Container Garden Tomatoes

It's really windy here in West Texas today, so I didn't get much done with 30 mph sustained winds and a BIG "Red Flag" warning (wildfires) today, but here's what I DID get done this morning...

My heirloom tomatoes.  I've not had any luck starting tomatoes from seed, but my new thinking is that, if it gets really tough, economically, I'm gonna need to be able to do it.  So this year, I'm doing an experiment on just that subject.  I'll share what I do and if any of you have any advice or tips, please feel free to chime in.....
I bought some cheap paint buckets at Walmart (about $5 with lid) that are food safe plastic.  It's so windy here in the spring, I thought I would weigh them down with rocks, but decided, instead, to repurpose my empty 2 liter coke bottles filled with water for weight.

Then I added some peat moss to the bottom of the bucket (drain holes drilled with my handy dandy Dremel.

And then a layer of potting mix, but not too high (about 3/4 of the way up)

And then a little "hill" of seed starting mix to put my pellet in.

Get that pretty damp (gently, cause that seed starter is VERY lightweight)

I got these at Walmart and the smaller ones for the smaller plants. Very clever.

That's the pellet with a 2 seeds in it that have been going for a couple of days

I bought this kelp amendment to help my seeds get started

Labeled the top and put it on tight, since my seeds have not sprouted yet.
Bury the pellet 1/2 to 3/4 up in the seed starter.

So here are my thoughts on this subject, tomatoes, at least:

1)  The water filled bottles provide temperature regulation. West Texas days are VERY how and nights sometimes VERY cold.  Tomatoes do their best around 80 degrees, so once the water in the bottles are warmed, they will steady out at that temp and be better for the plant.  

2) The filled bottles also add weight because of the high winds here and the dirt I use is so light, I think it will need a counterweight as it grows heavy with fruit!  

3)  The roots SHOULD go around the bottles, so no problem there.  

4)  I only fill the container 3/4 full, because when you transplant one from the store, it is suggested that you bury it halfway anyway, so if I don't move it, no stress to the plant.  

5)  Wind is a very damaging agent for a tomato, so by leaving it low in the container, it is protected from the wind.  I had several plants year before last that just snapped off from the wind.  Not a problem everywhere, I realize, but something to think about. 

6)  This also leaves room for the possibility that there is still a freeze in our future and there will be room within the container to just run out and put the lid on them to protect them from frost for the night.  

7)  As they sprout up hardening off should also be easier with that bit of plastic there for protection from the direct wind.  As they grow that 2nd set of leaves, then I'll start adding dirt to the top. Again, this is an experiment, so we'll see how well thought out this is for tomatoes.