The Tomato Race

On your marks.  Get Ready.  It's time to plant those yummy, homegrown tomatoes.

Normally, I would wait until the last freeze date passes before I plant tomatoes.  If you want to plant before that date, you have to come up with a strategy for protecting these frost sensitive plants.  You can use special devices like the Wall O' Water, a garden cloche, or a portable cold frame to help you get a head start.

For many years, I have purchased my tomatoes as early as possible and potted them up in 1 gallon pots.  This allows the plants time to start building a bigger root system, while allowing me to control their climate by moving them in and out of the house as needed, or putting them in the greenhouse.  I like this method, but I thought this year I would try something different.

Last spring I saw an interesting planting technique using 5 gallon buckets at the Natural Gardener demonstration garden.  It's a clever idea that allows you to plant your tomatoes earlier than normal.  The main reason you might want to plant early is to lengthen your growing season and increase your chances of having a bumper crop. 

In the spring, it's important to get your tomatoes in the ground as soon as possible, so the plants have time to create good root systems and set fruit before temperatures get above 90 degrees.  The problem is that if you plant to soon and don't provide freeze protection, you may end up with dead plants, but if you wait too long, your plants will be small and won't set much fruit.

As a trial this year, I planted 4 tomato transplants on February 16th using the 5 gallon bucket method.  My remaining tomatoes will stay in the greenhouse.  The plants that I selected for the trial are:  JD's Special C-Tex, Early Girl, Better Boy, and Viva Italia.

The first step is to cut the bottom off of a 5 gallon bucket.  I had 4 buckets with cracked bottoms and elected to recycle those for this project.  You can also use large recycled nursery pots.

Dig a hole deep enough to sink the bucket into the ground (bottom end down).  Allow 2 inches of the top of the bucket to stay above the soil line.

Plant the tomato seedling in the bottom of the 5 gallon bucket.  As the tomato grows, pinch off the side shoots, and add soil.  This will give the tomato the opportunity to produce more roots.  When the tomato reaches above the top of the bucket, gently remove the bucket.

Since the plants are fully below ground level, they are easy to cover, and protect from the wind.  One of my plants is just brushing the top of the bucket, so I can probably leave the buckets for another two weeks. 

Be sure to keep heavy weight row cover handy.  Watch the weather.  If night time lows dip below 45 degrees, cover the tomatoes.

We are once again in a terrible drought here in Central Texas, but here's something to consider.  If it did rain heavily, these buckets could easily fill with water drowning the little transplants.  For that reason, be prepared with some plywood or something to cover the buckets to keep them from filling up with water in the event of a storm.  Sadly, I have not had the opportunity to try out this technique, but I'd sure like to.  

Here's hoping for some rain soon, so all of our spring gardens will grow.