Growing Tomatoes in your 5 Gallon Pail

Whether or not you possess any gardening space, you and your family can still enjoy your meals complete with home grown luscious tomatoes. Surprise your guests with delicious soups, salads, purees, curries, and pasta by offering culinary delights made from the tomatoes you grew right in your backyard. 

As a homeowner and lover of eating home grown fruits, vegetables and spices, you will be happily surprised to know the unusual use of your quintessential 5 gallon pail.

As a dreamer of juicy red tomatoes, your craving to eat them right from the vine can be soon fulfilled. It is easy to grow tomatoes in your yard without the requirement of a very large space.

By simply purchasing a few 5 gallon buckets, you can start to plant about half a dozen different types of spices, fruits and vegetables in a space as small as 10 feet. Considering the fact that tomatoes tend to thrive on heat and grow best when the soil is warm, remember to purchase a few black buckets for best results.

As long as you remember to give them plenty of water, you will be on the right track.

How to grow tomatoes in your 5 gallon pail –

1. The first thing to do is the turn your bucket over and rill a few drainage holes that are 4 to 6 inches wide. Make sure they are spaced evenly over the base of the bucket.

2. Now fill the half or three quarters of the bucket with a mixture that consists of equal parts of perlite, sand, potting soil or garden loam, and peat moss.

3. Now remove the tomato seedlings for the nursery container you bought. Make sure that you take extra caution against damaging the roots.

4. Place the seedling in the centre of the bucket while making sure that the top 2 or 4 leaves remain above the surface of the soil. Fill the space around the roots and the stem with soil and firm it down using your hands to make sure the seedlings are secure.

5. It is now time to thoroughly water the plant until it runs freely through the holes you made in the bottom of the bucket.

6. Remember to make use of water-soluble fertilizer that is designed especially for growing tomatoes. You will be required to repeat the application of this fertilizer every 10 days to 2 weeks.

7. Make sure the bucket is placed in an area that receives full sun for at least 6 to 8 hours in a day.

8. During this time, it is also recommended that you at a tomato cage or trellis, especially if you are growing indeterminate tomatoes.

9. Every time you feel that the soil is dry, consider watering the plants again. You can check for dryness 1 inch before the surface. Depending on the hot and dry spells, you may be expected to adjust the daily watering schedule and quantities, especially since soil in containers tend to dry up a lot faster than the soil found in the gardens.

Remember to invest in the following tools before you start growing tomatoes in your backyard –

1. A ½ inch drill.
2. Perlite
3. Potting soil
4. Peat Moss
5. Tomato Seedlings
6. Water Soluble fertilizer
7. Plant Stakes or tomato cages

If you do not provide the necessary amount of water to your plants, it will add stress to the tomato plants and prevent it from absorbing any calcium from the soil. Eventually the dryness may result in blossom drops or blossom end rots in your tomatoes.

Remember that indeterminate tomatoes continue to grow in height up until the point it is killed by frost. It is thus important to cage them or stake them for support to the plant or fruit.

On the other hand, determinant tomatoes grow only to a specific height that ranges between 1.5 to 2 feet. These do not require any caging or staking.