How to Make the $1.50 Bucket Garden Planter

Everyone has seen the infomercial about the upside down hanging tomato planter. Well, I made this for $1.50 and the price of the plant. You can see how easy it is and the bucket is durable enough to last several seasons.

I have more pictures and things going on at my Bucket Gardens Blog... like the backyard to garden project and Composting 101..

I just added this post of my standing bucket garden

This one didn't cost me much since I had the materials lying around and recycled 2 liter soda and juice bottles... I have better designs coming.

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Thanks for stopping by.

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Everyone has seen the infomercial about the upside down hanging tomato planter. Well, I made this for $1.50 and the price of the plant. You can see how easy it is and the bucket is durable enough to last several seasons.

See below for step by step instructions. It took me 10 minutes, once I had the materials organized...

Materials:

1. 1 Gallon Plastic Bucket


2. 1 Plant


3. 1 empty 2 liter plastic bottle


4. Compost or potting soil

Tools Needed:

1. Standard Drill


2. 1" Spade Bit


3. 4" Hanger

Step One:

Turn the 1 Gallon Bucket Upside Down and locate the center. This bucket had the original dimple identifying the middle, so it was very easy to find. Drill a 1" hole through the bottom of the bucket

Once the hole is made for the plant to be inserted, I needed a way to keep it from sliding out until the roots took hold. I thought using a 2 liter bottle would do the trick. I took an empty clean one and cut the about 3" off the top with a small utility knife.



Once complete, I wanted to insert the bottle through the hole. I discovered that by using a 1" spade bit, I was able to literally screw the bottle into the hole. Sometimes things just work out...





Now that the plastic bottle was secure, I gently worked the plant through the hole. I determined this would be better than trying to go the other way which could damage the roots. I figured inserting the leaves through the hole would be less traumatizing to the tomato plant.



Once the plant was stabilized, I added the appropriate compost and soil to the inside of the bucket and hung them from a hook on my shed. This literally took 10 minutes from start to finish. We'll continue to post pictures as the plants grow and begin to bear fruit. I planted cherry tomatoes and Jalapeno peppers in this picture.



Update 5/10 - This picture below shows it is doing fine.

I added a new section for those interested in downloading manuals to further their education in "foodology"...

• How to grow Juicy Tomatoes seems to be a very informative site with a specific slant to increasing your tomato yields....This easy to read 88 page book was written by two tomato lovers. One of the authors holds a Master's Degree in Plant Pathology, is a plant nutrition technician and a world authority on plant disease. Every day she provides technical advice to professional tomato growers all over the world.

• I like the Bucket Garden Concept, but this manual shows you how to create Garden Racks for your compact garden...

"Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells..."

There can be several reasons to have compact garden:

• Lack of physical space available


• Issues that prevent you from bending over to plant and maintain your crops


• More efficient and practical method to maintain garden crops Physical Space: Many urbanites who want to start their own garden have a challenge in the amount of space they have available.

This article will focus on a concept known as a "Compact Garden", the idea of stacking your garden vertically instead of the traditional methods.

my-bucket-garden-book

This is a free book I put together to document the steps on how I made my bucket hanging planter.

Click Here to Download for Free

Reduce Your Risk of Salmonella - Grow Your Own FoodBy Robert Owens

If you read the headlines about the multitude of Food recalls over the last several months, it is becoming more apparent that our regulatory agencies may not be able to prevent various outbreaks of bacteria that could lead to safety issues across the country.

Salmonella is a group of bacteria that live in the intestinal tracts of humans, animals and even birds. Food that has been tainted will usually have no visible signs of being contaminated and look and smell normal.

Eating raw unwashed foods can spread the bacteria which is why people should not eat raw or undercooked eggs, poultry, or meat. Even though you do not intentionally eat raw eggs, they may be found in some of the foods you eat at your typical restaurant or at home without even thinking about it. These foods could include homemade Hollandaise sauce, Caesar dressing, tiramisu, homemade ice cream and cookie dough.

Cross-contamination is a common way many people ingest the bacteria. Having uncooked meats or poultry sit away from raw vegetables and fruit will help avoid this issue. When cutting meats, use a separate cutting board and utencils when dicing vegetables. Wash hands often and do not wipe off the counter with towels tainted with the liquid from meat packaging and then dry dishes.

As a way to minimize exposure from outside food sources, some are adopting the strategy of growing their own food to combat this issue. Not only does this help in saving money toward sky rocketing food costs but overall health and safety issues are becoming the forefront of our daily lives.

If you refer to the the FDA's web pages (FDA.GOV), you will see that there have been several recalls over the past two years that seem to question the safety of our national food supplies.

Salmonella in peanuts or pistachios, botulism in canned green beans or E-Coli in leaf spinach are some of the many issues that have reached the headlines with more to come as the nation becomes more aware of the cracks in our regulatory agencies and their ability to keep us safe.

Each individual needs to become more aware of this expanding problem and take into account the safety of themselves and their families that consume these potentially dangerous foods. Creating your own garden in the back yard may not sustain all your food needs, but as you begin to reduce your dependency on external food sources, you begin to reduce the risk of contracting food poisoning from these very real threats.

If you do not have a large plot of land to plan your home based garden, there are smaller alternatives that can provide a creative smaller scale approach to this issue. Hanging tomato, pepper or strawberry gardens can be added to the back patio as a source of fresh fruits and vegetables. You can also grow indoor herbs and vegetable gardens using units specifically designed to provide artificial sunlight and hydroponic technologies.

In summary, if you are concerned about the various issues that threaten your family's health, you may want to consider adopting a "do it yourself" attitude to combat the continuing threats to your food supply.

Cooking does not have to be a chore. Turn on your passion for creating healthy Meals for 2 or for the entire family.

See more ways you can cook easy meals in minutes Easy-Home-Cooking.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Owens
http://EzineArticles.com/?Reduce-Your-Risk-of-Salmonella---Grow-Your-Own-Food&id=2167769

Compost Bin Plans - A Simple and Inexpensive Way to Better Backyard Gardens
By Robert Owens

Gardens are becoming more popular as the economy continues tracking downward and people look for ways to trim their expenses. Composting is a major component to successfully increasing crop yields and minimizing material that ends up on landfills. If you have never built a compost bin, there are several designs to choose from, but essentially this article will focus on the basic concepts and designs that can be serve as a fundamental approach for the basic gardener.

Compost bins are essentially a place to recycle plant vegetation to create a robust material rich in nutrients like nitrogen that when added to the soil will help new crops grow more vigorously. Composting is a process that occurs naturally when older material like leaves, grass clippings and old rotting vegetation begins to breakdown and decompose into a rich fertile soil material. This provides minerals and other nutrients for plants, animals and other micro-organisms and along with moisture and external temperatures, the decomposition process becomes very efficient.

Read more about composting

We have started the concept Backyard to table Project as a way to incorporate a local food source of our own.

See more ways you can cook easy meals in minutes Easy-Home-Cooking.com

Follow me on Twitter - easyhomecook

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Owens
http://EzineArticles.com/?Compost-Bin-Plans---A-Simple-and-Inexpensive-Way-to-Better-Backyard-Gardens&id=2207913

I came across this article and it got me thinking about how some people do not even think about soil contamination planning their first gardens. This gentleman asks about lead, but their are many adverse chemicals that could be dangerous to you and your family.

If you have such an issue, creating a bucket garden is one way to address this issue in the near term. You can use the space but not the ground, until you have resolved the long term issue.

Source:

Test soil for lead before planting garden: Ask OSU Extension by Jack Kerrigan/SU Extension Service Thursday April 09, 2009, 10:04 AM David Royal/Monterey County Herald via

Quote of the week: "One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese, cleaving the murk of a March thaw, is the spring." -- Aldo Leopold.

Q: I am planning a vegetable garden near an old garage, which has been peeling for several years. How can I determine if my soil is contaminated with lead from lead-based paint?

A: I am glad you are asking this question before starting to garden. Lead is a very stable element, and soils contaminated with lead-based paint can have very high levels of it. Lead is found naturally in soil at low levels, usually between 15 and 40 parts per million.

To determine if your soil is contaminated, send a soil test to a certified soil-testing laboratory. A list of labs is available from your OSU Extension office. I am recommending that home gardeners in Cuyahoga County send their soil sample to the University of Massachusetts lab. Information is available from this office by sending a self-addressed, stamped, business size envelope to "Soil Testing" at the address at the end of the column. This lab does a standard soil test that includes testing for heavy metals at the very reasonable cost of $9.

Garden as far from the garage as you can. If the lead levels are between 15 and 40 ppm, there is no need to worry. If your lead level is between 40 and 500 ppm, plant fruiting crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, peas, beans, corn, etc., rather than leafy vegetables, such as lettuce, greens, and spinach, and root crops, such as carrots, radishes and turnips. Also incorporate organic matter at the rate of one-third organic matter by volume. Lime the soil as recommended in your soil test.

The soil pH should be 6.5. Discard the old and outer leaves of vegetables, peel root crops before eating, wash vegetables with vinegar water (1 to 2 ounces of vinegar per gallon of water) or soapy water, rinsing well before eating vegetables. Do not compost waste from the garden.

For additional information on lead contamination in the soil, the soil-testing address below is applicable; include a self-addressed, stamped, business-size envelope to "Lead in Soil."