Gardening Using Global Buckets

[lds2]

This year I am planting my garden in buckets (to hopefully keep the plants/produce away from the rabbits and chickens) and because the soil is so poor where I live I've never grown anything but tomatos/herbs.

I learned about them from this site...

Global Buckets it has been put together by a couple of teens trying to create solutions for feeding the world and these can be used in places where plants don't usually grow like on the roofs of flat buildings.

I used grow bags last year and they did well, I really liked that I could bring my tomatos/herbs in and keep them from freezing for a bit longer this winter.

I also like their idea for using the clay pots in grow bags...haven't tried it yet though...and the "automatic" watering systems...

[applepansy]

That's a very cool way to garden where its difficult.

We have very rocky-clay-like soil. So we're doing Square foot gardening. The yield is amazing. Its all in the soil. :)

[Vort]

This is brilliant.

[lds2]

I'm trying this again this year...what I learned last year is that tomatoes take too much water to grow in containers...you would need an automatic feed system to avoid watering many times a day in the late summer. The lettuce type plants did very well but were very strong tasting and so we only ate them when combined with mild store bought lettuce. But all my strawberries made it through the winter in these containers and did really well producing last year as well. I didn't plant a lot of other vegetables in containers to compare.

Edited April 23, 2012 by lds2

[Guest]

I love this stuff!

Right now, I'm doing hydroponics - growing lettuce in water in a closet in my house. I did the deep-water culture first out of a regular plastic bin that I cut holes out of the lid to hold the net pot, but now I graduated to flood-and-drain method - same regular plastic bins but it's a lot more complicated to build. I got the lettuce to grow a bit faster! I tried tomatoes but the plants got too big and I wasn't quite sure how to trim them down. My friend loaned me his aeroponic system, so I'm going to try that next.

I used this super expensive light bulb on a timer to provide light on the lettuce. I didn't buy the lighting system - I borrowed it from a friend. So, really, I don't do anything much to it except for check the water level (I'm lazy, so I only even bother with it once or twice a week) and harvest the lettuce leaves. I'm no green thumb, so I killed a whole slew of lettuce and tomatoes before I finally got a few to grow. I realized that with hydroponics, the less you tinker with it, the better.

[California_Dreaming]

In addition to the web site posted in the first post, check out "youtube" with the search word "global buckets".

Some of the videos show automatic watering systems using a simple float valve hooked up to your garden hose.

[California_Dreaming]

This is a P.S. to my previous post.

I do not know the answer to this question.

I noticed that some of the photos show "Homer" buckets. Is that a good idea or should they be "food grade" plastic buckets.

Can the plants absorb chemicals from "non food grade" buckets?

[Rivet]

I've never seen this before. Thanks for the link. :)

[lds2]

I tried this last year and learned don't try tomatoes in containers as they require too much water unless you have the "automatic" barrel feed thing worked out. This year I am growing green beans, carrots, lettuce, strawberries and so far so good.

[ClickyClack]

I have had terrific luck growing tomatoes, peppers, and other veggies in containers. I do them on my deck (second-story), so there are NO bugs, so I never need to spray them for anything.

The keys are to use large containers, and to use a soil heavy in peat moss, to hold water. Most "potting soil" is compost that is far from finished composting, is heavy in wood, and doesn't hold water at all. In fact, most of the soil in my containers is made from about 50% composted horse manure (free!), 25% peat moss, and 25% other soils.

With the peat and sufficiently large containers, I just water them once per week when it's cool and the plants are small, and more often as the plants get larger and the temperature gets hotter. In the heat of the summer, with full-sized, fruit-laden plants, I water once each day. I COULD get by with every other day, but even, consistent water levels are important to get big, juicy, non-cracked tomatoes. Holes are drilled in the bottom of each bucket for drainage, and the kids think that watering them is play-time. :)

A 5-gallon bucket is great for a single tomato plant, and a lot of people do just great with them. Some of my plants are in containers smaller than that, some larger. I have a couple of HUGE plastic pots that I picked up at garage sales that probably hold at least 15 gallons, if not 20, and I put three or four different plants in them.

Jalapenos, habaneros, bell peppers, decorative peppers all do great. If you want to experience the ultimate in tomatoes... get Brandywine plants, and wait until the tomatoes fall off in your hand with just a tiny tug. You can also do lettuces, radishes, spinach, peas, all kinds of stuff in containers.

Miracle Grow tomato fertilizer, in frequent but tiny amounts, makes them VERY happy.

Now, in my front yard, I do have a drip system on the sprinkler timer, so I also hang pots of strawberries on the front of the house, up off of the ground so the bugs don't get them. With the Tristar variety, which is day-neutral, they bear fruit all season long, and my kids LOVE to go out every day and pick the red berries and eat them. And WAY more sweet and yummy than store-bought.

Edited June 5, 2012 by ClickyClack

[lds2]

I'm glad you posted...perhaps I will try tomatoes again next year with a larger container (mine are 4 gallon used fruit juice containers) and a heavier soil, I used vemiculite, perlite, wood chip based compost and peat moss, with rabbit compost added to the mix for mine.