QUESTION: I don’t have room for a garden at my house, but I want to grow my own tomatoes. Can I grow tomatoes in a five-gallon bucket?- Linda K
ANSWER: Five-gallon buckets make convenient containers for growing tomatoes and allow you to grow up to six plants in a 10-foot space in your small garden, yard or container garden or in small spaces such as a balcony or patio. This is a great solution if you have limited space, but you want to have access to fresh tomatoes. Container-grown tomatoes perform well in black buckets because the black soaks up heat, and tomatoes thrive in warm soil. You must drill four to six drainage holes in the bottom to use five-gallon buckets or larger containers for growing plants, as container tomatoes need adequate drainage. Homegrown tomatoes need good soil. Use a mixture of equal parts peat moss, perlite or sand, and potting mix rich in organic material to fill the buckets halfway, or up to three quarters full. Plant your tomato seedling in the soil so that only its top two to four leaves rest above the surface. Add any additional soil that’s needed to keep the plant sitting securely upright, and use your hands to gently press the soil and keep it firm.
Now is the time to add staking or a trellis if you’re growing indeterminate tomatoes or determinate varieties that, because of the size of the plant, will require support. Adding the support system later can damage the plant’s root system. Water plants deeply until the water is flowing through the drainage holes in the bottom of the bucket. Provide the plants with a dose of water-soluble fertilizer.
You will continue to apply fertilizer every 10 to 14 days and water the plants whenever the top inch of soil has dried out. For proper watering it’s a good idea to check the moisture level of the soil by sticking your finger into the dirt an inch deep. If the soil clings to your skin, it is still wet and you don’t yet need to water your plants. When it’s especially hot or dry, you may need to water daily. Choose a sunny spot for your tomato plants , one that gets six to eight hours of full sun per day.
