Almost anything of size will work for tomatoes. I love the low budget ideas way better than the fancy more expensive ones. Very creative. Good luck.

Damon

I go with used pots from my local nursery. $1.00 for any size, 5 gal up to 30 gal.

i enjoy making planters out of plastic milk crates. some storeowners are happy to give them away. i line the inside of each crate with septic-tank paper or landscape fabric and then pour in potting soil. the handles ensure portability and the crates are nice and sturdy

Thanks! Those are all great ideas. I tried to get used containers from several local nurseries, but no luck this year.

I didn't have any luck with used nursery containers either. I ended up going with used 5 gallon pickle buckets. Most were free from bakeries (icing and margarine more so than pickles...) and restaurants but I did buy some from Firehouse subs for a $2.00 donation to firefighters. A good cause and still cheaper than buying them from a store ($6) or actual planters. All you have to do is drill some holes. I pay more for good potting mix so I like to save on the container. Nice ideas everyone!

For tomatoes, I use the recycled fiber pots that run about $5 for a 9 gallon, and $3 for a 5 gallon. The standard black plastic pots run about the same, but I figure the former is better for the environment, and I still get at least two years out of them, sometimes 3. And they don't heat up as easily.

Nothing is cheaper than free used 5 gallon buckets. Restaurants throw them away all the time. Try large bakeries, food processing plants, hotels, etc. They would all be happy to let you have them rather than throw them into the land fill. Just be careful what was in the first.

Andy.

I grew tomatoes along with peppers, beans, squash, lettuce and cucumbers last year in old used tires with the side walls cut out and turned wrong side out. They were free. It worked great, and I plan on doing it again this year. I planted onion beds in 4 tires yesterday. :)

I've used a trash can- about 25 gallons or so- as a tomato container. It was a bit tall and needed a lot of soil to top off. But, perhaps that trash can could be cut down to about 24 inches. Worked great. Autopsy of the plant didn't show binding at all.