[sirtanon]

I agree with Ricky. A properly prepped 5-gallon bucket, with good potting mix (not soil), good drainage, sufficient watering and feeding, will produce a rather nice Super Sweet 100 crop. The potential points of failure that I see are:

1 - Wrong mix / soil usage. Putting a dense garden soil into a 5-gal bucket will result in poor drainage and promote bad stuff.. such as bacteria, etc..

2 - While good drainage is good, it can also result in the plant not getting enough water, and thus subjecting the plant to possible wilting, stunting, BER, etc.. and likely eventual death. In a warmer climate, such as what I get here in Phoenix, this will quickly result in a dry, baked dead plant.

3 - Insufficient nutrient supply. Keep in mind, the plant will really only be getting what is initially mixed in with the potting mix. If you don't provide enough to begin with, including stuff like garden lime for sufficient calcium, slow-release fertilizer, etc.. then you'll have to provide it as a top dressing or liquid feed every so often.

4 - Too MUCH good stuff. Conversely to #3, if you give the plant too much fertilizer, water, etc.. you risk burning the roots, shocking it, drowning it, etc.. For example, not providing proper drainage in the bottom of the bucket could lead to too much water sitting in the bucket/mix, and thus lead to damping off, drowning the roots, etc.. Putting too much Nitrogen could lead to a huge green plant that never flowers or fruits, etc..

.. and so on.