I have set up 19 tomato plants in 5-gal buckets.
All were first transplanted to 4-inch tall cowpots for a week or two and hardened outdoors. The original medium for seeding and first transplant was Jiffy organic seed starting mix, which has worked pretty well for me the last few years - very low fungus/damping off problems with this stuff. In fact this year I think I had zero damping off. I am pretty careful about not overwatering.
The 5-gal bucket medium is made as follows. This makes 15 gal, enough for 3 buckets, and convenient to make up in a wheelbarrow.
1. 5 gal peat moss.
2. 5 gal vermiculite or perlite. I used either in different batches, due to availability at home depot.
3. 5 gal cheap topsoil. Specifically this has no added fertilizer. Most name-brand topsoils have fertilizer added so I avoided these. Instead I used Evergreen brand from home depot. As far as I can tell, the batch I purchased this year is simply ground up wood shavings - it basically looks like wood mulch, just more finely chopped up as compared to regular mulch. I am pretty sure this product varies regionally, and maybe from year to year. So although this has no added fertilizer, it certainly is 100% organic material.
4. 1 & 1/2 cups of homemade fertilizer. See the separate post for this recipe.
Mix all ingredients in wheelbarrow. Makes enough for three 5-gal buckets. I find it helpful to mist the peat moss and vermiculite with water after dispensing them, as they are very dusty.
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