sets the bar high because I have yet to find a down side to the Smart Pot Big Bag Bed.

Moving into our home at the peak of planting season, I knew I'd be hard-pressed to get everything out that I wanted in time for summer growth. In one of my Urban Farm Magazines (a periodical that has since closed) I first saw an advertisement that indicated Smart Pots could be used as raised beds. I mentioned my plans to use these to a friend and she got one for herself and has been growing cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, bok choy and herbs in it.

Sounds like a lot, doesn't it?

It should! The Big Bag Bed holds 100 gallons of potting mix and has 13.5 cubic feet of growing space. It's round, so that is the only "difficult" accommodation that my linear mind grapples with. On a square foot garden scale, I should be have the equivalent of 13+ squares, but going by the 5 gallon bucket per tomato plant standard I've used in the past, I should have about 20 "spaces" to use.

If you're an accomplished gardener, you'll be able to "eyeball" how many plants you can use. If you are a beginner, start with the 13 square foot space idea and tuck in lots of small herbs and plants that don't need large root space.

One word of caution: at 100 gallons, this is going to take a lot of potting mix. I went discount by mixing my own from peat, vermiculite and compost. This will be your greatest expense, because at $40 or less for the Big Bag Bed, I really don't think you can build a raised bed for any less than this. I've also been told that just like a wooden raised bed, you need only amend the soil in years to come and that the bag itself should last up to 10 years.

If you want an easier way to garden quickly and something that will pay for itself in the long run, this is definitely an option to explore!