tomatoes in a bucket

[david32cal]

anyone have any tips for growing tomatoes in five gallon buckets.

[Rick]

Here's some info:

http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/tomato2.html

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/l...032328917.html

http://www.3mutts.com/bucket-tomatoes.html

I planted a couple of tomatoe plants in large pots last year. Probably ten gallon range. My intent was to bring them in prior to frost and see if they would bear fruit over the winter. They died shortly after bringing them inside. They did just fine while they were outside, though. That's my experience with growing in a container.

[Ken]

Years back, I grew some very small peppers (looked like tic tacs) outdoors. They grew on a 3' high woody stem, but for the life of me I can't remember the variety name. I loved them, and also tried bringing them indoors. About two days later, the plant was infested with micro sized bugs that I had never seen before. Goodbye peppers.

[Rick]

Oh, yea. That, too. I posted in another thread that they were infected with white flies and aphids. My wife was none too pleased about that, either.

[david32cal]

thanks for the links,that should get me started

[bulrush]

Tomatoes in containers have never worked well in lower Michigan. The ambient temperature gets so hot in the summer the roots die. All my tomato plants that did well were in the ground and heavily mulched with 4 inches of cedar chips.

While the tomato plants like hot weather, their roots do not. I'm just sayin.

[crashdive123]

Tomatoes in containers have never worked well in lower Michigan. The ambient temperature gets so hot in the summer the roots die. All my tomato plants that did well were in the ground and heavily mulched with 4 inches of cedar chips.

While the tomato plants like hot weather, their roots do not. I'm just sayin.

Try an Earth Box (or a homemade one). You will like the results.

[agail]

I live in the UK - not sure how it compares to Michigan but its pretty temperate here.
I have used a couple of these **************** and they have done quite well. One tip I found that alot of others have verified is to put a lot of vermiculite in the bottom of the bucket - this will be at the top when its inverted. This is too keep the water you put in at the top of the bucket where the water drinking roots tend to be.

Im also going try one of these ****** although I think they are exactly the same as the hanging planters or bags.

[Winnie]

Hello fellow britisher! I grow my toms in containers and in the soil, I use a collar on both. Basically grow them much like anything else in containers with sufficient drainage. But I use a collar made from pop bottles. cut a 4" deep ring from the bottle and slide it over the plant. it makes watering easier and as the plant grows I fill it with compost to give the stem roots somewhere to go. Works pretty well (usually, last year was a disaster!)

[Trabitha]

anyone have any tips for growing tomatoes in five gallon buckets.

I've grown plants (one per bag), in BAGS of garden soil before. Worked rather well. The roots travel out...just keep them wet. The perk is that the plastic bag kills the sod under it, and when you dump your soil at the end of the season, you already have next years bed!

[rwc1969]

My old neighbor made a bet with me as a kid that he could grow bigger maters than me. i threw a bunch o drt in a 5 gal bucket w' holes poked in it, planted some seeds and a few months later was 5 bucks richer. Man he was po'd. Snookered by an 8 year old. LOL!

My mom grows em in containers and puts rocks and holes in the bootm for drainage. they do well.

You can go high tek if ya want and throw a fully urinated diaper in there for good measure. Urea is good for em and it's supposed to help retain moisture.