pot size for tomatoes

[alan4heidi]

I am waiting for my new greenhouse to arrive, when I does I would like to grow all my tomato plants in plastic pots on a concrete slab base, can someone please tell me what size pots I would need ,either in inches or litres. no fancy plants just SHIRLEY and HARBINGER. thank you heidi

[Potstubsdustbins]

Morrison cut flower buckets, very cheap, bob in some drainage holes and away you go.

[maverick451]

Bigger the better really, min 10L, 20 litres would be better imo

[MarkPelican]

I either use Morrisons Flower Buckets or half a growbag. Spread the compost so there's half in each end then cut the bag in half. Put a couple of holes an inch or so up from the bottom so that the water can drain out and there you go, no need for pots at all.

[wargarden2017]

if was growing tomatoes in pot which I used to but not anymore. I use at least 19 liter pot or 5 gallon or bigger. as for soil I go with 1/3(5 type compost mix), 1/3 peat moss. 1/3 Vermiculite.

[Muddy_Boots]

I used CFB's last year and will be doing the same this year, got over 100 of them all for free.

Note: there are two types of CFB's one is much deeper than the other and choice of which to use is depending what you intend to grow in them, my Carolina Reaper chillies were both in the deeper CFB's and grew to a fantastic size.

[Baldy]

I used CFB's last year and will be doing the same this year, got over 100 of them all for free.

Note: there are two types of CFB's one is much deeper than the other and choice of which to use is depending what you intend to grow in them, my Carolina Reaper chillies were both in the deeper CFB's and grew to a fantastic size.

CFB = CoOp flower bucket ?
Your language is strange - I understand MFB

[BUFFS]

I use builders buckets from DIY store, about £1 so not dear, pour boiled water over the upturned base before drilling drainage holes as this will stop the plastic cracking. The handle makes it easy to move them about..

[jonny the plant pot]

I used tfb last year but were too big so back to mfb this year which should be f a b

[the big lebowski]

i agree with mav the bigger the better and id go for 20 ltr too come summer time they will want alot of watering anything smaller will need watering twice a day ,cheers

[MarkPelican]

I stand the buckets in seed trays or growbag trays and water into the tray rather than from the top. Then you add water to the tray when it needs it.

Feed from the top, water from the bottom.

[Kirk]

For the ease of it I just get the Wilkinsons pots, they do a 30x22cm one that is 15.5 litres and a good size.

Find I like the matt black and they seem fairly robust. Think they are £1.50 each, so may well depend on how many you require.

[d000hg]

So are grow-bags anything special, or just compost in a bag with lines printed? Are they more expensive?

I saw people mention builders' buckets for a quid, but all I can find are these at 40L, £4: https://www.diy.com/departments/larg.../258643_BQ.prd

what are these acronyms people keep dropping exactly for flower buckets and how do you get them?


I assume the contents of the pots get tossed each winter, or can it be reused?

[nickdub]

So are grow-bags anything special, or just compost in a bag with lines printed? Are they more expensive?

I saw people mention builders' buckets for a quid, but all I can find are these at 40L, £4: https://www.diy.com/departments/larg.../258643_BQ.prd

what are these acronyms people keep dropping exactly for flower buckets and how do you get them?


I assume the contents of the pots get tossed each winter, or can it be reused?

Any container will do as along as its strong enough and has some drainage holes - old compost bags for example. I find the humongous bags of compost form B&Q are generally amongst the cheapest options.

Morrison's sometimes sell on their plastic buckets which they used for displaying their cut flowers - 10 for £1 recently - if using them for tomatoes I chop the bottom out and rest the bucket on the soil in the GH beds directly.

You can and I do re-use compost - rule of thumb don't plant anything in it related to the previous plants or the same crop twice running, and depending on what you are planting in it you may need to add some fertiliser - a convenient plan is to use the compost from tomatoes for growing winter lettuce/salad.

[Thelma Sanders]

Wilkos sell £1 black household buckets (15L) which are quite strong and a bit bigger than super market flower buckets. Just make a few holes in the bottom and stand on a tray for watering.

Wilko Bucket General Purpose Black Large 14.5L at wilko.com

I ordered 10 on click and collect earlier this year to grow my Dahlias in but they'd be perfect for toms as well.