Growing Tomatoes in Five Gallon Buckets
Whether rich or poor or experiencing drought or heavy rains, you can grow tomatoes in a five-gallon bucket and a sunny location! It's cost effective and you can control the quality of the soil and the amount of water resulting in that oh-so-yummy warm tomato right out of the garden experience!
You can usually find someone to give you a five-gallon bucket or you can buy one for about $2.50 (Lowe's). Drill 4-5 holes on the bottom for drainage. Add some compost/soil that drains well followed by your tomato plant!
These plants are on my deck -- easy access to my water hose--but don't over water!! Tomatoes are sweeter when they are in dryer soil.
If your Five-Gallon-Tomato Plant sits on a wooden deck, add a drip tray so moisture doesn't get trapped underneath the bucket and rot the wood.
Tomatoes need to be caged or staked since they are berries and have a need to climb. If these do as well as I think, I may add stakes inside the cages so they can grow up up up!!!
Finally, this is what we're all looking forward to. Is there anything better?
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Growing tomatoes indoors is just ask easy as growing outdoors. If your tomatoes are not producing tomatoes try looking for suckers, they grow in between the healthy stems. Where the stems split to cause branches is where they grow just use your thumbnail to remove them. My dad taught me how to do that.
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This tip comes from an old timer. When planting tomatoes add a slightly cracked egg in the bottom of the hole and cover it with soil then plant your tomato plants on top.
Frequently asked questions
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i have given up raising tomatoes---not that I don't have good luck raising them, I do but I have the same problem every year---SNAKES!!! Every thing from rattle snakes to garter, to bull snakes ---what can I do??
I have beautiful tomato plants 3 foot tall and no blooms for tomatoes yet?
How can I keep the squirrels and BIRDS away. Last year my tomatoes were either picked off the vine or pecked like crazy from the birds. Would the plants be hindered by a tighter mesh 'cage' ?