Hey everyone! I'm new to gardening but super excited to finally start my own garden this year. Unfortunately, my yard is a steep hill, so I'll be using buckets and containers for now. I recently bought some plants including two "Sweet 100" tomato plants and a "Gypsy" mini sweet pepper plant. I want to know what I can companion plant with the pepper. Additionally, I'm not sure if a 5-gallon bucket is sufficient for companion planting; would a 7 or 10-gallon container be better? Also, I'm curious about the safety of plastic containers given concerns over BPAs and micro-plastics—would using grow bags be more reassuring? Lastly, I know these plants will need support, so any recommendations for staking or caging them would be appreciated!
1 Answer
I recommend using 10-gallon grow bags for your tomatoes and peppers. They need enough space, and smaller containers will require more frequent watering. A good tip is to stake the plants as soon as you plant them, using something like a bamboo stake, and tie the plants gently as they grow. Don't forget, they will need some fertilizer since container plants can deplete nutrients fairly quickly!
Do you have any suggestions for specific fertilizers and how often to apply them?