Gardening With Buckets Is An Easy and Inexpensive Way to Grow Plants—Here's How (2024)

Equipment / Tools

Materials

How to Garden With Buckets

1. Source Your Buckets

   Local restaurants, bakeries, and delicatessens are good places to start looking for free food-grade buckets for your container garden. Low-cost buckets can be found at home improvement stores and online.

   A #2 recycling symbol on the bottom ensures buckets are designated only for food-grade products.

2. Clean the Buckets

   Clean previously used buckets with a solution of mild dishwashing soap and warm water and rinse well. Use a sponge, soft cloth, or soft brush, and avoid scrubbers that scratch or damage the plastic surface.

3. Drill Drainage Holes

   Fit the 3/4 inch panel bit onto your hand drill and set the drill in the reverse position to avoid cracking and damaging the bucket.

   Start by placing the drill bit in the center of the bucket bottom. Keep the bit straight and pulse the drill slowly until a hole forms and the plastic disc drops away.

   Move the drill 1 1/2 to 2 inches from the outside edge of the bucket bottom and drill five additional holes evenly spaced.

4. Weigh Down the Bucket with Gravel or Rocks

   Adding some weight to the bottom helps stabilize buckets and improve drainage. Look for products labeled specifically for drainage. Pea gravel and landscape rock are well-suited for this purpose.

5. Fill Buckets With Growing Medium

   Combine garden soil and aged compost with sand or perlite for an adequate growing medium. The goal is a mix loose enough to drain well but still hold moisture and provide nutrients.

   Two cubic feet of planting mix fills three 5-gallon buckets.

6. Add Your Plants

   Grow large plants like tomatoes and peppers with deep tap roots singly in 5-gallon buckets. Lettuces and herbs thrive in 2-gallon buckets.

   You can also use a 5-gallon bucket for annual flower combinations. or rapid spreaders like mint.

   Tip

   When starting from seed, be sure to check packets for correct spacing information.

Vegetables and Herbs to Grow in Buckets

Choose compact or dwarf varieties of tomatoes to plant in 5-gallon buckets. Cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, tomatillos, and some peppers need a trellis or support to keep them upright. Plant cole crops including cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower one to a 5-gallon bucket. Lettuce and other greens with shallow roots grow easily in 2-gallon buckets.

1. Eggplants
2. Tomatoes
3. Cucumbers
4. Tomatillos
5. Beans
6. Zucchini
7. Cabbage
8. Peppers
9. Broccoli
10. Cauliflower
11. Lettuce or other greens

Annual herbs along with a few perennials can be seeded or planted in 2-gallon buckets.

1. Dill
2. Parsley
3. Basil
4. Cilantro
5. Thyme
6. Chives
7. Mint
8. Rosemary
9. Sage

Tips For Bucket Gardening

Water Frequently and Fertilize

Most container plants, especially vegetables, need to be irrigated more often than plants grown in the ground. Aim to keep soil evenly moist watering several times a week up to every other day in place of adequate rainfall.

Herbs thrive in a quality potting mix but vegetable plants use soil nutrients rapidly and require regular feeding with fertilizer appropriate for the plant type.

Add a Decorative Element

Look for colored buckets or paint white ones with outdoor paint to give your container garden a more pleasing look. You can also build a frame to hold several buckets in rows or tiers.

Store Buckets For a Longer Life

Plastics eventually break down after constant exposure to heat and sunlight. You can extend the life of your buckets up to six years with good care and winter storage.

At season's end, add bucket contents to your compost pile. Clean them with warm, soapy water, rinse well, and store them in a shaded location. If an indoor location is unavailable, stack your garden buckets upside down on pallets in an outdoor shady spot and cover them with a tarp.