I am going to mostly try container gardening this year. I have a weed that has completely taken over my garden area. I'm going to plant a few in the ground but a majority of my tomato and cucumber plants will be going into 5 gallon buckets. I had originally planned on drilling some drain holes in the bottom of the buckets and using a saucer under each bucket. I watched a few videos online where people drill a drain hole or several on the sides of the bucket an inch or 2 above the bottom to create a water reservoir in the bottom of each bucket. I'm leaning towards the method of drilling a hole or two on the side an inch or two from the bottom. I'm hoping someone with some experience can chime in and share their experiences.

I've done 4 on the sides and 4 on the bottom, in my experience tomato's don't like sitting in water.
Other members will share their experiences also

Tomato plants in my experience do not produce a root system large enough to reach the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. I find when I dig them up at the end of the season, the root system is 8-10" round at most. I use large containers or pots that are 16" across. If I notice that it holds too much water, I drill 1/2" holes an inch up from the bottom of the container. Perhaps 6-8 per container.

It is a very dense and fibrous root system.

But Christine makes a good point, tomatoes do not like wet feet!

I do the same as Bill. I have noticed drilling the holes on the side provide much better drainage. Why would you want saucers under pots outside? That's something you do for inside houseplants to keep the water from damaging furniture or the floor.

Well people use saucers outside in the belief that they won't get stains on the outside deck or patio.

Oh, forgot you had tomatoes on your deck, Bill. My bad! my pots just sit on the ground.

I wish the darn squirrels would forget I have tomatoes!!

I, also, grew tomatoes in 5 gal buckets. I drilled 1 half inch hole about 3 " from the bottom and it worked better than the buckets that had holes in the bottom. Bottom drilled buckets don't drain as fast if they're sitting on the ground. I had to set them on bricks for better drainage which meant when I went to move them the bricks had to come too. I recommend a side hole.

I was going to use saucers because I saw several videos online where people would keep them filled with water. They stated it kept the buckets from drying out on a very hot day. Here in Va I was thinking I would be fine with drilling a hole or two 2-3" up from the bottom and watering as needed. I've gardened in the ground my entire life, container gardening seems so foreign to me. I believe I am overthinking things, haha. I am just making sure I don't miss out on any tomato sandwiches as well

Whino83, think about what you are saying and what we are advising.
Tomatoes do not like wet feet. A saucer will cause wet feet or at least wetter soil then needed or preferred.

Yes, you may be over thinking things. In the warm weather, depending upon size of container and soil, they may dry out every other day at the quickest. But that is not the general rule. If a tomato dries out every day in the heat, then it is likely that the container is too small.

That's why I started growing my container tomatoes in the largest pots I could find. Watering tomatoes three times a day is not my idea of fun gardening!

I was going to use saucers because I saw several videos online where people would keep them filled with water. They stated it kept the buckets from drying out on a very hot day. Here in Va I was thinking I would be fine with drilling a hole or two 2-3" up from the bottom and watering as needed. I've gardened in the ground my entire life, container gardening seems so foreign to me. I believe I am overthinking things, haha. I am just making sure I don't miss out on any tomato sandwiches as well

I've been growing tomatoes in containers that I keep in my greenhouse. I use both 7 and 17 gallon plastic pots with four 3/8" holes equally spaced a out 3 inches up the side. None in the bottom. I have a 1 1/4" pvc pipe on the inside set 1 inch from the bottom. No drainage rock just good soil mix. I mostly water down the tube but often water through the mulched surface too. I have good vigorous growth on my various heirlooms, no BER or cracking and very minimal blossom drop.

BigBill said: Tomato plants in my experience do not produce a root system large enough to reach the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket. I find when I dig them up at the end of the season, the root system is 8-10" round at most. I use large containers or pots that are 16" across. If I notice that it holds too much water, I drill 1/2" holes an inch up from the bottom of the container. Perhaps 6-8 per container.

It is a very dense and fibrous root system.

But Christine makes a good point, tomatoes do not like wet feet!

This might be a little off track - but I'm wondering why the roots stay so compact when grown in a container? I plant my tomatoes in the ground in my hoop house and when I pull them out in the fall the roots are easily 6 feet long - or more!

Yeah, my tomatoes grow roots out the holes, I sit them in water one year to keep fire ants out, the mosquitoes took over, side holes are best, because the pot can block the holes sitting on the bottom. I also do not like the holes above ground by up to 3", doesn't cool the dirt to sit in water, just steams them when the sun is up. Location is vital though, I am having 96*F days and pots get much hotter than the air with sun shining on them, so take into account what you will have to deal with- like cooling the dirt with sinking pots down into the soil, or double potting if you get heat like I am getting already.

embermason said: I've been growing tomatoes in containers that I keep in my greenhouse. I use both 7 and 17 gallon plastic pots with four 3/8" holes equally spaced a out 3 inches up the side. None in the bottom. I have a 1 1/4" pvc pipe on the inside set 1 inch from the bottom. No drainage rock just good soil mix. I mostly water down the tube but often water through the mulched surface too. I have good vigorous growth on my various heirlooms, no BER or cracking and very minimal blossom drop.

Welcome to NGA @Embermason

It sounds like you've worked out a very good system of container growing; where are you located?

Thanks, Sandy. I'm on the north Oregon coast. My largest tomato weighed 2 pounds 11 ounces and was grown in a 7 gallon pot. Once the plants get some size they really pump water from below as well as the moisture wicked up through the soil. Mine like their wet feet.

FYI, 2 year old thread

I think how your container is set up for drainage can be impacted by where it is, weather, plant size, soil type, etc. I think of my containers with side instead of bottom holes and water just gathering there and causing root rot. After a few minutes or hours I look down my pvc watering tube and see the water usually gone. Wicked up into the soil and used by the plant. My soil is quite absorbing giving it a high holding capacity of moisture. Sure, it's wetter at their feet but not overly so. If my containers were outside in areas of high rainfall I probably would rig my containers differently. One size don't fit all.

The way you set your pots up is really not much different than the many "self-watering containers" that are available, other than the dirt goes all the way to the bottom instead of there being an actual water reservoir. As far as tomatoes "not liking wet feet," I agree that you wouldn't want to be growing them in super-saturated soil, but I suspect a lot more people get in trouble by not watering sufficiently from the top of a container than by bottom watering the way you do it. Plus, it would be pretty darn hard to argue with your success!