How to Grow Tomatoes in a Bucket

Tomatoes are relatively easy to grow in a bucket. Sometimes when planting tomatoes in a bucket the yield is much larger, producing bigger tomatoes, than when they are planted in the ground. With container gardening you can control the amount of nutrients, including water and sunlight, that the tomatoes get. Unlike tomatoes grown in the ground, the bucket tomatoes can be moved around to wherever they need to be placed for optimal growth. There are specific varieties bred for container gardening and the experts at your local gardening center should be able to point you in the right direction.

Things You'll Need

• tomato plants suitable for container gardening
• Buckets (5 gallon capacity)
• Hand drill
• Rocks or gravel
• Commercial potting soil
• Trowel
• Gloves
• 10-10-10 fertilizer
• Tomato stake and ties

Instructions

1. Clean the five gallon buckets out with water and dish detergent. Make sure that the buckets are rinsed out thoroughly.

2. Drill 10 to 12 drainage holes in the bottom of each bucket.

3. Place the rocks or gravel in the bottom of the buckets so that at least 2 inches of the bottom of the bucket is covered with gravel.

4. Fill the buckets up to about 3 inches from the top with good quality, well-drained potting soil. Do not use dirt out of the garden.

5. Use the trowel to make a hole about 3 inches wide in the middle of the bucket. It needs to be deep enough to bury 3/4 of the tomato stalk.

6. Strip the leaves off of the tomato stalk 3/4 of the way up the stalk. Bury 3/4 of the stalk and push the loose dirt back into the hole around the stalk to provide stability. Burying almost all of the stalk causes the tomato plant to grow bushy instead of tall and spindly. More shoots provide a larger fruit yield.

7. Water the plant thoroughly. Make sure that the plant is watered consistently and evenly. Try to water the soil only.This can be accomplished by filling a watering can and holding it down low on the soil to water or by watering with the garden hose turned to low stream.

8. Fertilize your tomato plants every two weeks with a good 10-10-10 fertilizer mix. This is very important because frequent watering causes the nutrients to leach from the soil.

9. Stake and tie plants when they are about 18 inches tall to prevent them from leaning over and to provide a greater yield.

Tips & Warnings

• Use nylon stockings to tie plants with because they provide the elasticity needed for the plant to grow undamaged.

• Brace buckets that have large, tall plants so that they will not topple over in high winds.

References

• Container Tomatoes