Pender wrote:
We're poor, so buying planting pots is beyond our current funds, so we bought buckets to use. Not sure if they will work as we're not sure how big the root system for a roma tomato plant is (or requires for proper full growth).
Buckets are fine, depending on their size. Five to seven gallons is best, but you can get away with three-gallon buckets just fine for romas.
If money is very tight, try grow bags instead. Imagine getting 25 five-gallon pots for 50 cents each.
Ta da!!I can vouch for these. I've purchased and used them to grow potatoes, squash, and cucumber. If you take care of them, they can last for several years, too. I have some that are on their third season of use.
Unfortunately, potting mix is expensive, and you should NOT fill these with standard garden soil. It's too thick and clumpy. You will get bad root health and growth.
Check your area. Your county or state may make compost available to you for free via public works, recycling, waste management, or a related department. Use a mix of 1/3 compost, 1/3 sand (which you may also be able to get for free), and 1/3 peat moss (which is dirt ass cheap at any garden center).
Mix it up, fill the bags with it.
You will need to fertilize a few times over the season growing this way.. I suggest you skip Miracle Grow. Try fish emulsion. It works well, you can't really overdo it, and it's organic and healthy for your plants. Should be available everywhere.
Growing in containers, you have to water more often. Sometimes daily in the dog days of summer.
Consider trimming all the branches off the bottom foot, foot and a half of the plants. This will help prevent disease and provide good airflow.
Tomato cages are expensive and not necessary. You can let them just vine if you want, though you won't get as good a yield that way, critters will get to your fruit easier, and they will be more prone to disease. But you CAN do it. That's how they grow wild.
However, you can also get good bamboo stakes for cheap
right here. Again, I buy and use these.
Stick one in each bag, right to the bottom. Hell, if you won't be moving the bags poke through the bottom into the ground if you want. Every foot or so the plant grows, gently tie it to the stake. If you prune off horizontal growth you can train them to go more vertical. Or just let them go as is. Either is fine.
Best bang for your bucket garden vegetable is zucchini. One single plant can provide so much you'll be suck of the stuff. I'm talking you can be harvest four or five healthy zucchini every three or four days once it starts kicking.
If you decide you like doing this,
this seed pack is a ridiculous bargain. Once again, I've bought it and have used it. I've gotten so much crap from it you wouldn't believe it. For $11, it's a total steal. 30 types of veggies, 10,000 seeds, and just store it in your fridge. They'll last years. I am still using mine three years later. No lie, I've probably grown $300 - $400 in groceries from that seed pack.
God help you if the gardening bug bites you.