Planter Containers 2: Tomatoes, Peppers and Cucumbers

Those big black containers that your new rose bushes were planted in will work great for tomatoes or peppers. They will require some type of support, or else they will fall over as the plants grow.

I really do not prefer single plant planters; they require too much work and are costly. For tomatoes and peppers, I build a planter out of 2x6's. Length will be determined by the size of the greenhouse. Here are a couple of warnings concerning placement of the planter in the greenhouse. Make certain that it is no closer than 30 inches to the side wall and leave at least 3 foot on the end wall. Here is how I would build the planter, and the placement, in a 26 foot greenhouse. First all my tomato and pepper planters are 30 inches wide. Again length is determined by the size of the greenhouse. In a 26 foot greenhouse the planter will be 15 foot long. I leave 3 foot at the end wall and 6 foot at the front wall. Well explain the reason for this later. As mentioned earlier the planter is constructed out of 2x6's. The planter's walls are approximately 12 inches high. This height is achieved by placing 2x6's on top of each other on edge. The bottom of this planter is the ground. I use 1x2 to secure the two boards, and occasionally have had to drive stakes into the ground to strengthen the planter. Use 6 mil plastic to line the planter fitting it closely to the shape of the planter, than fill with top soil. After filling screw 2x4's across the narrow part of the planter at 3 foot intervals. These are used for strengthen, but also to secure your lines to hold the plants.