Hi ROCKPILE,
Hope your well,
I have read your comment but do not understand your (question)
Can you explain ?
Growing in buckets
- Thread starter Oliver Buckle
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Hope your well,
I have read your comment but do not understand your (question)
Can you explain ?
The roots want to go much deeper than a Bucket.
Don't worry about it?
My wife has came up with growing much more in Buckets.
big rockpile
I have tried "cherry toms" in a hanging basket & colander with no problems, as for the keeping them watered try a sponge topped up on the top side of ice cubes, they take ages to melt and if you make ice cube feed (mix tomato feed as you would for normal feed and freeze this mixture in the freezer in ice making cubes, Put the frozen cubes on top of the sponge and hey presto job done, by using this method you wont have the feed dripping through the basket, 
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I grow tomatoes in buckets, but in England our climate means we restrict the growth, stopping them at three or four trusses. From what I understand reading here Americans tend to grow them much larger than that, If that is the case I reckon they would need much more root space than the 15 litres or so an ordinary bucket holds.
Meadowlark
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It is very easy to answer this question yourself by comparing the production (and other factors) in container grown vs in ground grown tomatoes.
My testing has shown that on average container grown tomatoes will produce 75% of what in ground tomatoes produce...17.25 pounds for container grown and 23 pounds in ground on average for Celebrity tomatoes (using HK containers).
My testing has shown that on average container grown tomatoes will produce 75% of what in ground tomatoes produce...17.25 pounds for container grown and 23 pounds in ground on average for Celebrity tomatoes (using HK containers).
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Try identifying the main concepts; sponge, ice cubes melting, adding feed. Then it is easier to express the concepts clearly and succinctly, as in:-
'A sponge with ice cubes on it will keep them watered as the cubes melt, by adding fertiliser before freezing you can feed at the same time'
Less is more.
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I've done things like fill a beer bottle or wine bottle with water and shove it opening end down into the soil of the container. That *usually* lets the water slowly drain out of the bottle into the soil. It generally works. It's tedious, has to be done daily, and you have the risks of broken glass.
I gave up on closed bottom buckets as too small. This is a good application for the saying "go big or go home".
I gave up on closed bottom buckets as too small. This is a good application for the saying "go big or go home".
My tomatoes have been in even smaller pots, but I accept the fact that if the container is a bit smaller, the plant will be as well. I stop these by pinching the tops out when they reach 4 to 5 ft. I've had loads of decent cherry tomatoes from these plants, so not a problem. They do need regular feeding though. Big is not always better.
I usually end up standing all the tomato pots in water trays. It's not good to let them dry out.
I usually end up standing all the tomato pots in water trays. It's not good to let them dry out.
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No, don't worry about it rockpile. Listen to your wife, she is right, especially if your buckets are raised up a bit and easier to manage. Smaller plants are great as long as the crop is healthy and edible. As I get older now, I have to find easier ways to keep gardening at all. Just tell those greedy roots to behave themselves
