Billmack, most definitely you can use such container....and I have used about 50% compost for my large harvest...half of which I had to give away.

Just a note....it is always best to avoid gardening tomatoes in the same place as the year before--hence the reason to use containers where you cant move at least 20 feet away from the nearest line of tomatoes.

Where are you growing billmack? Tomatoes did not do well for me in 5 gal. containers here in Texas, though gardeners in cooler climates report using them with success.

If you change the vermiculite to perlite, you might have a medium that will provide the kind of aeration and drainage that plants require to be vigorous. What's great for in-ground plantings is not necessarily the best for containers.

Yes, you will need to fertilize.

I agree... you will need to fertilize.

And I'd suggest getting some of the Tomato Tone fertilizer
by Espoma.

That's some good stuff!

BTW... I ONLY grow tomatoes in containers. I use a combo
of traditional containers--- 15-25 gal or so--- and those
DIY self-watering containers.

Darlette

jdwhitaker, my area is upstate SC. I've had limited success growing in ground hence the container idea. Also, it seems 5 gal may not be large enough. Thanks all for your comments.

I grew four types of tomatoes in regular 5 gallon buckets last year with awesome success.

Everything from small patio types to Juliets that got to be over 10 feet tall.

I used Sta-Green container soil which is mostly compost.

See my link below for last years container garden pictures.

Here is a link that might be useful: My container garden link

No problem in growing tomatoes in 5 gallon containers.
I use tomatotone, Epsoma fertilizer.
The planting mix got adequate vermiculite for aeration.
Occasionally feed with foliar spray (fish emulsion, kelp)
If it gets too hot I insulate the buckets with tall white kitchen bags in which I keep some news papers or use bubble pack (packaging material as an insulator) and tape it with duct tape

billmack, I believe that 5-gallon buckets are 'the norm' for growing tomatoes. With a good, porous potting medium I see no reason why you should not be very happy with the results.

el34, your container garden is awesome! I'm very impressed!

Thanks rhizo,
Lats year was my first garden in a long time.
I thought I'd give the 5 gallon buckets a try and see.

It turned out so well that I am expanding this year.
I'll be adding pics for the 2007 garden as soon as things start growing.

My rule of thumb for tomato containers is 3 cubic feet or around 20 gallons. Last summer I had a couple of extra Celebrity tomato seedlings left over and plopped them into 5 gallon buckets as an experiment. Celebrity tomatoes are a rather large indeterminate plant. The plants in the 5 gallon buckets did do well but they didn't produce nearly what the tomato plants in the 20 gallon tubs did. I estimated their production was about 1/3 but I didn't make an accurate count. My soil, fertilizing, and watering were identical for both container sizes.

That said, if the 5 gallon buckets produced 1/3 what the 20 gallon tubs did they still outperformed proportionally based upon container size. This summer I'm thinking of trying a similar experiment with a determinate variety like Roma tomatoes and I plan to take accurate metrics this time.
Knowing what tomatoes to grow in 5 gallon buckets could be very useful for me to know in future years.

I have had a couple problems with 5 gallon buckets and thats when i grew beefsteak in them. I think the roots fried or something, because the plants got super stressed. I usually grow a smaller variety now or prune them back, also make sure the mid summer sun isn't beating on your container, because i'm guessing the plant doesn't want its roots to get that hot.

billmack-
I'm on the coast in SC, and have grown tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets for two years with decent success.(I had to switch from in-ground because of wilt problems and found I had to elevate buckets after the first year because some of my containers in contact with soil got wilt. Last year with all buckets elevated, I didn't lose any plants.) I've used a mixture of shredded pine bark and peat humus, 2cu.ft. of pine bark to one 40 lb bag of peat humus, plus one cup 5-10-10 fertilizer and one cup lime pellets. I began to fertilize additionally throughout the season after about 45 days. This year am altering mix to include peat moss more along the lines of Al's(a.k.a. "tapla" on this board)mix. You will need to fertilize....
Re: 5 gal. as size....I've read elsewhere of an Ortho study comparing yields of plants in 5 gal. versus 20 gal. containers. Study found the plant in the 20 gal. yielded more than a plant in the 5 gal., BUT plants in four 5 gal. containers together yielded substantially more than the plant in the 20 gal. In other words, for the same amount of soil mix, more tomatoes from the four 5 gal. containers.
Good Luck!!

Good info chalstonsc.

I'm not sure I would want or need much more yield off of my 5 gallon container Juliet tomatotes.
They easily put out 600+ juliets on each of my four buckets.

The Juliets made awesome salsa by the way. I tried several other tomatoe types but the Juliets had this wonderful tangy/non tomotoe juice type flavor that made great salsa.

Several of my friends grow tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets. I am growing them too from the last few years.
Elevate the bucket of the ground. Keep it on bricks or a piece of wood.
Adequate drainage holes. Add tomato tone(epsoma)/or osmacote/kelp.
Tomato fertilizer needs may be like 5% first month, 25% second month 70% third month.
Foliar feed with kelp, calcium nitrate few times.
Adding mycorrhiza did not work for us.
When the summer gets too hot insulate the bucket with few news papers kept in a tall white kitchen bag-wrap it around and tape or at least keep a card board on the side of sun hits.

eswar, good ideas. Some of them depends on the methods used and bucket types used.

My buckets all set on landscaping cloth runners so they are not in contact with the dirt.

All drain holes are on the sides of the buckets so they drain properly without being raised up.

The buckets are all white 5 gallon buckets, so heat is not a problem, the white relects the heat.
I also line the insides of my buckets with a piece of landscaping cloth. Kinda like a coffee filter. No insects can get into the drain holes and the dirt does not get out or clog the drain holes.

First of all, thanks to everyone for the great responses and information. You guys are super. I've been away from the computer for over a week but wanted to add another question. A nieghbor tells me he mixes mushroom compost with his inground soil and gets great results. Would mushroom compost be a good additive for containers as well? Anybody had any experience with this?

Some (most?) mushroom growers rely on some nasty chemicals to control fungus gnats and pathogenic organisms. Those residues can be a real issue for food crops. Also, the soluble salts and added lime can be a serious detriment to any horticultural use.

The product also decomposes rather quickly, becoming an unsuitable substrate for container growing. (Fine for other gardening activities, as long as you don't mind the chemicals.) Your goal, for container culture, is to create or find a mix that remains coarse textured and porous for the entire growing season. Mushroom compost won't.

And then there's the cost.

Thanks rhizo. I'll scratch it off my list. But here's a question related to your last post. (find a mix that remains coarse textured and porous for the entire growing season). el34 recommends Sta-Green. Do you concur or do you have another suggestion? If so I'll try both and compare results.

Lowes had two brands of 3 cubic feet container soil bags.

The Miracle-grow was heavier, denser feeling compared to the Sta-Green and so I chose the Sta-Green.

The Sta-Green stayed very fluffy in the contaiers and water ran right through the 5 gallon buckets no problem.

It just looks like a well done home made compost to me. Lots of pine bark, organic matter,etc.

I really don't have the time or desire to mess with making huge amounts of compost and so I just buy my soil.

Read the thread.

Is the Sta-Green from Lowe's in three cubic foot bags the choice for earthboxes as well as five-gallon buckets or 20 gallon containers? TIA.

Would anybody recommend distributing or mixing into the soil:
1. Dolomite (hydrated lime)?, and/or
2. SuperPhosphate (rock phosphate)?TIA.