When you don’t have a lot of space but still want to grow juicy tomatoes, 5 gallon buckets are the way to go. This is the first year we decided to try it and it worked out great. We had tomatoes in no time and they were just as good as they would be in a garden but less of hassle and no weeds to pull. The process was simple to do with the instructions listed below.
Supplies Needed
- Cordless Drill
- 1 inch hole saw
- Stainless Steel Rigid 2 hole conduit strap 1/2 inch
- Screws
- Potting soil
- Tomato plant
- 5 gallon buckets
How to Grow Tomatoes in 5 Gallon Buckets
Turn the 5-gallon bucket over and drill one hole in the middle of the bottom of the bucket using a cordless drill and 1 inch hole saw for the tomato plant.
Remove the tomato plant from the container. Carefully feed the plant thru the hole until the roots hit the bottom of the bucket.
Fill the bucket with potting soil. I used Miracle Grow but feel free to use whatever potting soil you prefer. You can also add a herb plant like I did to the top or something some that will not interfere with where you are hanging the buckets. Or you can just have only the tomato plants in the buckets.
Position the bucket where you want it and secure it from the handle using a Stainless Steel Rigid 2 hole conduit strap 1/2 inch and screws. We hung our buckets from our shed, but you can hang them pretty much anywhere as long as it can handle the weight of the bucket, soil, plant, and water.
Make sure to water the tomato plants throughly and that they receive enough sunlight for at least 6 hours a day.
Water the plants whenever the soil is dry which depends on the weather. You can check by sticking your finger in the soil to see if it is moist or dry.
And in the end you will have delicious tomatoes that are perfect for salads, cooking and more fresh from your backyard.
31 Comments
Emily
April 3, 2020 at 3:49 pmDo you think you could hang this from a couple shepherd’s hooks if you do t have a good area to drill into on shed/house?
Sharon
March 8, 2023 at 1:07 pmA 5 gal bucket of dirt will be HEAVY.
Alison
March 8, 2023 at 1:10 pmYou don’t have to fill it completely full, just enough to sustain the root system for the plant.
Shayeeb
May 27, 2021 at 1:29 amVery good gardaing ideas
gee
March 7, 2023 at 7:26 pmdo you not worry about too much rain getting in the bucket and drowning the plants?
Alison
March 8, 2023 at 1:05 pmNo because excess water drains out the bottom.
Deborah
March 8, 2023 at 11:33 pmDo these have to be cherry tomatoes? Can you plant “big boy” tomatoes on these buckets?
Alison
March 9, 2023 at 3:06 pmNope. We’ve planted big boy tomatoes this way and they turned out great.
Mark C
March 10, 2023 at 2:40 amDoes it ever get too heavy and fall out of the bucket
RR
March 10, 2023 at 12:51 pmThe roots will grow extensively throughout the dirt in the bucket clinging to the dirt. There’s no way the massive root ball could be pulled out of the 1″ hole.
Alison
March 10, 2023 at 5:24 pmNope, never.
robb
March 14, 2023 at 12:46 amCan gallon milk jugs be used like this???
have many empty ones
Alison
March 14, 2023 at 1:01 amNo those are too small.
Terry Gilcrease
March 10, 2023 at 6:30 pmCould you use a smaller bucket
Alison
March 11, 2023 at 10:38 pmPossibly a 2-3 gallon bucket might work but will dry out quickly on hot days.
Robert Dingess
March 13, 2023 at 12:52 pmCould you feed the plant root from bottom instead of feeding whole thing through top
Alison
March 14, 2023 at 1:03 amNo, it won’t fit through the hole. You want the hole to be supported.
Zeke
March 13, 2023 at 5:31 pmGreat idea, what Tomatoes do you recommend using?
Alison
March 14, 2023 at 1:01 amCherry or roma.
Kim Oswald
March 22, 2023 at 10:15 pmHow do you water them?
Alison
April 1, 2023 at 1:31 pmI spray the hose and water the top of the bucket or spray the top of roof of my shed and let the water run down into the bucket.
Robin
March 14, 2023 at 6:41 amHi Alison, would it be possible to grow strawberries this way
Alison
March 14, 2023 at 12:41 pmno
Jeff S
March 19, 2023 at 6:39 amA good way to grow strawberries is to use a rain gutter as a planter. Grab a gutter and 2 end caps from your local hardware store, install the end caps and hang the gutter along your fence or wherever. Drill a few drainage holes along the gutter, then fill with dirt, then your plants. The beauty of strawberries is they don’t need much dirt to grow and the gutter allows them to expand. Keeps the rabbits away.
James Ringrose
March 14, 2023 at 11:52 amLooks from the pictures you have two or three buckets inside each other ,whatthe reason for this?
Alison
March 14, 2023 at 12:42 pmIt’s just one bucket. Must be the style of the bucket that is making them look like that.
hopkins tom
March 15, 2023 at 10:40 pmGreat idea. Will try it
Kristina
April 16, 2023 at 8:56 pmWe tried this years ago with no success so it’s nice to see that it worked really well for you. I’m going to give it another try and hope it works. Your plants look beautiful!
Alison
April 23, 2023 at 12:57 pmThank you. We’ve been doing this for several years and works good every time.
Hudson Wise
May 7, 2023 at 12:50 amcan you put 2 plants in one 5 gallon bucket?
Alison
May 7, 2023 at 5:33 pmYou’re going to need enough room for the roots so I would suggest only one plant per bucket.