My neighbor's 3 tomato plants in a bucket changed my whole yard plan

Last week my neighbor Karen in Toledo showed me her patio setup, just 3 tomato plants in old 5-gallon buckets. She didn't use fancy soil or fertilizer, just tap water and morning sun. I spent $140 on raised beds and still lost half my crop to blight, while her buckets looked amazing. Am I wrong for thinking we overcomplicate container gardening for no reason?

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hannahm3921d ago

...and honestly that kind of proves her point, right? We've been sold this whole idea that you need all this expensive gear and perfect conditions, but plants have been growing in random containers for centuries. The blight thing is the kicker though, my raised beds got it too and I'm convinced now it's more about airflow and drainage than what you spend. Buckets have that one hole at the bottom doing exactly what it needs to do. Plus if one plant fails in a bucket, you just swap it out. You're not redoing a whole bed. I'm not saying toss your setup, but maybe keep one bucket plant as a back up next year. Little experiments like that have saved my garden more than any expensive soil mix ever did.