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Dave Lehnert
10-17-2011, 1:01 AM
I thought I would try growing Tomato's and Peppers in self watering 5 gal buckets this year. I was very happy with the way they turned out. Going to make a dozen or so this winter and grow everything in them next season.
Anyone ever try growing in buckets?

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Jim Tobias
10-17-2011, 1:15 AM
Looks like it was quite successful! Please explain how it works??

Jim

Dave Lehnert
10-17-2011, 1:33 AM
Check out Global Buckets dot org.
I did something different with the pepper bucket. I took a bucket lid, cut out the center on a scroll saw and placed it between the two buckets. This gives more space for water.
They were very easy to take care of. I used liquid fertilizer once every two weeks.
I did it as a test this year before investing in buckets and such. Going to make a garden next year along my back yard fence.

Rich Engelhardt
10-17-2011, 7:09 AM
Nice!
I tried using planter boxes this year & it was a complete failure.
Oddly, the topsy turvey planters that had worked well las year were a dismal failure also...that one still has me wondering.

Ditto for my "in the Earth" conventional garden - another bust.

LOL!
Just call me old brown thumb I guess!

I'll have to give the plastics a try next year.

One thing I did find out about the plastic 5 gal pails.
They deteriorate outside pretty quick.
I had one hanging by it's bail and the plastic snapped where the bail was connected.
The pail shattered like glass when it fell on the concrete.

Michael Weber
10-17-2011, 11:08 AM
I tried a homemade "Earth box" planter this past year with a pepper plant and bush tomato. It was a dismal failure but so were my regular elevated planter boxes. Something about 115 degree heat :mad:. Probably going to pass on them from now on. I was mostly just curious.

Derek Gilmer
10-17-2011, 11:28 AM
I tried a homemade "Earth box" planter this past year with a pepper plant and bush tomato. It was a dismal failure but so were my regular elevated planter boxes. Something about 115 degree heat :mad:. Probably going to pass on them from now on. I was mostly just curious.

Ya this summer was brutal. Even the bermuda grass without a ton of water was having problems and that stuff loves the heat.

Wayne Hendrix
10-17-2011, 11:43 AM
Anyone ever try growing in buckets?

I haven't, we moved in the middle of the planting season and had enough to worry about, but my Mom doubled the size of her garden by doing it this year. She was really happy with how it worked. We are going to try it next year on our balcony with some tomatoes and peppers.

Dave Lehnert
03-27-2012, 6:21 PM
Bump back to the top.
It's almost that time of year to plant. Not too sure what all I am going to plant this year. I have 9 buckets. tomato and peppers for sure. Anyone have a bucket garden and like to share what type plants did well?

charlie knighton
03-27-2012, 8:08 PM
the deer like the products, i had to put fence up

Larry Edgerton
03-28-2012, 6:42 AM
the deer like the products, i had to put fence up

Deer are easy, try Elk! I am going to do some sort of greenhouse on an elevated deck off of my south side, and one of the reasons is elk. I don't think elk will climb up there? Either that or a cyclone fence with electric, but thats kind of ugly. Not sure I want my back yard to look like a prison.

Tip on the buckets outside. Paint them on the outside with a heavy coat to protect them from the UV rays and they will hold up much better.

As Guy Clark says, "Ain't noth'in in the world better than home grown tomaters".

Larry

Dave Lehnert
06-13-2012, 3:48 PM
Update
This is my bucket garden for this year. I have Tomato, Peppers, Bush cucumbers and eggplant. The two buckets that look empty have seed potato's planted in them. You fill the bucket with top soil as the plants grow.

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Belinda Barfield
06-13-2012, 4:08 PM
I've had a bucket garden in the past but didn't go that route this year. I have heirloom cushaws and tomatoes growing in plastic baby pools on a rolling platform so I can move them around. I live in a condo so I'm gardening at our shop. My big concern is lack of pollinators as I haven't seen any bees flying around. I'm going to try the self watering thing though, thanks for sharing.

ray hampton
06-13-2012, 5:17 PM
I've had a bucket garden in the past but didn't go that route this year. I have heirloom cushaws and tomatoes growing in plastic baby pools on a rolling platform so I can move them around. I live in a condo so I'm gardening at our shop. My big concern is lack of pollinators as I haven't seen any bees flying around. I'm going to try the self watering thing though, thanks for sharing.

what is cushaws, using a swimming pool , what type of base hold the pool

Kevin Bourque
06-13-2012, 7:42 PM
I planted 5 empty drywall buckets with tomatoes and peppers last year and placed them in the sun near my driveway. They did reasonably okay, but I had to water them almost every day.

Then it slooooowly dawned on me..."I live on a farm, ...There's even a farm stand down at the end of my road that sell all kinds of fruits & vegetables for cheap...Why the hell am I doing all this???"...so this year I did nothing at all.

PS--The buckets are good for only one season before they start cracking

Dave Lehnert
06-13-2012, 10:58 PM
I planted 5 empty drywall buckets with tomatoes and peppers last year and placed them in the sun near my driveway. They did reasonably okay, but I had to water them almost every day.

Then it slooooowly dawned on me..."I live on a farm, ...There's even a farm stand down at the end of my road that sell all kinds of fruits & vegetables for cheap...Why the hell am I doing all this???"...so this year I did nothing at all.


PS--The buckets are good for only one season before they start cracking

If you do not do the self watering buckets, Just soil in a bucket, You would have to water every day. I'm sure sphagnum peat moss would help. That is what the self watering bucket soil is mostly.
I am on my second year for two of the buckets. They show no issues with the sun right now. I do store them in the shed over the winter. Have been thinking of using some kind of UV block wrap to slow the process down a bit. Thought landscape fabric (Black) may heat the bucket too much for the plants???????
Just like woodworking, hobby stuff like this cost way more than what you can buy the end product for.

Belinda Barfield
06-14-2012, 7:08 AM
what is cushaws, using a swimming pool , what type of base hold the pool

Cushaw is squash/pumpkin that is an old timey southern plant. Cushaws have a long shelf life so they can be eaten in winter. They can be roasted and eaten with butter and cinnamon, but mostly they are used in place of pumpkin for pies.

The kiddie pools are on top of a piece of OSB, on a rolling base.

ray hampton
06-14-2012, 2:13 PM
Cushaw is squash/pumpkin that is an old timey southern plant. Cushaws have a long shelf life so they can be eaten in winter. They can be roasted and eaten with butter and cinnamon, but mostly they are used in place of pumpkin for pies.

The kiddie pools are on top of a piece of OSB, on a rolling base.

many thanks
is there other type of squash beside the gourds ? I heard the name Cushaws a long, long time ago when I was a child but I do forget , do cushaws taste like pumpklin and sweet potatoes pie ?

Belinda Barfield
06-14-2012, 2:31 PM
There are a number of types of squash, both summer and winter. Cushaw pie tastes pretty much like pumpkin pie and sweet potato pie, maybe not as strong as sweet potato. Mostly you just tasted the spices in any of them.

ray hampton
06-14-2012, 2:44 PM
I still eat pies today the same way that I did as a child [one bite at a time ] but I can not eat a 9 inch pie now all by myself