Aline Clement
In March of this year, I attended a workshop on Container Gardening at the Duval County Extension Office. There were several very interesting presentations, but one in particular, “Grow Bucket Gardening,” really caught my fancy. According to the class description, using grow buckets would help me water more efficiently, reduce weeds, and reduce the costs associated with growing vegetables. The presenter, Kay Robbins, had used this approach for a number of years with consistent success. She was particularly fond of growing tomatoes in grow buckets, but she was quick to say that peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, okra, and squash would also work well.
The concept is similar to how an “Earth Box” works. Using two five-gallon buckets stacked together, the bottom bucket serves as the water reservoir and the top bucket, the “grow bucket” holds the soil, lime, and fertilizer for the entire growing period.
Prior to the class I had started eight different varieties of tomatoes from seed. The seedlings were just about ready to transplant into their ultimate growing spot. It’s important to note that tomatoes can be a challenge to grow in Florida because plant-parasitic nematodes, tiny worms that live in the soil, love them. They can pierce or enter the root system, inhibiting the plant’s ability to take in nutrients and water from the soil. The plant declines and the fruit production will be minimal, or you may get no tomatoes at all. Tomatoes should not be planted in the same spot as the previous year because if nematodes were a problem before, they can remain in the soil from one season to the next and wreak havoc once again. Growing tomatoes in buckets was particularly intriguing to me because I had run out of places in my raised vegetable bed to plant my seedlings.
After class, I enlisted my husband’s help in assembling eight grow buckets. I won’t go into the “hows” of doing this, because you can find a list of materials and great step-by-step instructions with pictures at this location: http://duval.ifas.ufl.edu/documents/growbucket.2013.pdf.
I planted my tomato seedlings according to the directions. After inserting the tomato cage and adding water to the reservoir, I was all set. I watched with amazement as my tomato plants grew into big fruit-producing “machines.” As the plants got larger, I had to tie the cages to my back stair rails to keep them from toppling over. I also had to add water to the reservoir daily to prevent the soil from drying out.
The first tomatoes we harvested were smaller varieties: grape, black cherry, and Matt’s wild cherry. A little later we enjoyed the larger varieties: Juliet, green zebra, Cherokee purple and silver fir tree. The final tomatoes were heirloom Brandywines, and they were “the bomb!” We enjoyed huge, deep red tomatoes from four to six inches in diameter for over a month.
I’m a grow bucket convert, and plan to try growing cucumbers and squash in my buckets this fall. I highly recommend this method to anyone who wants to grow their own vegetables.
Follow FOLIO!