Bucket Gardening: How to Get Started

Susie Busta // July 26

Perhaps you’ve heard of bucket gardening before or been intrigued to find out more.

We’ve been bucket gardening for three seasons now and really love the vegetables and ease of use it has provided us.

Bucket gardens are just that. Your garden in buckets. It is a great way to garden if you have limited space, poor soil, or just want to try something new.

bucket gardening

Here are the basics to start bucket gardening

  • Gallon buckets – you can do smaller if you prefer, we use five gallon
  • Rocks
  • Dirt
  • Plants

First, we drill holes in the bottom. This allows excess water to drain out properly.

Then, we place rocks in the buckets. We have used river rock, but you can experiment with what you find works best for drainage.

Next, fill the buckets with soil. If you are doing a larger number of buckets, it might be best to purchase a yard of soil from a greenhouse.

Finally, add your choice of plants to the buckets. We have planted tomatoes, carrots, peas, peppers, onions, and lettuce. All have thrived in our bucket system!

bucket gardens

{Read More: Fresh Tips for Starting a Garden}

An optional item: bucket stand. My husband built a stand to place our buckets in, but they can be kept on the ground. I recommend moving them from time to time if you place them on the ground so your grass doesn’t die. Also, make sure the drainage isn’t clogged.

Make sure to water regularly as with any garden, and enjoy!

Have you ever done bucket gardening?

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About the Author

Susie Busta

To sum it up - Wife, Mom, Hunter, Fisher, all-around outdoorsy woman!
I am a new Mom and I love involving our son in everything we do outdoors, watching him experience things for the first time is truly better than any trophy fish or animal. I also enjoy sharing my experiences with other outdoors mothers, in hopes we can learn from each other. Continuing your outdoor activities is not easy with a little one, tips and tricks come in handy! I try to be real with my experiences, all the ups and downs since we all have them and they make us human. I hope that by sharing my passion and stories of the outdoors it may spark another woman or mother to pursue something they didn’t think they could do.