Question
I live in Texas in a rental trailer so am not able to have a real garden however I am growing tomatoes in 5 gallon buckets.  I did not have good luck last year with getting decent sized tomatoes and even had some blossom end rot on one plant.  I was wondering if there was some sort of mulch I could use to keep more of the moisture in the buckets and if you have any suggestions as to how to get tomatoes to yield decent sized tomatoes (they don't have to be grapefruit sized but salad size would be nice).  
I have one "Better Bush" , a grape tomato plant, and a "Park's Whopper" tomato plant.  I live in North Texas near Dallas.  They are planted in Miracle Grow's "moisture control potting mix" in 5 gallon buckets with holes in the bottom for drainage and set on bricks.
Thank you.
Diane  

Answer
Diane, the secret to growing large vegetables is providing the proper nutrients to the soil.  Potting mixes are not always composed of the correct ratio of nutrients.  For fruit-bearing vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers, you need a high concentration of phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium.

To correct the soil imbalance, I would recommend supplementing the potting mix with some aged manure and peat moss.  These two organic materials will provide a steady flow of nutrients throughout the year.

To keep the soil from drying out, I suggest using either straw or dried grass clippings.  Once again, these are organic materials that will enhance soil composition as they break down.  They do a great job of holding in the moisture and keeping down weeds.

Finally, a good trick to controlling blossom end rot is to add 2 tablespoons of epsom salts to the planting hole prior to transplanting.  Just be sure to scratch it in rather than placing the seedling directly on top of the epsom salts.  Some gardeners take this one step further by placing crushed eggshells around the transplant as a mulch. Eggshells are loaded with calcium, while epsom salts are high in magnesium.

I hope this answered your question.  Good luck, and have a great Easter.

Regards,

Mike