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New gardeners plants vegetables in containers during one of 12 urban container-gardening workshops led by volunteer URI Master Gardeners in 2003. The 5-gallon buckets they're using are large enough for a tomato plant, according to the chart below, and are available inexpensively at building supply stores. Be sure to poke holes in the bottom for drainage, and use a lightweight soil.
Maybe you have extra seedlings, or the only sunny spot in your yard is your driveway. You can still grow veggies.
From Container Vegetable Gardening from the North Carolina Extension Service:
Common container-grown vegetables, container sizes, and recommended varieties
| Vegetable | Type of Container | Recommended Varieties |
| Beans, Snap | 5 gal window box | Bush Romano, Bush Blue Lake, Tender Crop |
| Beans, Lima | 5 gal window box | Henderson Bush, Jackson, Wonder Bush |
| Beets | 5 gal window box | Little Egypt, Early Red Ball |
| Broccoli | 1 plant/5 gal pot; 3 plants/15 gal tub | Green Comet, DeCicco |
| Brussels Sprouts | 1 plant/5 gal pot; 2 plants/15 gal tub | Jade Cross |
| Cabbage | 1 plant/5 gal pot; 3 plants/15 gal tub | Dwarf Morden, Red Ace, Early Jersey Wakefield |
| Chinese Cabbage | 1 plant/5 gal pot; 3 plants/15 gal tub | Michihili, Burpee Hybrid |
| Carrot | 5 gal window box at least 12 inches deep | Short & Sweet, Danvers Half Long, Tiny Sweet |
| Cucumber | 1 plant/gal pot | Patio Pik, Spacemaster, Pot Luck |
| Eggplant | 5 gal pot | Slim Jim, Ichiban, Black Beauty |
| Lettuce | 5 gal window box | Salad Bowl, Ruby |
| Onion | 5 gal window box | White Sweet Spanish, Yellow Sweet Spanish |
| Pepper | 1 plant/2 gal pot; 5 plants/15 gal tub | Sweet Banana, Yolo Wonder, Long Red Cayenne |
| Radish | 5 gal window box | Cherry Belle, Icicle |
| Spinache | 5 gal window box | Dark Green Bloomsdale |
| Squash | 2 gal pot | Scallopini |
| Tomatoes | Bushel baskets; 5 gal pots | Tiny Tim, Small Fry, Sweet 100 Patio, Burpee's Pixie, Toy Boy, Early Girl, Better Boy VFN |
Another way to look at it, from Container Vegetable Gardening at Ohio State University:
The size of the container you chose will depend on the mature size of the plant it will contain. A plant will stop growing and become stunted if it is growing in too small a container. Examples of plants and recommended container volumes are:
| Peppers, chard and dwarf tomatoes | soil volume of 1-2 gallons per plant |
| Full-sized tomato plants, cucumbers | soil volume of 4-5 gallons per plant |
| Lettuce, radish, onions, and beets | 6"-10" diameter pots |
| Most herbs | 4"-6" diameter pots |
Estimating soil mix to use:
| 4" pot | 1 pint soil |
| 6" pot | 3 pints soil |
| 8" pot | 1 1/2 gallons soil |
| 10" pot | 2 1/2 gallons soil |
| 12" pot | 3 1/2 gallons soil |
| 14" pot | 4 1/2 gallons soil |
| 16" pot | 5 1/2 gallons soil |
| 20" pot | 6 1/2 gallons soil |
Bonus chart: Companion Planting. You might tuck some parsley, nasturtiums or basil in with those tomatoes.
