HoosierHarvester said: ... Perhaps for testing purposes I will grow mine in the buckets. I just don't have a drill to put holes in the bucket. Not sure how I can do that. Lowes has 5-gallon buckets for $3 each, and that's lots cheaper that most pots/containers that size. ...
There are a few ways to cut holes in buckets.
Its gotten rare for anyone to have a soldering iron, let alone the old, heavy, plumber's kind, but those melt holes in plastic, neat quick and clean.
Instead there are "crafty tools" for burning marks into wood, and the higher the power, the faster you can stop smelling burnt plastic.
If you have a heavy nail, pliers and a gas stove or a propane-cylinder torch, you can heat up the big nail red-hot and then MELT holes right through thick plastic.
If you have a very sturdy knife with a thin blade, like some shop knives or big "X-Acto"-like knives,
and very steady, strong hands, you CAN push a knife through plastic three times and cut out small triangles of plastic. But it is easy to slip, and then pretty easy to stab yourself, so think twice.
A hacksaw will cut through plastic, like along the bottom rim, though you might gum up the sawblade.
Bring a bag of vegetables or a potted plant with blooms, and knock on some doors, asking to borrow a hand drill and a 1/4" spade bit. Ask first at homes you've given vegetables or seedlings to in the past.
Here are some places to ask for free buckets.
Many sources, like car washes, painters and drywall contractors store dubious chemicals, so you'll need to wash some of those tubs well and maybe let them sit out in the rain before you drill holes.
-----------------------------------------------
burger joints (pickle tubs)
school cafeterias
restaurants (especially Asian)
bakeries & doughnut shops
delis
supermarket bakeries (this was where I got lucky most recently)
supermarket delis
car washes
painters & drywall contractors (if they don't use plastic-lined cardboard tubs)
cat peoples' kitty litter tubs - ask them to save you come (maybe less UV-resistant)
discarded horse troughs, especially if they have become leaky
Trash dumpsters outside burger joints, restaurants, delis and school cafeterias. (That's where I got most of mine in the past, a dumpster next to a Dunkin Donuts and a deli.)
------------------------------------------------------
Not-free sources:
Home Depot ("Homer's buckets" for $5 or "Leaktite" in the paint isle 10/$30)
"Indoor hydroponic shops", where they won't believe you really want to grow
tomatoes
"Dollar Stores"
