Growing Tomatoes in 5 Gallon Buckets

Posted in plastic buckets

In this article we will discuss a more non-traditional use of 5 gallon plastic buckets.  With summer approaching, thoughts turn to gardening.  Maybe you think that you don’t have enough space to plant a garden, but you can use buckets in very little space.  You can line them up next to your house or put them on the pavement next to your garage.  Be sure your buckets are food grade.  All the buckets we sell at Yankee Containers are food grade, except for the black.

• First you will need to drill 4 to 6 holes for drainage, spaced evenly in the bottom of the bucket.
• Next you will fill the bucket half way to three quarters of the way  with potting soil.
• Remove your seedling from it’s container carefully so as not to damage the roots.
• Position the seedling in the center of the bucket with the top 2 to 4 leaves above the surface.  Fill in with soil and tap it down to secure the seedling.
• Water until the water runs through the bottom of the bucket.
• Be sure to fertilize.
• Place the bucket in an area that receives sun at least 6 to 8 hours a day.
• Add a trellis or tomato cage when plant gets too tall.
• Water whenever soil feels dry.

Hanging Buckets Upside Down

Maybe you have a traditional garden but have run out of space.  You can simply put a pole or 2 x 4 piece of lumber and hang the buckets upside down.  The benefits to this are that there is no need to stake the plants because gravity takes care of that for you and less weeding.

• As with the method discussed above, you will need to drill a small hole in the bottom of the bucket.  The hole should be big enough to fit the stalk of a full grown plant but not too big that the root ball falls out before it has a chance to take root.
• Now take your tomato plant, cherry tomatoes work well.
• Put a layer of  sphagnum moss at the bottom of the bucket.
• Insert the leaves and stalk of the plant though the hole.
• Holding the root ball in place, fill the bucket with potting soil.
• Leave about 1 inch of space.
• Hang the bucket upside down and water thoroughly.

Tags: buckets drainage fertilizer garden tomatoes trellis

Categories: plastic buckets