How to Garden With 5-Gallon Buckets

Today, it’s all about how to garden with 5-gallon buckets. Here’s the deal: We can’t all have 1-20 acres of land. Some of us have a postage stamp-sized lot like me, some have a porch, and others have a balcony. But I’ll bet we all love picking those fresh, sweet tomatoes in the summer. If you have ever had a garden, big or small, that first red tomato is gold, my friends. Maybe not worth as much as gold, but I can smell the bacon cooking right now to go with those tomatoes to make the very best BLT!

In my neighborhood, very few people have a garden. In my humble opinion, I’m not sure they love to garden as much as I do. I love getting my hands in the earth’s soil and experimenting with what I can grow in the desert. The good thing about living in Southern Utah is that I can have two gardens if I plan. I start seedlings inside while my garden is coming to an end outside. Now, I must also cover the tomatoes with garden shade cloth to help modify the temperatures. This is the product I have used: Garden Shade Cloth. I think it’s essential to grow your food whether inside, in a yard, in a bucket, or a raised garden bed.

Updating Post Today

I’m updating this post today because, as you know, I have moved to Northern Utah, where it’s cooler. We’re getting closer to gardening, which may be put on hold again. This is frustrating because I love to garden and harvest fresh food daily. It’s been rough waiting, and food prices continue to rise. When I go to the grocery store, I’m shocked each time I see the prices of eggs (if you can get them), milk, and meat.

I’ll visit the Farmer’s Markets this year to get homegrown veggies and fruits. Life is so good!

Why Plant Fruit and Vegetables in 5-Gallon Buckets?

You may be thinking, what in the world, why would I use a 5-gallon bucket to garden? Besides not having the space for an outdoor garden, there are various benefits to using 5-gallon buckets. Here are just a few:

1. You don’t need a huge backyard. You can grow food whether you have a backyard or not. You can even set these buckets right on your front porch or deck.
2. It saves space. You still get plenty of food, but the buckets save space in your yard or another growing spot.
3. Plants don’t get trampled. I don’t know about you, but when I had little ones running around, someone always seemed to trample something.
4. They prevent rabbits and other small animals from eating your food. Although they could probably figure out how to get up in your plants, having them higher than ground level deters a lot of nibbling.
5. No poor soil. When you put plants in a bucket, you know the potting soil is suitable for growing. And you don’t have to deal with nasty weeds.
6. The buckets are portable. If you notice your tomato plants aren’t getting enough sun, you can pick the bucket up and move it to a better location.

5-Gallon Bucket Gardening Cons

As stated above, there are a lot of benefits to gardening using a 5-gallon bucket. However, it is essential to note that there are also a few cons. Because the plants are in buckets, you may have to pay more attention to them than you would if planted in the ground. Here are a few cons that I found to bucket gardening:

1. You have to water more often. Make sure you water your plants regularly. If they are thirsty and need more moisture, the roots can’t dig into the ground to find more water. You do have to be careful not to overwater them. Having some drainage holes at the bottom of the bucket can help.
2. The soil has to be replenished and amended. The soil in the bucket can’t replenish its nutrients as it would be able to in the ground. You must replenish and amend the soil with nutrients each time you plant new plants. Be careful when fertilizing to ensure you don’t apply too much fertilizer and burn the plants. Using a compost pile and applying the compost material is a more gentle approach that eliminates the use of many chemicals.
3. There’s a cost to materials. You may need to buy seeds to grow a garden anywhere, but buckets cost a bit more than just planting in your yard due to the cost of the buckets and the purchased potting soil. I suggest using safer food-grade buckets that could cost a little more.

How to Garden With 5-Gallon Buckets

Not everyone has a plot of land they can use to plant a garden. That said, you can still grow your food in plenty of ways! Instead of digging up your yard, you can use 5-gallon buckets to plant various plants, and you may find plenty of room to place a bucket planter where it gets the needed sun.

Items You Will Need:

• 5-Gallon Buckets (food grade and BPA-Free)
• A drill with a 1/2-inch drill bit
• Gravel or small rocks called marble chips (I bought what was on sale at Home Depot)
• Potting Soil (I bought what was recommended for pots/containers)
• Plants, seeds, or seedlings
• Vermiculate (Regulates soil PH value and temperature of the soil)

Step One: Purchase Your 5-Gallon Buckets – BPA Free

Mark and I picked up five 5-gallon buckets at a local grocery store. They were in the paint department and priced at $2.99 each. I made sure they were BPA-Free and food-grade. I didn’t need the lids, which saved me a dollar.

Step Two: Drill Four Holes in the Bottom for Drainage

We used a 1/2-inch drill bit to make four holes in the bottom of each bucket so the plants could drain after being watered. We just randomly drilled them with no specific spacing.

Step Three: Drill Additional Holes Around the Sides

Mark drilled four holes around the sides of the buckets (about 1-2 inches) from the bottom of each one to help circulate air to the roots within each container. After drilling them, we had to use pliers to break off some of the plastic residues.

Step Four: Put Gravel or Small Rocks in the Buckets

When I went to find gravel, I couldn’t find any in a small quantity, so I opted for small rocks called marble chips. You need to fill each bucket with 2-3 inches of gravel or, in my case, small stones. I didn’t want small gravel because I was afraid it would fall out of my 1/2-inch-drilled holes.

Step Five: Level Out the Gravel/Small Rocks

Before we added the soil, we put about 3 inches of rock (small rocks) in each 5-gallon bucket for proper drainage.

Step Six: Use Quality Potting Soil

I purchased this soil because it’s made by Dr. Q, a company I’ve had good experience with. It’s organic and formulated for planting in containers of all kinds.

Step Seven: Fill Buckets with the Potting Soil

After filling the buckets with the rocks we purchased, we filled the 5-gallon buckets with the soil shown above.

Step 8: Plant Your Seeds, Seedlings, or More Mature Plants

After you have set up your 5-gallon bucket, you can plant your seeds, seedlings, or plants into the bucket.

Why Do You Drill Holes in The 5-Gallon Bucket?

Don’t skip over drilling holes in your bucket. If you don’t drill holes, you may have dead plants. The holes help to protect your plants from water pooling up into the roots, especially during hard rains or excessive watering. If there is too much water for the roots, they can rot. Additionally, the plant won’t get enough oxygen and nutrients from the soil.

What Food Grows Well in 5-Gallon Buckets?

Unfortunately, not everything you may want to plant will grow well in a 5-gallon bucket. Below, I give you a list of what foods you can grow in your buckets and how many of each you should plant per bucket based on its diameter:

• Tomatoes. You can plant cherry or bush tomatoes, as they work best. Remember, you only want one tomato plant per bucket to prevent overcrowding. Update: I must say, tomatoes are the hardest ones to grow in buckets or pots. You will need more vermiculate water and water each day. I lived in the desert where the summer temperatures would reach 115 degrees mid-summer. I used shades to lower the temperature slightly, but they need a lot of water because the soil in the buckets can dry out quickly.
• Cucumbers. Cucumbers are great to grow because you can eat them in salads, pickle them, or just enjoy them with some ranch dressing. Plant only one plant per bucket. Space the buckets so that the plants have room to grow as they mature.
• Melons. I love a good watermelon. These get rather big, so you only want one plant per bucket. Again, you’ll want to spread them out since watermelon plants can grow long vines.
• Squash. You can do all kinds of things with fresh squash. It grows well in a bucket, but you can only plant 1 plant per bucket.
• Eggplant. This is another one in that you can only put one plant per bucket.
• Peppers. Whether it’s hot or bell peppers, only plant two plants per bucket.
• Beans. Bush beans are the best kind of beans to plant in a bucket. You can plant three plants per bucket.
• Onions. Not only are onions a good source of nutrition, but they can also be expensive to buy. You can plant four of them per bucket.
• Lettuce. We all need those leafy greens. You can plant 4 per bucket.
• Carrots. Great for your eyes and perfect as snacks, you can plant 10 carrots per bucket.
• Radishes. I love radishes in a salad—plant radishes 10 per bucket.
• Herbs. You can plant many different kinds of herbs in your bucket. One herb plant will spread and fill the entire bucket.
• Potatoes. I’ve had mixed results with potatoes. Since they are root plants, they need room under the ground to grow. Give them a try and see how it works in your area.

This is where I buy all of my garden seeds: SeedsNow.

5-Gallon Bucket Gardening Tips and Tricks

This gardening method is pretty straightforward, but you always learn a few tips and tricks along the way. Here are a few to keep in mind when using 5-gallon buckets for gardening:

• Companion plants. Companion plants are beneficial and help keep nasty bugs away while attracting good ones.
• Give the buckets a quarter-twist every week. This helps the plants not grow lopsided, as they love to seek the sun.
• Insecticides. To make insecticide, combine four to five tablespoons of concentrated dish soap with one gallon of water. Mix it well and apply it with a spray bottle.
• You can reuse your potting mix. Once per year, amend and replace it with fresh ingredients, remove dead plants, and shake loose soil from the roots. Fill it back up, and use it again.

Seeds or Live Plants?

What is best to plant in your buckets, seeds, or live plants? I have used seeds, but many said live plants thrive best in buckets. I suggest buying live plants if you don’t have a green thumb. Today, I planted plants from the nursery. My seedlings are not big enough for a “picture” yet, Lol! I needed to get this post up for all to see. So many people don’t have access to land, so here they are still provided an option to have a successful gardening experience! I’ll cover the plants tonight with domes to protect them from rain or frost.

Other Posts to Read

There are so many vegetables you can grow outdoors, depending on where you live. Check out my posts on what to plant each month of the year!

• What To Plant In January
• What To Plant In February
• What To Plant In March
• What To Plant In April
• What To Plant In May
• What To Plant In June
• What To Plant In July
• What To Plant In August
• What To Plant In September
• What To Plant In October

Garden Gloves

These are my favorite garden gloves: DIGZ Garden Gloves. They come in different sizes, that’s what I love the most. These are the best rosebush gloves: DIGZ Rose Bush Garden Gloves. I have to get a large size for my hands. These are awesome! In case you missed this post, here’s a link: Container Gardens: Everything You Need To Know

Final Word

I hope you enjoyed my post today on gardening with 5-gallon buckets. I love growing most of my food, and I bet you would like to! Life is good if we work through food issues by increasing fruits and vegetables. You are so lucky to have a farmer’s market near you! Let’s grow as much food as we can and support local farmers, too, and we can do it! May God bless this world, Linda

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