Make that "variety" - so much for proofreading...

I'm pretty new myself and I'm not really sure how 'well' they'll produce, I think that depends on the variety, but mine are in...maybe 4 gallon buckets? They've started to produce flower buds, so why not just plant them and see how it goes? ( IMO) I hear 5 gallon buckets are the minimum anyway. GOOD LUCK!

-Jenn

They will do just fine in 5 gallon buckets if you keep them to 2-3 vines max and even then when they get big and the weather warms you will have to water them once a day. It can be done though, I'm doing a few in 5 gallon buckets pinched down to 2 vines, no problem. I think what is also very important is the soil and fertilizer but thats a whole nother beast. Ya ever go over to the container forum? Check out A1's mixes and fertlizer threads, a wealth of knowledge. Good luck.

Damon

"so why not just plant them and see how it goes?"
I agree with Jenn...if you don't plant at all, you won't get anything...I'd rather have a few really great heirloom maters than none, or worse, maters from the grocery store. Last year I grew 2 Brandywines in 5gal containers and got about a dozen fruit from each plant. Not a lot, but I enjoyed them thoroughly.

mine grow great in five gallon buckets!!! more tomatoes than I ever imagined. I am converting my buckets into selfwateringcontainers too so watering will be automatic. Cheap, easy, my whole garden is in them. love it!

Here is a link that might be useful: global buckets

ONE PLANT PER BUCKET, YOU WILL HAVE NORMAL EVERYTHING, IF YOU FERTILIZE, WATER, STAKE, PRUNE AND CARE FOR THEM.

What varieties are you thinking of growing? I've grown hundreds of different heirloom varieties in 4 & 5 gallon buckets, som not even full.

The key is consistent watering & feeding. I've grown some that had fruits over 2lbs while grown in 4 gallon buckets 3/4ths full. See MyPage for some varieties, many of those pictured were grown in 4gal buckets with drip irrigation.

Thanks for the replies...Here's why I ask...

Last year I gave my sister some extra plants I had started as seedlings. She put them in five gallon buckets and while they grew fairly well, she got maybe twenty-five tomatoes from six plants. She has said she may have been a little negligent in caring for them, but she didn't abuse them (as I said they looked fairly healthy). They just didn't produce much fruit. Now the thing is a lot of people in this area complained about output last year. So I wasn't sure if it was the containers or it was just some bad luck with the weather.

I know there have been a number of posts on here claiming you need at least a 10 gallon container (or better) for good production. I did start these from seedlings (I have Abe Lincoln, Box Car Willie, Arkansas Traveler, Black from Tula, Carbon and Isis Candy in this bunch among others) and I'd hate to see them go to waste, but if I am only going to get a couple tomatoes per plant that seems like a waste, too. But from the advice here, I think I'm going to try.

Last year was a terrible season in general I think. I wouldn't let one person's poor season deter you. Presently, I have 9 plants done in 5 gallon buckets...one plant per bucket. I have also seen people use the big Rubbermaid containers as well. Just be sure to punch some good holes in the bottoms for drainage.

Korney19 - Can you give a little description of the feeding plan you used? I planted four 5 gallon buckets, 2 have Peruvian Bush Cherry tomatoes, 2 have black cherry tomatoes (all are 1 plant per bucket). I am hoping they thrive, but if I can follow a specific plan that will work out better, I will.

Thanks!

I've grown many tomatoes in 5, 7 and 10 gallon buckets and nursery tubs with good success. Not great in all instances, but sufficient since most of the ones I grown in buckets are for seeds.

What Sportsguy and Korney said is correct. I think one plant per bucket and keeping that plant trimmed, supported, well fed and amply watered is the key.

I use a very porous mix that when you water the tub out the end of a hose, the water immediately permeates through the mix without puddling up at the top of the bucket. That should indicate the lightness of the mix. I've found that dense mixes suffocate or drown the roots.

When planting in a bucket, I mix in about a cup of balance granular fertilizer like 10-10-10, 12-12-12, 9-12-12, 12-15-15, or something similar. Whatever I can get at the farm supply store that year for the best price. I also feed about a tablespoon of Epsom salt per plant via a water solution at least once early in the season and add a little agricultural lime if the mix is heavy on composted forest materials.

Other than that, I basically water every other day, counting to 20 or 25 seconds or so out the end of a half velocity garden hose. When the weather gets above 90 and very dry, I water every day until the water runs freely out the bottom of the tubs for several seconds. No fancy auto-drip systems or reservoirs. Don't have the time, inclintion or bucks to get all involved with fancy stuff.

I fertilize starting at first fruit set with half recommended strength tomato or rose formula Schultz or Peters (Miracle Gro type) plant food about every 10 days until I top the plants toward the end of the season when leaving any new growth, flowers or green fruit would be useless considering days to ripe would exceed days to first killing frost in the fall.

That's about it. And it's worked well for me with indeterminate heirloom types. Like I said, I do this mostly for seed or pollen when growing in buckets, but I get a sufficient yield. The rest of my plants are in raised beds.

By the way, Indian Stripe, Bradley, Creole and Cherokee (Red) are particularly well adapted to buckets.

talonstorm, I posted my exact method here re cently, right down to the mix for the containers and the drip fertigation. I will try to find it and post the link. Gewnerally, you need to water at least daily, feed regular rates weekly or minute rates daily, and I start with a "Starter" fertilizer to prompote strong roots and lots of blooms. Then I switch to a more balanced fertilzer.

I'll go look for the other thread, it was very detailed.

My specific directions were in the thread below, about the 4th post in it.

I should say that I grow my cherries, all except one, in 4 gallon buckets. After settling, there's about 3'' at the top down to the soilmix, so I estimate about 3 'wet' gallons.

Here are some recent varieties grown in 4 gallon or 5 gallon buckets with drip, all on 9'' plates:

Uncle Steve's:

{{gwi:1351695}}
Romeo:
{{gwi:1351696}}
Slankard's:
{{gwi:1351697}}
Nicky Crain:
{{gwi:1351698}}
Oleyar's German:
{{gwi:1351699}}
Roughwood Golden Plum:
{{gwi:1351700}}
Baby Beef (experimental):
{{gwi:1351701}}
Cherokee Green Grape:
{{gwi:1351703}}
Ernie's Plump:
{{gwi:1351705}}
Russian 117:
{{gwi:1351707}}

Here's the thread with my specific methods, see the link below, about the 4th post in it.

Hope this helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: Help me before I make things worse

Thanks very much for the info Hoosier and Korney. I used Miracle Grow potting mix in my buckets this year (with a little Seagreen potting mix added, ran out of the other). I am a little concerned because they are not as well draining as I would like. I drilled many holes in the bottom and 4 on the sides (at the bottom). I did not add additional fertilizer to the mix, I was afraid of overdoing it since the mix already had fert in it. I do have Osmocote 14-14-14 sitting on a shelf in the garage. Do you think it would be beneficial to dig a bit of that into the top layer of mix in the buckets?

Here is a picture of my plants as of this past weekend. They seem to be doing well so far:
{{gwi:1336745}}
They are Peruvian Bush Cherry tomatoes in the back two buckets and Black Cherry tomatoes in the front two buckets. I do have other tomato plants in the regular garden, but I really wanted to try the 2 cherry tomatoes and, like the original poster, I was out of room.

Thanks again, Tina

I forgot, I added a little bone meal (like 1-2 T) mixed into the dirt at the bottom of the planting hole in each bucket as well.

Your Black Cherry plants are going to out-grow that cage big time. Black Cherry is huge and heavy plant, its the biggest out of the 12 varieties I grow, and mine is currently 13ft tall. I use a 9ft stake for mine.

I had excellent luck with containers last year. I don't think I could have wanted more yield. However, I did use hybrids. This year I'm doing mostly heirlooms, and they are doing great. I'm still waiting for fruit set (except for Stupice and Sun Gold), but the plants look super healthy with tons of blooms.

What I do is water every day - that includes days when it rains. I found that once the plants get large, rain just doesn't penetrate well into the buckets. I also lightly fertilize - I haven't even fertilized this year, beyond what was in the MG potting mix. I'll probably lightly fertilize a tiny bit this weekend.

Florida - I figured as much, but the cages work for now. I figured I can place a stake behind the cage when it outgrows. :-)

organicislandfarmer,
Thanks for the link to the global buckets,very interesting! I have grown my tomatoes in 5 gal. buckets with the bottoms cut out and set in the garden for years. I leave about the top 4 inches of the bucket above ground for watering, just top off the bucket with water every 3-4 days even during the hottest part of our Oklahoma summer. I may just start a sucker cutting off of one of my 4th of July's and try a global bucket on the patio!

What kind of holes are people drilling? I have a small drill bit and drilled about 35 holes (in the bottom and then a few along the sides. But I followed one of the links above and someone there had a picture of one of their buckets with holes... And the holes were quite a bit larger.