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 ½ 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 ½ 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.
Emily says
Do 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 says
A 5 gal bucket of dirt will be HEAVY.
Alison says
You don’t have to fill it completely full, just enough to sustain the root system for the plant.
Shayeeb says
Very good gardaing ideas
gee says
do you not worry about too much rain getting in the bucket and drowning the plants?
Alison says
No because excess water drains out the bottom.
Deborah says
Do these have to be cherry tomatoes? Can you plant “big boy” tomatoes on these buckets?
Alison says
Nope. We’ve planted big boy tomatoes this way and they turned out great.
Mark C says
Does it ever get too heavy and fall out of the bucket
RR says
The 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 says
Nope, never.
robb says
Can gallon milk jugs be used like this???
have many empty ones
Alison says
No those are too small.
Terry Gilcrease says
Could you use a smaller bucket
Alison says
Possibly a 2-3 gallon bucket might work but will dry out quickly on hot days.
Robert Dingess says
Could you feed the plant root from bottom instead of feeding whole thing through top
Alison says
No, it won’t fit through the hole. You want the hole to be supported.
Zeke says
Great idea, what Tomatoes do you recommend using?
Alison says
Cherry or roma.
Kim Oswald says
How do you water them?
Alison says
I 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 says
Hi Alison, would it be possible to grow strawberries this way
Alison says
no
Jeff S says
A 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 says
Looks from the pictures you have two or three buckets inside each other ,whatthe reason for this?
Alison says
It’s just one bucket. Must be the style of the bucket that is making them look like that.
hopkins tom says
Great idea. Will try it
Kristina says
We 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 says
Thank you. We’ve been doing this for several years and works good every time.
Hudson Wise says
can you put 2 plants in one 5 gallon bucket?
Alison says
You’re going to need enough room for the roots so I would suggest only one plant per bucket.
Big Daddy says
Is the bucket filled all the way to the top with dirt / soil ?
Alison says
A little more than halfway.
Doug says
I tried this last year but ran into a problem. When it got windy on the bucket stayed stationary on the hook but the tomato plant want to move. This caused the base of the steam to twist and break off after about 4 weeks. UGH! Any ideas on how I solve this?
Alison says
I’m not sure. In all the years I have been doing this I never had that problem.
Donna M Sockabasin says
any tips on how to do cucumbers?
Alison says
I plant them in a raised garden and use a trellis.