Yes you can and where are you located? Water and ferts are critical in smaller containers as well as support for your plants. You have to keep on top of it as you can't afford to stress the plants or you could run into other problems. Ami

What variety of tomato plant? Determinate, dwarf, indeterminate, etc.? That can make a BIG difference.

Ami grows in 5 gallon containers successfully but as she said you really have to stay on top of them. Otherwise many have discovered that it is a waste of time and effort. I wouldn't do it, much less a 4 gallon one, unless it was absolutely the only option I had.

Dave

Dave said, "Ami grows in 5 gallon containers successfully but as she said ..."

OMG, TED!!! Did you fly to Sweden for one of those sexual reassignment operations? :::gasp:::

All kidding aside, yes I've grown lots of dwarf plants very successfully in 4-gallon black nursery tubs. Some of the plants got to 4 feet tall but most were short, 2 - 3 foot bushes. I watered them with a garden hose once a day during very hot weather and at least every other day always. The roots grew out the bottom of most of the pots and anchored into the underlying soil.

I think if you're gonna set up an auto-drip fertigation system and keep them amply supplied, you'll be okay. A friend of mine grows full size indeterminates in hoophouses two vines to a 5-gallon bag of coir using auto-feed that injects water and plant food four times a day ... once every six hours. His operation is a very successful commercial vegetable market.

Dave said, "Ami grows in 5 gallon containers successfully but as she said ..."

OMG, TED!!! Did you fly to Sweden for one of those sexual reassignment operations? :::gasp:::

ROTFL!!! - my most humble apologies. Throw the 5 gallon bucket at me. I swear to not duck.

Dave, who racks it up to 65 degrees and the sun is shinning

No offense taken. It has happened once or twice before.:) It's pronounced AH-Me. In Germany they nicknamed the Americans Ami's and my wife being German and living in Deutchland I came up with Amideutch as a handle on many forums. Ami aka Ted aka Theodore.

Doin it on the other side of the pond.

yes and an ex Californian at that so he can't be that BAD

I am along the coast in California... probably a zone 16. Lots of micro climates here. Summers can be quite cool with the fog. We grow tomatoes in the ground and we get tons. We totally neglect them at some point and barely water them. We are overrun by them. Lots of volunteers that do great.

The varieties I want to grow are Ind and Det. (cherry, plum, round, orange, purple, etc). No dwarfs.

Seems if someone is growing 2 to a 5 gallon bag, that one to a 4 gallon bucket would work. If I use a 5 gallon bucket for the reservoir, that's a pretty big water reservoir for one plant.

Can the plants be pruned to be kept small and still produce enough? I don't need tons per plant. After all, I have 27! One can only eat so many tomatoes. I am more interested in a smaller crop and to be able to taste them all. They are all heirloom and open-pollinated tomatoes. I have never pruned tomatoes so this will be a new one for me.

And with the SWC, or eBucket, the fertilizer is at the top and available all the time. As long as I replenish it I wonder if I would really have to fertilize every day?

Ted - The really sad part ted is that I already knew all that from the past and still typed "she" so like I said it was the sudden exposure to the sun that got me. :)

safaribabe - this is a debate/discussion we have here often and you'll find many previous discussions on the issue here via the search if you want to read them. But the bottom line is that you aren't going to get a definitive answer. The opinions are far too firm on both sides of the issue. So ultimately it is up to you.

Like hoosier said above, a dwarf variety? Sure. Even I have done that. A determinate? Probably with extra work and care. I've tried it but generally found it a waste of time. An indeterminate? Some do in 5 gallons and they agree that it takes extra work and some agree the results are limited to varying degrees when compared to the same plant in a larger container.

For me, I've proven to myself that it is a total waste of time and energy to use anything less than 10 gallon containers and I grow lots of tomato plants in 10 gallon SWC's. But then I am into maximum production, maximum plant health, and non-stressful gardening, not extra work in order to sample a few of many different kinds so my focus is very different from yours.

Never heard of anyone successfully "growing 2 to a 5 gallon bag" except as Hoosier said, when using an auto-feed, semi-hydroponic set up. Sure, set up auto timers, fertilizer injectors, and use hydro systems and fertilizer formulas and you can grow a plant in a 2 inch cube of rock wool. But that isn't what you are proposing.

But they are your plants and your set up to experiment with so give it a go and see if it works to your satisfaction. I wish you luck.

Dave

Since your doing the SWC regimen keep the plant to a single stem and trim all the side shoots (suckers) and you should be able to keep the plant size manageable. You will end up with less but larger fruit. Once you get first fruit set throttle back on the Nitrogen ferts and increase the Potassium and make sure you add dolomitic Lime to your grow medium. Ami

I bought an Earthbox and it says 2 tom's per box. no mention of what kind. The growing height of my 4 gallon is the same as the EB. Obviously, not as wide, even if you divide the box by 2. But I have read of people growing even more than 2 in an EB....

So it makes me wonder if so much of this is what you plant it in, how often your fertilize and water. Seems some people have no problem and others more so.

Do a bucket with one and a bucket with two and a bucket with four and one with eight,lets us know how it goes

I have a ton of free food grade containers I would like to grow the tomatoes in. I want to do it in a self-watering system with a 5 gallon bucket below. This would give me a bigger reservoir rather than a 5 gallon in a 5 gallon.

"self-watering"? Are your 4 gal containers going to be continually immersed in a 5 gal bucket of water? If so, a drip irrigation system might be better (& no reservoir to limit oxygen to the roots)

Dave,

I'm doing 7-gallon containers and having good success, so far. But I would not try to grow anything besides dwarf plants in a 4-gallon bucket, unless I had a perfect soil mix and buried it so the sun doesn't bake the sides.

Mike

I bought an Earthbox and it says 2 tom's per box. no mention of what kind.

If you browse through the forums at Earthbox you'll find that most of the experienced users recommend using determinate varieties only if planting 2 or using only 1 indeterminate variety per earthbox. The question came up there not too long ago when someone asked why all their ad photos show only determinate varieties in the EB.

You might also want to check out all the discussions here at GW about 'EarthTainers', a much larger earthbox-type of set up where 2 indeterminate plants can be grown easily.

But I have read of people growing even more than 2 in an EB

Several regular posters here use Earthboxes but can't say I have ever seen anyone claim to be able to grow more than 2 tomatoes in one. Still one can read about all sorts of things in books or on the web but keep in mind that doesn't necessarily make them true. ;)

But you have obviously given a great deal of though to your set-up so the only way to know if it will work or not is to give it a try. That is the best way to learn what does and doesn't work.

Dave

FWIW, I grew paste and cherry toms (both indeterminate) in 4 gallon swc's with excellent results last year. Your climate is much cooler than mine in the summer, so I think you'll do well with it. I'll try large toms this year in a few, just to see if it will work.

EG

I love timmy's pictures. As you can see his plants are in 5 gal containers using a drip system to water/feed his plants. And it looks like he is using a single stem approach and notice how he is supporting his plants with twine hanging from overhead. Can't tell if he is using clips or just wrapping the twine around the stem. I guess you could call it a hybrid hydroponic growing system. And with a roof over their heads disease problems are kept to a minimum. Ami