How to plant tomatoes in a 5 gal buckets?

Question

Hi there, just planted tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets for the first time. Wanted to see who else has done it and how it turned out for them!! Also, any tips or advice is welcome!! I drilled holes in bucket, put pea gravel in bottom and used special potting soil with fertilizer. They are in a sunny spot on my deck!

Liliana Wells · Answer

Also put egg shells and/or shrimp shells in the mix if you can.

Gk · Answer

Hello Ellen! Make sure you place some tomato cages in the buckets. Easiest to do when the plants are small. I have found that I need to secure the buckets/cages to my deck railing so they don't fall over when larger and are holding ripening tomatoes. I tie the cages to the deck railing with twine. They can fall over in a good wind/rain storm and you will have broken off branches of nice tomatoes that are hard to lose. The plants do get quite large depending on the variety you planted. I would also water about every 2-3 weeks with an Epsom salt/water solution. I use the 1 tablespoon of Epsom salts to one gallon of water for my buckets of tomatoes. https://www.reference.com/food/mix-epsom-salt-tomatoes-6dbecc5381190f0e

I also use Miracle Grow for Tomatoes (specifically for tomatoes) every 2-3 weeks. I alternate with the Epsom salt solution. If you are getting a lot of rain make sure that you don't water the buckets until the soil feels damp dry.