A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2006 container gardening... how big a bucket?

well, i like to keep a garden indoors during the winter, but normaly i just grow herbs. they only need a small amount of room, easy care, etc..... anyways, this year i would like to grow a few vegetables, even if only to get a REALY big jump start with some of them. but i need to know how big a bucket i need to put varieties in. i know i could just give everything a 5 gal bucket, but if i know the proper size i will be able to better use the space i have. i wanna grow some salad greens, preferably a "cut and come again" type. and tomato is a must. maybe cucumbers, squash, pole beans. any other random ones i can fit. so does anyone out there know of some sites that would help me out? or do you just know the container sizes for a lot of plants?

Wizzard,
I know if you do a FORUM SEARCH and type in
INDOOR GARDENING, I believe you should get some
posts to come up.. we've had some other's doing the same thing for wanting to grow stuff indoors...

Let me see if I can get ahold of "Noneofyourbusiness" and see if he can lend a hand.. he does alot of gardening indoors...

thanx

For the lettuce's you can use something
like a flower box...got it at Wal~Mart, and
had to drill holes in the bottoms though..

*I used it for some Swiss Chard.. this summer,
it didn't quite get as big as the other kind
I had in the raised beds, but I think I over filled it... should have stuck to only about 4 or 6, I put in about 12 plants.. but they still produced for me in that size container...*

I also use a 5 Gallon pail for my tomatoes....
I plant deep, so it has a good root system...
put some landscape fabric swatch down on top of
the soil to keep the dirt off of the plant,
stick in a tomato cage... and a stake to keep it
upright, and just water...

I also did some peas in one of those buckets they sell now adays for like an outdoor party filled with like popcans or bottles.. *know idea the size* but I made my own cage for the peas to crawl up, by taking some fencing, and cutting it, and rolling it up in a circle the size of the bucket/container... thru in some dirt, then stuck in the cage thingie and then thru in some more dirt...

Gotta remember about harvesting though...
When the cage is in a circle and the plant grows inside the cage, it's hard to get the produce out
of the middle..
but it worked for me....

neet. i just looked at your photo bucket, i realy like the climber on the umbrella, how did that work out for you?
i think im gonna grow some pole beans in a 5 gal bucket with some kind of rigged up trellis

I got it in late *as per usual for me* :rolleyes: And at the end of the summer
it was really starting to bloom.
The other two factors that need some adjusting on were....
Problem #1. Size of pots/containers... *funny this should be the one you pick up on, especially asking for container sizes* I put 4 round pots under the feet of the table..*stuff the feet right inside the pot/container* they were only probably 6" or 8" wide...they weren't nearly as big as they needed for the growth of the root systems. I also had one pot/container under the umbrella's pole.. also too small..
I am trying to figure out if I should put 4 taller one's, or say like a window planter...
I am still pondering what to do..
And Problem #2. Was Woodchucks/Groundhogs, whatever anyone would like to call them :p besides late for dinner on my plants.
Ate them 3 times when I planted them, until I had to find some funny contraptions to put around it and they found some other tid~bit of mine to chew on...Grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!

But it would have looked stunning...

I am working on something to do with ring from that same table and try to grow something that would look like a topiary... but ideas' are abundant, time and $$ and something to implement them are soooooooooo limited, and if my husband isn't receptive, I have to figure it out on my own and sometimes they fall apart.. but hence the learning process is wonderful

I can't remember if I have the peas picture in there, it is in the bright blue round bucket with that fencing in a circle.. also did some fencing in half circles' parallel with the ground..

also, if you go to like a Home Depot, I got some 6' tall bamboo stakes.. *I didn't get to use them for my beans, as I never got to planting them..
*I'm slow, children and a mother.. but I am dilagent..*
For outdoor gardening and trellis's we used an old swing set and hung over it one of those netting things you can buy in most catalogs for doing that sort of thing.. I am really liking that fencing stuff I got, it's alot more rigid... and easily bendable and reuseable..
The kind I got said rabbit fencing, but there's more fencing on one side of it, when it's used as it should be, that side is down on the ground and the rabbits can't get thru it cause it's too tight for them...

I also used cloths racks, the kinds in dept. stores, when the store is closing out and getting rid of everything.. and I put over it, some chain link fencing I had sitting around, worked kinda neat for cucumbers...

Always disinfect 5 gal. plastic pails before using them and be ready to water the plants everyday in the heat. One nice thing about the pails is if you place them in a child's wagon or some such, you can roll them inside in case of severe weather like hail. Also, drill 3-4 holes in the bottom of the pails to let water out. I've always intended to put a drip system across a row of pails but haven't yet. That would be a good way to provide water to just the roots w/o getting the plants wet- and I could leave town whenever I wish.
I have used half whiskey barrels for tomatoes with limited success. One needs to clean them well (tough to do) and replace the dirt each season to prevent tomato diseases. That's a lot of dirt to buy or move.
As Weezie said, it's difficult to find good soil to truck in. Lots comes from poor areas to begin with.

Hiya Bigboy!!!!

Hi Weezie. Hope you are well.

You'll be fine using 5 gallon buckets. YOu could even go with 12 gallons for the lettuce. Just keep an eye on the roots. If the dirt gets tight, or roots start comming out of th ebottom of the planter, transplant it.
growing indoors is fun!

Ciao Wizard,

I know absolutely nothing about indoor plants, vegetables or otherwise, unless it's growing seedlings for spring planting.

That being said, I do know a thing or two about tomato growing and I can tell you that if you're going to attempt to grow an "indeterminate" tomato plant or one that continues to grow until it dies, a 5 gallon capacity bucket is not going to work. You'd do better by either growing only dwarf tomato varieties and I can help you with choosing a few good ones, or growing the monsters in 15 gallons. Otherwise, you'll find that your plants will be root-bound and won't give you the harvest you want.

Buona fortuna,
Julianna

Jumping in late on this one. If you want to do peppers indoors, they are great for that. I have done them in 5 gallon buckets and had great success.

so, i was out of town for a bit. thanx for the replies. about the tomatoes, if i grow a tomato plant in a 5 gal bucket how much would it stunt the production? we only eat about 3-5 tomatoes a month, would it be able to produce that? if not, what do you all think about using the sterilite tupperware totes from walmart for a planter? i dont know the size, but i would estimate 10-20 gallons. i would have to put holes in the bottom, but other than that do you think it would work ok?

another thing i was wondering about is, i would like to grow a few fruit plants like blueberry and blackberry, would a sterilite tote work for that? is 15 gallon big enough?

Cannot answer those questions, but I do have one for you. How are you planning on pollenating everything so that is bears produce, fruit, flowers, etc?

hand pollination... small paintbrush

I thought that may be the case, but wanted to check to be sure.

Hey Wizzard,

I just noticed that you are from Murray, KY. We are practically neighbors!! My wife and I live in McKenzie, TN; about 30 miles south of Paris, TN! Howdie neighbor!!

I don't know how they would do the rest of the year, but if you are talking about growing fruits in a container during the winter months, it probably won't work very well. Most of your fruit bearing plants need the dormancy of the winter in order to produce their fruit crops. Some even need a certain number of chilling hours (furnished by Mother Nature) in order to fruit.

As for pollinating your plants, be very careful using a paint brush to pollinate your tomatoes. It is very easy to damage the flower sets and cause them to drop off or form deformed fruits. A much better choice to pollinate tomatoes is a vibrating device. Some greenhouse supply companies sell devices that are made especially for doing this. If you will go to this page at hydrogardens.com and scroll down a little over half way, you will find the Pollinator II. It is only $15.95, runs off of a AA battery and may help you to keep from damaging your flower sets.

Some folks use old electric toothbrushes or other vibrating devices that they have made from old telephones and doorbells. There are even some folks who will just grasp the tomato's stake or line and gently shake it to dislodge the pollen. However you decide to pollinate them, don't touch the blooms of the tomato plants. Again, they are very easily damaged. If you use a vibrating device, just touch where the flower set joins the main stem and vibrate for a couple of seconds.

Also, when hand pollinating your tomatoes, it is best to do it between 11 AM and 2 PM. This is the time of day that the humidity is usually the lowest. This needs to be done at least three times per week. On days when the humidity is very high around your tomatoes, you are literally wasting your time to try to hand pollinate them. The high humidity causes the pollen to clump together and it does not move or fertilize very well.

Wizzard, I hope this helps you out. I'd sure like to see what your container garden looks like when you get it going.

Robert

hi neighbor. nah, the fruit isnt for this winter, its for spring. i live in an apartment where the chances of a garden are slim. however if i can put it in containers, it will be moveable. the landlord will not mind that, and i get to take my plants with me if i move. still intended to let most of the fruit plants die back in the winter (prolly bring about 4 strawberry plants in). my only concern is whether the size of the container is big enough to grow fruit in.
thanx for the info on hand pollinating, i had no idea what i was doing, would have prolly destroyed a lot of fruit capability. thanx again

Wizzard, I am soooo sorry. I feel like I let you down. I went back and read your last post on page one and for some reason, your questions "sank in" a bit better.

There are lots of people who grow tomato plants in 5 gallon gallon buckets and do so with great success. Just make sure that you find a happy medium between soil that is too wet and soil that is too dry. Remember that when it comes to tomatoes, lighter and more frequent waterings are better than heavy, infrequent waterings. Over watering or long times devoid of water followed by heavy waterings can cause lots of problems... namely blossom end rot. Also, when you water them, try to get as little water on the plant as possible. The water won't hurt the plant (unless you are using a hevily clorinated city water), but wetting the leaves of the plant always invites problems with diseases.

Also, are you planning on growing determinate or indeterminate plants? The det. make a bushy plant, but tend to yeild most of their tomatoes all at once. The indet. can grow very tall vines and must be steaked or trellised. But, they tend to produce tomatoes right up until frost.

There is a tomato that is produced especially for container raised tomatoes. I don't remember the name of them right off hand, but if you are interested in them, let me know and I will find out which ones they are and where you can get some.

As for growing the blackberries or blueberries in containers, I don't know about that. Given your location, my knee jerk reaction is that in such shallow containers their might be a danger of the entire root ball freezing. I don't know if this would kill/damage them or not. But, I will do my best to see what I can find out for you (about container size and freezing). It will probably take me a few days, but don't give me out!! I need to know something else though. Are you talking about keeping them outside on a balcony or deck or are you talking about keeping them inside your apartment?

Talk to ya later neighbor,
Robert

could you find out the name of the determinate/bush tomato plants for me please. That would be so much easier to deal with. I too live in an apartment....a small apartment.

the fruits will be grown outdoors.the "apartment" is more a quad-plex. so im on the ground floor, im just not allowed to dig. but they said containers were ok... so no problem with room in the apartment.
the tomato... im pretty sure its the bigger of the lot... rutgers select. if it gets higher than the ceiling, i will have to trim it, but im going to move it outside after frost is no longer an issue... how tall it will get before then i do not know but thats half the fun i guess. i have already started a few pole beans for a 5 gal bucket, there almost a foot tall already.

the blackberries and whatnot... the freezing was something i was woried about also. i have been trying to think of a way to overcome it, however the only thing i have been able to come up with is placing them all in a small area together, with hay in between and perhaps a blanket and or tarp on the outside. dont know if that will work or not... any thoughts?

Okay, I'm still new to this forum and you guys have put me to work!! I love it!!! Blackberries produce their fruit on the 2 year-old canes. The older canes produce little to no fruit So, they need to be pruned to help them produce more fruit. And if you don't prune them, you will soon have a bramble patch instead of a blackberry patch! You can find information about pruning from the LSU AgCenter here . Some more pruning info here . You can find more indepth information by doing a Google search for "pruning blackberries" or "growing blackberries."

Well, that's about it for now. I hope this isn't so long that it blows the server when I try to post it!! Good luck with your container garden and berry patch. If there is anything else I can help you with, I'll be glad to try!!

Robert

Thankyou Robert,

I appreciate all the information. This is going to help alot.

Glad to be of assistance tk.

Robert