We grow tomatoes exclusively in containers set on pallets now to avoid bacterial wilt in the garden soil. The pallets seem to keep the fire ants from invading the buckets.
We use 10 and 15 gal nursery pots and get a nursery mix type potting soil by the cubic yd from Bricko farms for $40/yard, which fills the back of the pickup. It's so easy to back up to the pallets, fill the buckets right off the back of the truck and handtruck them to the pallets. The tops get mulched with leaves.
The soil drains well so once the roots fill the buckets they require daily watering. My sister Pickles is in charge of growing the tomatoes and she gives them Miracle Grow once a week or every other week.
