I put in a couple of soil gardens this year along with wicking beds. One wicking bed is watered with aquaponic water and the other with tap water. Both have only bagged potting soil. Neither is doing as well as the hydroponic bed next to them. The soil bed in the same area is also doing poorly with bagged garden soil. The other soil bed is doing great with the same soil. Only difference is the second bed gets a little less sun. I'm thinking next year doing something similar to what you did with the grow bags.